Spring has fallen in the UP of Michigan!

May 20, 2009

Spring in the upper peninsula of Michigan

Just last week I was wondering if Spring and Summer would ever come to northern Michigan. I was checking the weather and hoping for a day around 70 but it only seemed to get in the mid 50s. The nights brought frost and temps in the 30s and 40s too.

Today the temps are getting around 70 degrees near me and there are a lot of signs of spring and summer coming. The birds are out singing, the grass is green, and the trees are showing some leaves. There is life budding in the UP.

With Spring comes, thankfully, less mud with the dogs. It is a full time job giving dogs baths and wiping feet after letting them outside for a romp. Now they will come in and look at you to get wiped off and they get the OK. Life is good for them too.

dog with forget me not necklace

forget me nots ~ spring bloom in UP Michigan

It is easy to complain about the weather but the fact is that I love the change in seasons and the feeling of renewal every year. I have lived in the South, West Coast, and East and the Midwest is still the most dinamic place to live, in my mind. You just don’t get the obvious seasons anywhere else that I have seen. Yah, winter may be 6 or 7 months long some years but when Spring comes it goes from grey and white to green and blazing flowers. You really can’t beat it!

So, here we are almost into June and I am itching to get my boat out and see some new areas. My friend joked yesterday saying that this weather is nothing for a professional captain (if you don’t know I have my 100 ton masters). I responded, “that is why the boat is called a pleasure craft.” Not much pleasure in 50 degree water in the face and 40-50 degree temperatures cruising in a boat.

Memorial Day is really the start of the boating, camping, and tourism season. Hopefully everyone will find time to venture to the UP and see the beautiful lands up here. Mackinac Island is a wonderful spot in the world too and it is a great day trip or a vacation location. Don’t forget about the Les Cheneaux and Drummond Island where there are fantastic views and opportunities for kayaking, camping, boating, and more.

If you like hiking, the North Country Trail is fantastic! You will get on a trail and, most likely, not see another soul. How cool is that. Talk about solitude and natural beauty. The North Country Trail can be accessed from numerous locations along roads for easy on and offs for short hikes too.

Last but not least, try exploring the Great Lakes. In the UP you can see Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron all in one day if you wish. I live 30 minutes from each of them. It is tough to pick a favorite because they all have their own special qualities. Get out and explore the Upper Michigan Great Lakes and you may find yourself staying for the rest of your lives.

Come and visit my photography site at Paul Retherford Photography, LLC, www.paulretherford.com.

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Jessica and Andrew are Married! Wabasis Lake Wedding at Wabasis Park

May 19, 2009

Michigan Outdoor Wedding at Wabasis Lake ~ Destination Michigan Weddings

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful…everthing about Jessica and Andrew’s day was just picture perfect.

beatiful bride and handsome groom in outdoor michigan wedding

Andrew was born in Uganda and Jessica in Alberta, Canada. The parents of Jessica joked that the Wedding was halfway in between.:-)

handsome groom with colorful boutinerre and bouquet in hand

Wabasis Lake and Park was the Wedding couples first choice for a ceremony site and they were able to secure the location after initially being booked. It was such a fantastic Michigan location with lots of locations for fantastic images. We had a couple hours to do a nice selection of images in the woods, on the beach, at the wedding location in the old growth trees, and in the shelterhouse.

have some fun at your wedding with paul retherford photography, llc

family wedding images in a candid way

wedding fashion photography by paul retherford

have fun at your wedding with paul retherford, simply fabulous images

Michigan Outdoor Weddings at Wabasis Lake and Park ~ Paul Retherford Wedding Photography

infrared photo at wedding event by paul retherford photography, llc

photography with flair by michigan wedding photographer

nature portrait of bride full length image at wedding

unique wedding imagery by paul retherford infrared wedding photo

capture fun images at you wedding with paul retherford michigan photo

Michigan Wedding Photographer traveling for destination Weddings around the World

fabulous wedding photo infrared of bride and groom ~ fun and unique

Just Married!

A few more fun Wedding images from Wabasis Lake and Park Wedding in South Michigan

bride and bridesmaids holding the groom

first kiss!

love

dancing at wabasis lake shelterhouse

Congratulations Jessica and Andrew!!! You guys are awesome. I hope that I captured your memories perfectly.

Check out this Wedding Slide Show with more images from the Wabasis Lake Destination Wedding

Paul Retherford Wedding Photography and Destination Weddings

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Review of our week in Key West, Florida

May 14, 2009

Key West 5-year Wedding Anniversary Vacation

What a week in the Florida Keys and Key West. The weather was 85-92 degrees and sunny everyday and 75-80 at night. It was a perfect time to be in Key West!

