Antique Tractor Mackinac Bridge Crossing

History on the Mighty Mac!

On Friday, September 12, 2008, history was made on the Mackinac Bridge. With hundreds of spectators in Mackinaw City and St. Ignac cheering and waving, 650 antique tractors made an inaugural journey across the Mighty Mac! Drivers came from all over, some from as far as Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin; and Larry was one of the drivers!!!

Tractors had to be 1962 and before and be able to travel at 10 mph. Larry's tractor is a 1953 John Deere 60 that his father bought new the year after he was born. This tractor is the one he drove as a young boy on the family farm.

After four months of intense work, the tractor was taken apart, repaired, painted and to get ready for the Bridge Crossing.

The entire route was 20 miles and ended at Kewadin Cassino where all of the tractors were on display through Sunday. Every tractor driver smiled continously! Larry really enjoyed looking around as he crossed the Bridge. The tractors were going slow enough and everyone was able to look around and enjoy the scenery!

Our New Zealand Trip!

We traveled through New Zealand from north to south by bus, crossed from the north island to the south island by ferry and travelled from east to west across the Southern Alps by train. We spent 5 days with Vicky in the Queenstown area. She rented a car and we cruised Melford Sound, travelled to Paradise, visited Mount Tarn from Lord of the Rings and thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Zealand.

Barb, Vicky & Larry

Glenorchy,

New Zealand

We took a cruise through Milford Sound. This company's boat is one of the smaller boats who take people through the Sound, and this boat goes out into Tasmin Sea. Milford Sound is part of the rainforest and sunny days are few and far between. All of the local people say that it is most beautiful in the rain.

Beautiful scenery and hundreds of waterfalls.

It was a "trip of a lifetime!"

New Zealand Vacation

When our daughter, Vicky, decided to spend 7 months in New Zealand, we began thinking about what a wonderful opportunity it would be for us to visit her in the fall!

We will leave from Grand Rapids, fly to Chicago and then Los Angeles where we will board Qantus Airlines for a 13 hour flight to arrive two days later in Auckland, New Zealand.

We will follow a very loose itinerary and see as much of the country as possible. We want to leave ourselves open to experiences recommended by other travelers and local New Zealanders. Our general itinerary will be as follows:

1 - Arrive in Auckland. Travel by bus around the North Island seeing volcanos, sulfer springs and more to Wellington.
2 - Take the ferry from the North Island to the South Island (Wellington to Picton).
3 - Take a bus to Christchurch.
4 - Ride the TransAlpine Train from Christchurch across New Zealand to Greymouth. Travel by bus to Queenstown
5 - Arrive in Queenstown to spend 5 days with Vicky. We will visit Mt. Milford Sound, watch Vicky bungy jump and see the sights around Queenstown.
- Fly from Queenstown to Auckland.
- Leave New Zealand :(