Our seventh annual sister's retreat: Part II

We woke up this morning ready to spend the day at the beach. We had driven over to Caseville the other day and Ruthanne knew of a good beach there, but we had picked up a brochure about Port Crescent State Park (a closer drive to Harbor Beach) and decided to try it instead.
Port Crescent State Park is 5 miles southwest of Port Austin. It has 600 acres of woods, wetlands and a beautiful 3-mile sandy beach ... AND it boasts the best sand dunes on this side of the state. It had a nice bath house and clean restrooms too!
The brochure was exactly right! We had packed all of our beach gear and arrived at around noon at this amazingly beautiful park. We marked a spot on the beach, placed our bags there, and walked!
What a gorgeous day ... and a breathtakingly beautiful place! Ruthanne and I walked and talked and had such a relaxing day here.
This is the sand castle I made after our LONG walk ...
Ruthanne did a lot of driving during our four days together ~ but we had beautiful scenery everywhere we went. We could either see beautiful Lake Huron, or we were in the middle of vast farmland. I loved it!
I'm not sure if I mentioned that Ruthanne and I stayed at State Street Inn, which is a bed-'n-breakfast in Harbor Beach. I have only stayed in one other bed-'n-breakfast ... the first year we began taking these sister retreats ...

This was NOT our room ... but isn't it pretty? We were in the Huron Room on the main floor of the house. We thought it was a little bit small for two people, but other than that, it was clean and it worked out just fine. The room pictured above is called The Victorian Room.

The State Street Inn is on a beautiful piece of property. There are wildflowers growing all over the place and even a wonderful pear tree!
It has a veranda that wraps around two sides of the house ...
This is more of the back yard ... isn't it peaceful and lovely?

Too soon, it was our last day. But we had lots of plans for it as well! On our way back to my sister's house, we were going to make a few stops and see the sights along the way. I was very much looking forward to visiting Port Sanilac ... mainly because I have "eyed" the lighthouse there for quite awhile and have wanted to photograph it.

I have seen pictures of this beautiful light for years. I was SO happy to be able to take some pictures of it myself ... to add to my lighthouse collection! And to make more LIGHT cards ...
It was a pretty warm day, the sun was shining bright, and it made for some wonderful picture taking ... the shadows were perfect!

The lighthouse is privately owned ... and double-fenced (!) ... always a bit of a problem when I want to do a good job of taking pictures ...
I did manage to climb over a low spot in the fence. I was very careful NOT to harm anything ... and I was able to get a much better angle OVER the fence than behind it ...
There were no huge signs saying "No trespassing" but after I had re-climbed the fence and was once again on the OUTside, I did find a faded one that said the lighthouse was privately owned and the lighthouse association would appreciate it if people kept OUT.
Isn't this a cool roof? The ivy and the "steps" are SO beautiful ...
The thing that surprised me most about the Port Sanilac Lighthouse was the fact that it is nestled in a little neighborhood! The tower isn't high, and with all of the huge trees, it is sometimes hard to see!
While I was on the WRONG side of the fence, two other photographers asked me how I got in. They had been trying each gate, without success, and looked frustrated. I told them I climbed the fence and they frowned and told me they were "too old" to climb! They were a bit older than me!
But then they told me about a pathway on the other side of the property that led out to the breakwater. They said they had gotten some pretty good pictures out there ... so that's where I went next.
They were right! It was the perfect place to capture this lighthouse!
Ruthanne and I walked around Port Sanilac and then we drove down to Lexington to do some more shopping. We ate lunch at a cute little place overlooking the marina there.
We love marinas, my sister and I ... they are SO peaceful and picturesque, aren't they?
We walked and talked ... never running out of thing to "catch up on." The air was hot and humid ... and wonderful!
I think this seventh retreat was our best one yet. We visited such beautiful places. We had the nicest time re-connecting and sharing love and friendship ...
I'm so thankful for this time with my dear sister ... these retreats have been very precious to me!