We flew from Detroit, Michigan after staying the night at the Marriot and doing the park and fly package. Most of the local hotels have the same deal. We had my inlaws with us so we decided to book a nice place with comfortable beds. It worked out perfect for all of us. The park and fly was smooth and easy to navigate to the areas we needed.

Miami Airport is nothing less than gross. It really needs some rebuilding and it smells like mildew. I have always found it difficult to fly through Miami. I personally prefer Fort Lauderdale but for the price difference it was not worth it.

We flew Northwest and I am not really sure why. I guess that they had a great deal on non stop flights. Other lines we had to make a stop. I personally suggest staying away Northwest. In my numerous trips that I have taken Northwest it always seems like something is messed up. Our flight was not on time going down and on the way back they seated me and my wife in different rows??? And they wanted to charge us for sitting together??? We booked like a year ago! I was not happy, if you can’t tell. We ended up sitting together but the nerve they have… We also had to pay $15/bag check in.

The rental car through Hertz went fine. We had a Ford Focus which was comfortable. Our in laws flew and road with us to and back from Key West.

We planned on taking our time through the Florida Keys stopping along the way for key lime pie.

Here are my best of selections for the Keys, this is taking into account the 10+ times I have been to Key West.

Key Lime Pie ~ Mrs. Macs Kitchen in the south end of Key Largo is the winner. Try the Key Lime Shake too. Shortly behind is the Blond Giraffe with their key lime pie on the stick.

Seared Tuna ~ The Southernmost Cafe had Sesame seed encrusted seared Tuna that was awesome the first time I tried it and just OK the second time.

Yellowtail Snapper ~ Blue Heaven rains supreme with their delicious sauce and perfectly cooked tail.

Grouper ~ Louie’s Backyard is great for grouper and Blue Heaven is awesome too.

Oysters and Clams ~ Jack’s Seafood under or hotel the Crown Plaza La Concha is fantastic.

Conch fritters ~ Lorelei in Islamorada keeps the crown on this. I tried to find better but still the combination of their sauce and the fritters is awesome. Hog Heaven is a close second too.

Mojito ~ Louie’s Backyard and Blue Heaven get a tie for this.

Coolest bar in Key West ~ tie between Schooner Wharf and Green Parrot ~ Schooner has the water and Parrot has the attitude

Best place to watch sunset in Key West ~ hands down the top of the Crown Plaza La Concha

Must have drinks in Key West ~ Pirate’s Punch at Capt Tony’s and Hogarita at Hogs Heaven

Best Lunch in Key West ~ Hogfish Bar and Grill on Stock Island for their Killer Hogfish Sandwich. I hear dinner is fabulous too.

Best breakfast in Key West ~ croissants de France and Camille’s are awesome

Best Snorkeling ~ Looe Key Dive Resort at Mile Marker 27.5 is by far the best snorkeling reef and boat.

Best Beach ~ Fort Zachary State Park is, no contest.

Cuban Sandwich in Key West ~ there is a little store on South Street bad a grocery store that is fantastic, can’t remember the name.

Great Art ~ Check out the Kennedy Gallery along the Key West Bight near Turle Kraals. By the way, Turtle Kraals smoked beef is fantastic!

Places to stay clear of in Key West ~

Conch Republic Seafood Company has great food but the prices are ridiculous and the atmosphere is terrible, stuffy, and just not the Key West relaxing. The t-shirt shops on Duval can go, bring them back for spring break.

Try to venture off of Duval and see the shops and galleries off of Duval. Usually you will find better prices and more unique items too.

We stayed at the Crown Plaza La Concha. This was our first resort place in Key West that we tried and it was because of the location at 420 Duval. We loved the location but missed the bed and breakfast atmosphere. The pool was OK and the rooftop view was the best. Our room was small and old. The room looked like it should be in New Orleans. Duval was VERY noisy too in the morning with street cleaning, blowing garbage, empting garbage, and a few drunk yells. I would suggest a room in the rear if staying there. The staff kindly brought a free refrigerator to our room for our stay. They normally charge $25/night. Overall I would give the Crown Plaza a 7 out of 10. When we come back we will be in a bed and breakfast or a house.

We did a lot of walking and relaxing during the trip. Plans were to do more trips but, in the end, just chilling was what we decided. It was a perfect and relaxing trip. We plan on returning sometime down the road. Hopefully Key West doesn’t change too much. They could afford closing a few dozen t-shirt shops though.:-)

Review of Key West and the Florida Keys

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