Tien and Paul's Travels

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Michigan - July 2022

Saugatuck: We made a stop at a quaint village, Saugatuck n the southwestern part of Michigan. Saugatuck is famous for its art galleries, harbor, marinas. It's also a popular vacation destination as Fire Island Pines and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Beautiful harbor of Saugatuck

A famous "Big Pavillion" at this location was burn down in 1960

Mackinac Island, MI: The first full day at the reunion, we went to Mackinaw City to take the ferry over to the island.

Ferry to Mackinac Island

The ferry

The marina

The island lighthouse

A beautiful sailboat

View of the Grand Hotel from the ferry

Mackinac Island Fort and Marquette Park

Trinity Episcopal Church across from the fort

Little Stone Church near the Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel

Mackinac Island residence

The ferry's pier

Charlevoix, MI : The town is situated between Lake Michigan and the western end of Lake Charlevoix which drains into Lake Michigan through the short Round Lake/Pine River complex in the heart of downtown Charlevoix. Charlevoix's Round Lake has been called the best natural harbor on Lake Michigan. Much commercial, industrial and recreational boat traffic passes through Charlevoix.

Lake Charlevoix overlook

South pier lighthouse

The draw bridge opening

A cruise ship entering Lake Michigan

Petoskey : A city and coastal resort community in Emmet county, Northern Michigan. It offers beautiful scenery and a historic Gaslight District and known for the Petoskey stone.

Bayfront Park - Petoskey shoreline

Bayfront Park

Pennsylvania Park - Hemingway sculptor

Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore : This National Lakeshore Park located along the northwest coast of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The park covers outstanding natural features including forests, beaches, dune formations and ancient glacial phenomena.

Lake Michigan Overlook

The dunes

Lake Michigan in the background

Dune Overlook

North Bar Lake overlook

Glen Lake overlook

Glen Haven Historic district - tug boat

*******

The 45th Parallel marker landmark : not far from Bellaire, MI where we held the reunion on US-41 highway.

Monday, September 5, 2022

Kentucky - Mammoth Cave - July 2022

Landstrom family reunion was rescheduled to July 2022. The location was Shanty Creek Resorts in Upper Peninsular Michigan.

Carter and Sawyer joined us on the road trip from North Carolina to the reunion in Michigan. Our first stop this road trip was Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, a World Heritage Site and the world's longest known cave system. The night before, we stayed at Cave City, a short distance to the Cave. We took the cave's "historic" tour which was about two hours.

It was hot and humid in the park but it's nice and cool inside the Cave.

Getting ready for the cave tour

Inside the park

The Rotunda Room

The Dome

Giant Coffin

Bottomless Pit

After leaving Kentucky, we stopped overnight in a small town, Salem, Indiana.

Salem downtown historic district

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Caribbean Cruise - Jamaica and the Bahamas - March 2022

On the way back to the US, the ship made a stop at Falmouth, Jamaica. Falmouth terminal was far away from the town. There are some local shops and markets outside the port terminal that we could walk to for souvenir shopping. But mainly, we hang out at the terminal shopping area. Unless taking an excursion from the ship, one did not have much to do on land. It was a very windy day. Fountains and water features were turned off. We heard that even beach excursion was cut short to be safe from the strong wind.

FALMOUTH, JAMAICA:

History of Falmouth

Jamaica's Xich Lo for rent by the hour from port

A market outside of port terminal

The Clocktower at center of the shopping area in port terminal

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Restaurant - a popular restaurant in the port shopping area

Margaritaville Restaurant

Margaritaville Water Park behind the restaurant

Our last "formal" night

NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS: The last time I was in Nassau was a cruise trip with Mom, Tan, Lieu and Hoang's family in August 2011. A lot of changes happened around the port terminal. It was a very busy port with six mega cruise ships docked that day. There are lots of constructions going on around the cruise terminal. We walked around downtown Nassau, visited the Straw Market, climbed up the famous Queen's Staircase, saw Bennet's Hill and Fort Fincastle.