under the magnolia tree

After our place on Washington Island was booked all summer long, we finally had it to ourselves again.  It was SO good to be back!  We had Nani along with us which always makes it extra special.
We stopped at Wilson's in Ephraim before crossing over on the ferry.  Magnolia poses for me before we head in for burgers and milkshakes.

The house looked great.  Our renters were very gracious.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  We had no projects so we did a whole lot of playing and relaxing.

Hat throwing into the wind then running to see where they landed was a fun game!

We went to School House Beach to try and fly a kite.  It wasn't very windy and it was pretty hard to run on those rocks but we did get it in the air for a short time.

Back along our shore the water was extremely low, exposing a sand  rock bar.  It was so fun to walk out there and build rock towers.

We also got out our kyaks.  Apparently it was pretty tippy with the kids on it but I had a fun time taking one out by myself.  Much easier than a canoe in those shallow waters!

Nani built fabulous fairy gardens with Magnolia and George.

Complete with little flower bouquets, water caps as miniature swimming pools, and painted rocks.

So many of our renters raved about Sailor's Pub that we wanted to give it a try.  It had been years since we had been and were anxious to see a revised menu.  We got an early seating out on the deck overlooking the water.  The food was great!  Here are the two after dinner.

And a belly full of salad and fish, Magnolia wears my sunglasses and poses.

The fairies visited the gardens that the kids made and were so enchanted that they left silver coins, silver bells, and a silver garland that had the message "look for the Magic Tree" written on it. We had no idea what the magic tree was so we asked around town and were told to take a hike into the forest around dusk to find it and that we'll know it when we see it.

So off we went.

And then...there it was!  A tree filled with gumdrops and licorice!  

Pretty magical, I'd say!

It was a great weekend to end our summer and celebrate a successful year of renting out our home.  We are looking forward to many fall weekends up there!  If you want to see more of our trip go here:

http://washingtonislandrental.blogspot.com/