Rose, This is a great place to "escape" from RL for a few minutes. Think about nothing but pretty dishes and accessories for awhile. I've spotted a couple of TS here close by where we have our motor home parked, so want to stop by and check them out sometime this week. Wish me luck. Going to seem strange not having DH with me and the pups this week. Took him to the airport early this morning. Will have to keep busy visiting relatives. Your nice cottage should really help to soften the "rough edges" of real life too. Looks like a wonderful place to escape to. Take care. Luvs

We've been out there twice in the summer and it's not been crowded. The first time we were there we were doing a trip along the coast eventually leading to a wedding in the wine country outside San Francisco. We flew into Seattle and stayed at the Inn at the Market which is a really nice boutique hotel up the street from Pike Place Market. They have a rooftop deck where you can bring your drinks and watch the ferries come in and out. I highly recommend that hotel. It's within walking distance to restaurants too. We only did an overnight at Friday Harbor and stayed in a Bed and Breakfast which I didn't care for because it was in a private home and the owners were on hand. We went on a whale watch and saw orcas which was fun. I love the ferry system in Washington and we were able to take our rental car everywhere. I think on that trip we just went to Friday Harbor before turning around and going back along the coast to CA. A couple of years ago we were out there again for a wedding near Bellingham, WA. This time we flew into Seattle again and since we arrived late and were skipping Seattle this time, we stayed at a hotel across from the airport. The hotel had a van that picked us up at the airport and the next morning took us to the rental car place down the road. It's cheaper if you pick up your car outside the airport so we did that this time. I think from there we went to Port Townsend so my husband could see the Wooden Boat School. We stayed in a cottage belonging to a B&B and that was nice and private. I remember spending a couple of days hopping on ferries and I think they're was another town we stayed in overnight to catch a ferry the next morning. I forget the name of it though. We had reservations for the ferries because we wanted to be sure there was room for our car. We also went to Victoria and stayed in a beautiful Inn ( Prior House Inn )outside of town. We stayed in the room with the king bed in the Hobbit Garden Studios with our own entrance which was really nice. Their garden was absolutely beautiful. The breakfasts were nice and we really loved staying there. From there we went to Vancouver and stayed downtown at the Wedgewood Hotel. The hotel and the restaurant attached were very nice, but I've learned since that the beautiful part of Vancouver with spectacular scenery is at the northern end. Next time. We did have a long wait getting through the checkpoint back into the states from there.

Vee -- My dad used to have a very good policy about mobile phones. He sid they were there for YOUR convenience and not for the convenience of the caller. He never used to have one and now he's inseparable from his phone. I usually check to see who is calling -- if I recognize who it is and if it looks like it might be important, I MAY answer it. If I don't recognize it, I don't answer it. After all, if they REALLY need to talk to me, they'll leave a voicemail message and I can call them back at my leisure. Yes, it can get bad here in Canada for that. It's fairly common for people to answer mobiles in restaurants in the middle of a meal. What's worse are those who have Blackberries -- they CONSTANTLY read email while they're having lunch with you or when they're talking to you!! Some have even RESPONDED to email in the middle of a meal or a conversation! One of my colleagues wanted to get a Blackberry. I dissuaded her from this, saying that she should only get one if she wants her life controlled by email. There's a reason why these things have been nicknamed the "Crackberry". It's like Pavlov's dogs -- someone's Blackberry beeps or vibrates and that person HAS to check it.

Hi all - just a quick trip report. We had such a good time in my beautiful home state of Michigan. In Detroit we went to a Tigers game and the Detroit Institute of Art among other things. Stayed near the DIA at the Inn on Ferry Street which was great for us. Mackinac Island was perfection - loved our hotel (Iroquois) and would highly recommend. Attention to every detail, luxury linens, great location. We biked the 8.2 mile perimeter along the water and we were lucky to have ideal weather. Went to Headlands Dark Sky Park in Mackinaw City and that was a crazy but fun experience! Met another mother/daughter duo and we had great fun. Drove to Traverse City via M-119 through the Tunnel of Trees. We did have dinner at Stella in TC and it was delicious! Went on to climb Sleeping Bear Dune and taking the park's scenic drive along Lake Michigan. Beautiful state and great trip! Did not make it to UP or Pictured Rocks. Next trip :) http://www.iroquoishotel.com/mackinac-island-photo-gallery Arch Rock on MI Thanks for all the tips and suggestions!!