Michigan Vacation :: 7.28.23

Our last "official day" in Michigan started off with a low key morning at the cottage, an early lunch and then we headed north to do some cherry picking.  We researched a few of the options but landed at Hallstedt's Homestead near Northport, Michigan.

Ivy looked adorable in that red backpack with the red cherries holding the red bucket.  She prefers to be close to her Daddy.   

We were in the grove in the heat of the afternoon (maybe not the best planning on our part), the kids were hot and grumpy, Greta was nervous about the dog and Ivy didn't want to wear her shoes.  This was not our finest moment, yet we picked 8 pounds of cherries to take home.  

The tart trees were SO THICK, just bursting with cherries.  

Does she look like a Michigander?  

Then we headed towards the Fish Town of Leland.  It will be remembered as both a cute and unique destination, yet a place where the kids were grumpy (too much vacation I suppose).  

Roy ordered a fish sandwich so I had to document the event.  He tells me "I only order fish when it's fresh" so I encouraged him to prove it.   

We ate lunch at a place called "The Cove" and it was decorated with anything and everything fishing.  It was very eclectic and creative.  

Filling our bellies made everyone happier.  

We did some shopping/browsing and then grabbed our last ice cream of the trip.  Greta was thrilled to get a waffle cone and had been waiting for this moment.  

She is even sweeter than that cup of ice cream.  

We are always on the look out for a playground so this girl can move.  

We spent our last evening hanging out by the river and enjoying a s'mores.  

 

Michigan Vacation :: 7.27.23

On Thursday, Day 6 of our trip, we headed for The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Empire, Michigan.  It was a full day of beauty, adventure and sun.  

Our first stop was the Lake Michigan Overlook.  Our pictures don't provide an accurate reflection of its grandness.  It's a GIANT sand slide and as you walk further down it eventually does a dramatic drop straight down to the water.  The skies were overcast that morning, which didn't provide much of a view, which was disappointing.    

Consider yourself warned... $3000 to be rescued!  

We stayed near the top!  Getting down the dune would definitely be the easy part.  

I refer to this place as "God's Sandbox," a huge natural beauty.  

Ivy loved the sand!  No surprise there!  

Picnic spot #4

Chips, a soda and cherries = picnic treats 

After lunch we hit another pile of sand and did some hiking.  

This stretch was in the heat of the afternoon and we found out about 1 hour in that it was a 2.8 mile hike (before you reached the water) and we were at .8 miles, which we certainly weren't up for.  More informative signage would have been helpful.  Ha!  

Trying to maintain some enthusiasm to keep walking in search of a beautiful spot. 

Our ending spot where we decided to turn around.  

I want to remember how Hudson conquered these dunes.  He had the easiest time climbing them and trekking in all that sand.  All of those swim practices clearly paid off!  He had fun making designs in the sand while the rest of us caught up to him.  

This was near the end of our hike, back at mile marker 0.  

We cooled off with some swimming in Lake Michigan.  We found a spot and landed for about 2 hours.  The kids would have stayed longer.  The water was cold but clear, relaxing and refreshing.  This time spent in the water was a highlight of the trip for our kids.  

A popular thing to do in Michigan is to look for petoskey stones, which is a a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized rugose coral, hexagonal in shape.  We didn't find one (but Hudson bought one as a souvenir) yet the boys still had fun searching for them.  

Crazy girl!  

So very thankful for the extra time with my favorite guy.  

Hudson - 12.5

Greta - 8.5

Ivy - 3.5 

Even though we were tired and ready to head back to the cottage, the skies had cleared off and the sun was going down so we made the extra miles back towards the Lake Michigan Overlook, hoping for a better view.  We were not disappointed this time!  

Perfection!  

So thankful for this day, the beauty of this place, the blessing of being away together and this family God has given us.  

 

Michigan Vacation :: 7.26.23

After 3 days of traveling and exploring Wednesday was our "hang out and relax" day at the cabin.  My mom found us this cute and secluded cabin near Traverse City and it worked out so well for our family.  We watched a show, played games, tried to catch some fish, spent time in the water (river), read our books, etc.  

The current was strong and the water was very cold.  

Greta got in, but wasn't thrilled with the idea.    

I told Hudson he was a river rat floating in the tube.  The current was strong so you needed to stay attached to the dock with a rope.  

After an early dinner at the house we headed into town to check out the shops.  Traverse City is the Cherry Capital of the World.  

They are very proud of their state highways, specifically M22.  

Cherry Republic was a store filled with all the things CHERRY!  They had about everything you could imagine, and available to sample, made out of cherries...cherry covered raisins, cherry sangria, cherry malted milk balls, cherry salsa, cherry candy licorice nibs, cherry jams, cherry bbq sauce, cherry wine, etc.    

We promised the kids ice cream every day of the trip.  We had to try some of the Hudsonville ice cream.  

That night Ivy crashed early-ish so we played a game of Ticket to Ride with the bigs.  

I'm happy to report that I was the green train and won the game!