Grafton Family Fun

We were due for a family fun day.  We haven't been doing much lately and didn't do a whole lot this summer.  It has been a while since we have spent money on doing something fun.  We did a lot of dog sitting this past summer.  We decided the money we earn from that will go into our family fun budget.  We talked about it and decided to spend some of the money and do something fun together.  Fall is here and the leaves are starting to change colors.  The weather was perfect Saturday and we have always wanted to ride the ferry to Grafton Illinois.  I can't ever remember riding a ferry.  The kids thought it was so fun!  We drove the van right onto the ferry and then we were able to get out of the car and look around.  We decided to grab some lunch and decided on a pub with some good burgers and sandwiches.  We were able to enjoy our lunch on the deck that overlooked the river.  We haven't been out to eat as a family in many many months.  It was nice and the food was so yummy.  After lunch we went down to see the lighthouse and look at the river.  We then rode the Grafton Sky tour, it is like a ski lift.  It takes you to the top of the hill where there is a winery and a pretty view.  We got off and walked around for a little bit. The winery was busy but it was a fun atmosphere with live music.  The ride down on the lift was my favorite.  You could over look the river and see lots of fall colors starting to peak through.  I have been wanting to ride the sky tour for a while.  Riding the ski lift at Sundance was one of our favorite fall activities when we lived in Provo.  It reminded me of that and all the fun times we did that.  After our sky tour we headed to Pere Marquette state park.  It has been so many years since I have been there.  I actually don't even remember any hiking there.  We stopped at the visitor center for a map and a recommendation on which hike to do.  She highlighted some trails that would be about a 2 mile hike.  We put a blanket down and had a little snack before we started out hike.  The trail was a beautiful trail and the colors and landscape were so pretty.  It was hot and we were all very hot and sweaty on our hike.  The kids liked climbing on as many rock formations we would let them.  We got to the top and the views were so pretty!  We would love to go back and do some more exploring and hiking there.  We rode the ferry back over the river after leaving the park.  We had to wait in a pretty long line to ride back over.  Grafton was busy on this beautiful fall Saturday.  By time we got close to home it was getting late and we were all really hungry.  We ordered some Dominoes pizza to pick up on our way home.  We made some brownies to have with ice cream and enjoyed relaxing and watching "Hocus Pocus" together.  It was the perfect day!  A much needed break from life and a great change of pace.  It is fun to have a family to do fun things with.  We all enjoyed getting out and spending time together.