After 50 years of marriage, Carole and I decided to celebrate our Golden Anniversary at the same place that we went to for our honeymoon back in 1961.   I posted pictures from our trip and received many e-mails wishing us the best.  I found a few slides that I took back in 1961, so I added them to this page. All of the pictures below can be enlarged to the full resolution if you click on them.  Use your browser's back button to return to this page.  Make sure you scroll to the bottom to see our toast. Turn your speakers on to hear "Memories are Made of This" by Dean Martin.  (Sorry, the music will not play on a Mac)

Our shower with Aunt Bella on the left and Mrs. Cowley on the right	Carole and me with our moms at the shower.
Mackanic Island looked the same.	Carole was ready to roll.

Our first fight.	It ended in a cease fire.
The Grand Hotel looked the same 50 years ago	I brought my darts and dart board on our Honeymoon!
The brand new 5 mile long Mackanic Bridge is in the background.	We rented bicycles and drove the 8 miles around the Island.

We started our Anniversary Week by watching Michelle's softball team win a tournament championship in Joliet.	Michelle and three of her teammates were given special tournament awards.  Click here for more pictures here.
Our first stop was the 4 Winds Casino in New Buffalo we had lunch and Carole was winning, so we stayed over our time.	We drove through some bad weather and finally arrived in Bear Lake after 9:00 while Downers Grove was surviving a tornado.
We had a free breakfast then headed out for St Ignace.	A raccoon with a beer can always deserves a picture.
The motel owner was happy to see us since the place was empty.	We drove 338 miles the first day.
There were a lot of classic cars in Traverse City	We put in 8 gallons of gas here.
We went to the mall and got new shoes and a new phone for Carole.	We stopped here for lunch and let the storm pass.
The heavy fog made us cross the Mackinac Bridge at 20 mph	We had a beautiful view of Lake Huron from our porch
We got some free money at the Casino in St. Ignace, so we took advantage, this time I won some cash and a free jacket for Carole	The jacket came in handy when we headed for Mackinac Island.  Our calendar said it was summer, but not in the Upper Peninsula.
We bought a guide book to the Island I should read it now.	The Grand Hotel finally became visible through the fog

	Carole's Free jacket came in handy
The fog lifted enough for us to see the historic light house	Lilacs were in bloom a little later than in Illinois
We strolled around town	Bought some post cards
We had a nice lunch here	It was raining outside, so we headed over to the hotel

The Esther Williams Pool	Just a few of the thousands of geraniums that line the long porch.
We had dinner at the Jockey Club	There was an old time phone booth
We enjoyed our breakfast in the Grand Dinning Hall.	Breakfast with a view

We went to town and took a carriage tour	There were 25 people and 2 quiet dogs on our carriage
Our tour ended at the Fort Mackinac	We tried to walk back to the hotel, but Carole's knees balked

This lovely couple gave us a ride to the Grand Hotel	Their horse left us farewell gift
Back in our room, it was time to dress for dinner	We had a peeping bird on our railing
This dinning hall can seat 1000 people!	We had live music as we dined
Outdoor chess game	So many cute things to see
The Grand Hotel was like a museum	Our 3rd day on the Island, the Sun finally showed up

Before boarding the boat for St. Ignace, we paid a visit to the Murray Hotel, where we spent a night 50 years ago on our honeymoon.  We paid $7.00 for the night, we got a room with a bathroom. A room without was only $5.00
We boarded the boat and watched Mackinac Island fade away	We had clear skies on the way out
The historic 1895 Round Island Lighthouse	Our last look at the Grand Hotel
The 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge	We spent our last night in Green Bay at the Radison
We invited our family over to celebrate our 50th anniversary	We came home to see tornado damage in Downers Grove that hit on the evening that we left town.  Many homes were without power for days, We were lucky, our house never lost power.

Dan volunteered to do the cooking

Ken took some logs home with Luke's help Then he taught the kids how to push a broom. There are no air polluting blowers allowed at my house.

Click here for more information on the Grand Hotel.

Here's to 50 more great years

To E-mail the Web master, just click here! g.lopatka@comcast.net