We just returned from our summer family vacation.
Since we spent a week in a little slice of heaven (also known as Pure Michigan), it's been a bit hard to adjust. Enjoyed editing and reviewing all the pics we took though, and now it's fun to share them with you.
We started off with a VERY FULL CAR and the obligatory pre-takeoff kids in front of the van and family selfie in the van pics
The kids did very well for the road trip, thanks to many many snacks, activities, books, dollar store purchases, a couple videos and this handy-dandy car tray.
7 hours and only ONE stop later, we arrived at our destination.
Charlevoix, Michigan. Or the tip of the ring finger on the Michigan glove-map demo.
We were the first in our family to arrive (how did we, the only ones with kids, make it first?!) and like giddy school children (all four of us), excitedly explored every nook and cranny of our vacation rental cottage.
We stepped back into time...enter the 1970's, enter no wi-fi or cell reception, a TV that can't hang on the wall, carpeting so thick you could get lost in it, orange plaid wall paper, the list goes on, and I loved every bit of it. From the brown and orange shag carpeting to the yellow kitchen counter tops and orange plaid wall paper
all the personal, homey details like aged family photos in the bookcase, the vintage rolling pin and well-loved packet of favorite family recipes in the drawer, a 50 yr old blender (why did I not photograph the blender?!) and old wood stove in the kitchen, the piles of lovingly collected beach rocks and Petoskey stones, the James Herriot books on the bookshelf, this place truly felt like home.
Not home because I grew up in the 1970's (I didn't, ok?), but maybe home because we grew up vacationing in a similar rustic old cottage in Door County, and this reminded me of those good old days. I don't need granite countertops and black leather couches on my vacation, and I actually LOVED being so disconnected from my busy life.
Of course the best part was the incredible lake views from all windows and the deck, which actually had a birch tree growing right through it!
The incredible acres of rolling dunes surrounding the house made for a great area to explore and take pictures, and the sunsets, oh the sunsets.
I'm sure you're beginning to grasp why we were so depressed to leave (well some in our party may have been eager to get back to their fiances, and others may have been anxious to return to their jobs) and I felt I could have easily spent a month there.
It was a perfect week. We were blessed with incredibly perfect weather every single day.
Beach bonfires and s'mores at night. BBQ feasts and spontaneous dance parties on the deck.
(C'mon though, those dance moves!)
Games and puzzles, relaxed breakfasts, morning cuddles, post-beach bathed babies, sunset beach yoga sessions, paddling boats, riding bikes, discovering nature...
Crashing waves at breakfast, Mojitos, excellent drinks enjoyed on the beach or our excellent deck, trips to quaint towns for crepes and coffee...these were a few of my favorite things.
The boys...were a handful at times, but also did pretty well, as they are approaching ages 3 and 5, it gets a little easier as the months progress...I guess :) It was nice though, to be able to spend time with them without any to-do lists or distractions.
(
He managed to find a cache of tools somewhere, of course)
One evening we went into town for a concert by the bay. It was a lovely evening, and everyone had to pose by the bay for pictures, some more reluctant and some more eager (or hammy) than others
K and I separated from the group to do some kid-friendly activities one morning (coffee shops and antique stores plus 2 and 4 yr old boys do not mix well). A trip to Pirates Cove fit the bill, and it was all they talked about for the rest of the week.
Another day we all took a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes, which, according to the Traverse City Visitors Bureau, is a "
breathtaking symphony of water, sky and towering sand dunes on the Lake Michigan shoreline."
We all made it to the top (well everyone except the other half of my little family, and they made it 96% of the way :)
The views here were absolutely outstanding...I highly recommend stopping here if you are ever in that corner of the glove.
Yep, this vacation included lots of relaxing, but also adventures. A few of us went on a ziplining and canopy tour in the trees of northern Michigan. We first got suited up in our gear (after signing our lives away in a waiver of course)
Then boarded some sort of off-road vehicle for the bumpy ascent
We went down nine different lines and climbed across 3 sky bridges. I was thankful that we were attached to cables the whole time, because it was quite high, albeit gorgeous and so peaceful up in the trees.
This was most definitely a vacation to remember, and we are so thankful that we had the resources with which to book it and the family with which to share it!
(Photo cred: My mom)
