Hiking in Ludington State Park

Most of this last weekend was gorgeous, and warm weather is going to continue through most of the week. To take advantage of this, my friend, Jason, and I headed to Ludington State Park to go hiking. And hike we did, for over five hours! Now, this might not seem all that much to you, but I was quite impressed with ourselves. We also walked around the harbor and a bit by the beach.

Contemplating the trail map...

Mike and I hiked a bit in Ludington last July (see 2009 July posts) and went to the lighthouse. Jason and I took some different trails this time around.

I thought this piece of wood was twisted in an interesting way.

There was a strong breeze and good tree cover, which were most welcome given the heat.

New Facebook profile picture. Thanks, Jason! :-)

A Ludington institution: the SS Badger Lake Michigan car ferry (see http://www.ssbadger.com/home.aspx).

The harbor park had several statutes commemorating what seemed to be Ludington's more glorious past.

Mike & Heather

In March, Mike and I had our photos taken. I think they turned out pretty nicely!

Heather & Mike

As most of you probably know, I've been dating Mike for about 1-1/2 years now. We even went to France last year, when I was in Belgium doing research on the European Union. This is one of my favorite photos of him, particularly since it wasn't posed and because of the background. This was taken in Annecy, in the French Alps. We only spent one day here, but it left such a great impression on me that I'd love to spend an entire vacation there!

This photo was taken in Dijon, France, where we ran into (almost literally, it was not planned) my friend, Lyle. That was one of the most fun days and nights of the trip, because I had not spoken to Lyle for nearly two years, and here we were, having dinner and drinks in Dijon with Lyle!

Lyle and Mike seemed to get along quite well, especially when it came to making fun of me! :-)

This was at Mike's graduation in April 2008. He graduated with his MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan (brains and looks -- what a combo!), and his parents and friends from New York City even came to celebrate with him. It was a great day.

Mike's birthday was in July, and we went to The Whitney in Detroit, which is a 19th-century mansion converted into a restaurant. We ate in the library, which I thought was a perfect place for us! I asked the waiter to bring a little something when we ordered dessert, and Mike was surprised.

You can view additional photos of The Whitney at http://thewhitney.com/.

This is outside the Whitney. Now that Mike lives in Columbus, Ohio, I think it's a nice photo to have of Whit, the Tiger (of Detroit).