It’s a good thing we all like each other!  This weekend we had a very long and fun trip from Grand Rapids to Foster City (north of Escanaba in the U.P.) and back.  Leaving Friday morning , we stopped at a hotel in Mackinaw City just south of the Mackinac Bridge.  We enjoyed the pool, indoor water park, souvenir shopping, fudge shopping (of course), and skipping stones into Lake Huron with the Mighty Mac in the background.      

And now a word from the official website of the Mackinac Bridge:    

What is the proper way to pronounce the word “Mackinac”?

The French Pronounced it “aw” but spelled it “ac”. The British heard it pronounced “aw” so they spelled it that way. Whichever way it is spelled, it is always pronounced “aw”       

 Saturday morning we did some more souvenir shopping and crossed the Mackinac Bridge.  Third longest suspension bridge in the world, it is a year older than I (Janet).  No time for a trip to Mackinac Island, but the ferries had begun their season the same weekend.  North of the Bridge we stopped at The Mystery Spot in St. Ignace where they say there’s a strange gravitational phenomenon.  You can see that it’s a very interesting place!      

 Saturday afternoon we arrived at our destination:  Mission Covenant Church in  Foster City, MI and the home of our hosts Pastor Carl and his wife Mary Beth.  They had arranged for the boys to do some target practise at the home of one of the congregation families.  Mary Beth took us “girls” on a walk by a creek.     

That night at the church we experienced local gastronomical specialty:  The Pasty – meat & veggies in a pastry pocket.   We enjoyed a lovely evening with some of the folks from the church.  Thank you for such wonderful hospitality!  There were gift bags for each of us, and one huge gift bag for the family.     

 Sunday morning we shared, as Ron has been doing in many places, with many of you faithful readers, during both the Sunday School hour and church service.  After church we were treated to a wonderful potluck dinner at the church, and more time to get acquainted with some of the folks in the congregation there.   

Ron sharing his testimony in the service at Mission Covenant

On the way home there was less time for tourism.  But we still took some leg stretching stops on Highway 2 along Lake Michigan to throw a football, admire the waves, dabble in photography and just run around.  Crossing the bridge south to our side (where we trolls live … we who live UNDER the Bridge), we were treated to a beautiful sunset.   Praise God we arrived back home safely, around 12:30 AM with fond memories, great photos and new friends who are partnering with us in minstry!