This. Is. Gorgeous.

I want to sit and stare at it all day long. (by Alberto Seveso, via Oh Joy).

Adorable Bats?

As a sidenote, I found this article in looking for a photo for my last post - let me just say this was not our experience, cute as it may be (but that's debatable). 

Cute Animals That are Not Bats

To offset my last few posts, I offer you a few pictures of animals that I feel are cuter than bats, to cleanse your minds of the images I may have put there (though it will take more than these to wipe the sound of their wings flapping from my memory):

Our Housemates

My parents were worried we might get bored. So impossible with so much good company and beautiful scenery around! But if we had any doubts, they were shattered Tuesday night when Dirk and I awoke to hear a noise in our attic apartment, turn on the light and see 2 bats flying around! Needless to say, we settled in another room for the rest of the trip and the exterminators were called (and no bat was harmed, except maybe by the sound of my screams). And the entertainment came in the form of sitting outside at dusk waiting for them to show themselves (complete with drinks, of course).

Gratuitous Niece Picture

Our number one entertainment on the trip was absolutely my niece, who could not have been cuter (but could have asked "Why?" a few less times). The picture above was from a winery we visited - small as she is, she loves dogs and takes every opportunity to pet them (I admit the angle we took the picture from is a bit deceiving, but it was definitely a big dog!). The picture below was the theme of the weekend and every time we get together (shirt custom made by Showroom 64).

Charlevoix

Charlevoix was the most idyllic, picturesque Midwestern town we could have imagined. We stayed in an amazing house a block from the lake (above), fully equipped with requisite front porch so that we could sit outside and watch the world go by. But the rest of the town and lakefront was equally as perfect - see Dirk's pictures below - can you imagine a better example of summer Americana?

The Mushroom Houses

One of the sights to see in Charlevoix are the Mushroom Houses, created by developer Earl Young starting in 1918. They are very cute - I would love to see one from the inside, they look like they would be very dark but that would be the shame because they are on the beach and have amazing views of the water. As my mom put it, they look just like what the smurfs live in (if they were real) - it looks like the owners have a sense of humor about them as well, see if you can spot the troll in the last picture.