I would like to tell you about the vacation that my family went on this past summer. It is the first time that we have ever gone away for 2 weeks during the summer! Day 1 - June 20th: We left our home in Neenah, Wisconsin and drove north to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. We camped at Brimley State Park on Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay. It was a beautiful campground! Despite the cold water, my three sons enjoyed swimming in the bay until dark which was about 10 PM.

Day 2: We drove thru Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and crossed the International Bridge to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. We then drove over to South Baymouth, on Manitoulin Island. We took the Manitoulin Island Ferry Service to Tobermory. I highly recommend this ferry. We had a really great time! We found a place to spend the night on Bruce Peninsula.

Day 3: We used to live in Oakville, Ontario near Toronto so that area was our next destination. We went to our old neighborhood in Oakville known as Bronte Village. We drove by our old house and the kids' old school. Our youngest son was little when we moved back to the States and didn't remember anything of Oakville, so everything was new for him. After visiting our old neighborhood we went to spend the night at a campground near Niagara Falls, Ontario. We got to visit the Falls at night which we had never done before. They were beautiful!

Days 4/5: Staying in Ontario, we drove up to see Canada's Parliament in Ottawa. Ottawa is the capital of Canada, like Washington D.C. in the United States. Parliament Hill is where the government of Canada makes the country's laws. While in Ottawa we spent some time at the Currency Museum - Bank of Canada. It was a lot of fun for my boys to see the history of money! We crossed the Ottawa River to Hull, Quebec and found a campground to spend the night. Being in Quebec was quite different than being in Ontario. In Quebec all of the road signs and store signs are in French and all of the people speak French. Luckily, the people of Quebec can also speak some English because our family does not speak French!

Day 5: After spending the morning in Ottawa we drove to Montreal, Quebec. What a neat looking city! Unfortunately, we only had time for a driving tour. The next time that we get there I hope that we will have more time to explore. We did eat dinner near the city and we were the only people in the restaurant that didn't speak French. I suppose that I should really learn to speak some French before I visit Quebec again. After dinner, we drove to a campground near Burlington, VT to spend the night.

Days 6-8: The main purpose of our vacation was to go to a cousin's wedding on Cape Cod. We crossed over into Cape Cod by driving on the Bourne Bridge. Cape Cod is separated from the rest of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by a canal. The only way to get there is by plane, boat, or by driving over the canal on the Bourne Bridge or the Sagamore Bridge.

Day 9: We left Cape Cod and drove up to Boston. Boston is a very important city in American history. We visited many of the historic sites in the city. We walked the Freedom Trail, went aboard the U.S.S. Constitution, and drove through the campuses of M.I.T. and Harvard. The city of Boston is beautiful!

Days 9-11: After spending the afternoon in Boston we went to see a semi-pro baseball game. I have a cousin that works for the Lowell Spinners organization, and he invited us to a game. It was GREAT fun!! Between innings there is always some form of quick entertainment. If you have never gone to a semi-pro baseball game, you should. Semi-pro games are much more fun for kids than major league games (and less expensive too!). After the game we drove to Nashua, New Hampshire to spend a few days with my aunt and uncle. We would visit Boston during the day and return to Nashua at night.

Days 12/13: We left New England to head for a family reunion in Illinois. On the way we drove through the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. We didn't get to explore any of these states as we were in a hurry to get to our destination. We stayed on the interstate except for finding a campground to spend the night. The view from the insterstate in New York is spectacular!

Our Family Vacation comes to an end! - Days 13-15 We spent a few days at my parents' house in Clarendon Hills, IL. We also had a family reunion to attend for my husband's family, the Hengels. The family reunion was organized by some very energetic people! The name Hengels is not very common. We had Hengels show up at the reunion from all over the USA and a few even came over from Europe! On the Fourth of July we attended a birthday party for one of my nieces at my parents' house. We also visited one of our previous neighborhoods, Downers Grove, before we headed back home to Wisconsin. THE END

Here are some of the places that I like to go when I am in the Chicago area: Brookfield Zoo, Museum of Science and Industry, The Field Museum of Natural History, Sears Tower, and The Hancock Observatory.