Early Summer Photos from Michigan's Upper Peninsula

As usual, I'm behind on posting photographs to this blog. :)

Over Memorial Day weekend and the first few days of June, my husband and I took our three-year-old dog Ginny with us to visit his family. It involved about 4 hours in the car to get to the suburbs of Chicago, and then (a few days later), a few more hours in the car to get to his aunt and uncle's house on the west side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Finally, at the end of the trip, we drove home through the UP, across the Mackinac Bridge, and down to our house in the metro-Detroit suburbs (about a 7 hour drive). Our dog had never before spent so much time in the car with us (or had to stay in someone else's house and learn to get along with their dog!), but she seemed to enjoy (or at least tolerate) the whole experience, so I'm counting it as a win. :)

While in the UP (and on our drive home), I took some photographs of the beautiful scenery.

And here are the obligatory Mackinac Bridge photos one must take while they drive across it:

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

My husband's aunt and uncle have a house on the western side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (close to the Wisconsin border). These photographs are summer pictures from their backyard and a hiking trail near their house.

Mackinac Island

I've been to Mackinac Island a couple times in my life (as a Michigander, it's pretty much a requirement). The most recent time was in 2012. Here are some of my favorite photographs from that trip:

Sleeping Bear Dunes

In 2012, when I went on an Out West road trip with my husband and friends, we took the long way back home to Metro-Detroit - via Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and snaking down through some "can't miss" spots in the northern Lower Peninsula as well.

Here are some of my favorite photographs of the Sleeping Bear Dunes area, which I took on that trip. The Sleeping Bear Dunes was recently named the most beautiful vacation spot in America, and it's certainly true that there are some gorgeous views. For those who don't know it's location, it's on the north-western part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula (the one that looks like a mitten). It boasts gigantic sand dunes overlooking Lake Michigan.

Zurich, Switzerland

In 2008, I went on a study abroad trip to the Mediterranean. We spent most of the five weeks in Italy (three weeks) and Greece (two weeks), but we did spend a couple days in Zurich, Switzerland. I managed to have a layover in the Zurich airport during another trip, but those two instances remain the only time I've been to Switzerland - and neither was as long or intensive as I'd like.

On my dad's side, my family comes from Fraunfeld, Switzerland (many, many years ago - my ancestors came to America prior to the Revolutionary War), and it'd be cool to go back and explore that little town - not to mention the rest of the country that I didn't get a chance to see. It's definitely on my bucket list to return.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite pictures of Zurich. Because it was seven years ago, the picture quality isn't always great. I thought they were amazing at the time, but camera technology has, of course, advanced since, to the point where some of these look a little pixelated to me.

Fraumunster Church

Grossmunster Church

Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich

View of Zurich from the top of the Lindenhoff

View of Zurich from the top of the Lindenhoff