My Summer Vacation 2013

Summer
Bike rides through the green forests
Splashing in the cool river water
Touching icky sticky moss to
Climbing burning churning dunes...
Hello Summer!

Can you imagine walking on a beach filled with small, smooth gravel offering a free bad foot massage the whole time you were there? 

Small, big, and huge rocks, thrashing waves, a gravely beach and nature trails. That is Zion beach in Illinois. There were so many beautiful rocks all around, inviting us to collect them. Some of the rocks were so huge that we danced on them and jumped from one to another. "How do I skip a rock ?" was one little question that started the rock skipping contest amongst us and we spent a lot of time without realizing it. Skipping rocks isn't as easy as it looks. The rock has to be circular and light, it has to be thrown at a perfect angle, and  with good hand coordination, you could skip rocks. Next to collecting rocks, I loved making a sand castle with my family. Our castle had a parking lot with car and was decorated with black, shiny, polished rocks and gravel. At first I thought the nature walk would be boring, but to my surprise, it was wonderful. There were lots of birds to see but my favorite was the blue wood pecker pecking on a tree.

Hey Ho and Away we go to Mackinac Islands with friends.

It was a long road trip to Mackinac Islands. We took a break at Sleeping bear dunes. Me and my friends had a blast wading in water and collecting rocks with marvelous patterns. The water was cool, nice and clear. It was perfect for hot July day. After our dip, we decided to climb the dunes. Unfortunately,  the sand was so hot that it literally burnt my foot off but still I managed to climb with a few stops. Running down the dunes uncontrollably was the reward for my terrible hike up the dunes. 

Cherry picking was next on our list. Ripe, Red, juicy, delicious cherries were everywhere in the orchard. We picked up bucket loads of cherries and devoured them all.

Before exploring Mackinac island, we stopped at pictured rocks and took a ship wreck cruise to see the ship wrecks and rock formations. The boat had a glass bottom through which we could see the ship wrecks bit by bit.
 Finally, we got on the island by ferry.
Did you know that there are no cars allowed on the island? The only ways to get around is to walk, bike or ride on horse carriage. My favorite activity was to bike the circumference of Mackinac island which was 8 miles and horse carriage tour.
 Before saying goodbye to this beautiful island, we went zip lining and to my surprise it wasn't scary at all.


A rickety bridge, a steep canyon with water pouring off the sides, many waterfalls, huge green trees swaying in the wind and slippery paths. Oh what a great park! My favorite activity at the Mathessian state park was hiking up the canyon, sliding down the water slides. Jumping of a log and falling right into a mud puddle and being laughed at was the last thing I wanted to do. But, after a few more jumps, I started to like it. Getting wet under a waterfall was as fun as swimming in a pool filled with your favorite sea creatures.

My summer vacation wasn't just visiting places. It was also spending time with family and friends. I spent some good time with my grandma making crafts like lotuses made out of spoons and rangoli, celebrating festivals and eating yummy food.
My summer holidays was such a blast!!!!