It’s mid-March in Michigan, the sun is out and it’s about 50 degrees out side. Which one of these things do you think you will see?
A. A man in a speedo swimming in Lake Michigan
B. A woman in snowpants walking her dog along the beach
C. A convertable car with the top down
D. People downhill skiing
E. People golfing
F. All of the above
If you answered F you are correct! It should also be noted that speedo guy and snow pants girl were at the same beach.
Tonight I am packing because as soon as I get home from work tomorrow we are hitting the road again!
Taking advantage of the long weekend we are heading South to see our Ohio family. Even though we just saw the Bro and Niners, I am so excited to see them again!
Of course this also means no blogging for a few days.
I hope you enjoy your labor day by having to do no labor!
I know I will.
While we were getting around to head up to TQ Falls a “genuine yooper” stopped by to sell us some fire wood.
We know he was a genuine yooper because he told us about 3 times.
After we bought way more wood than we could possibly burn, he wanted to tell us a story or two or five.
He kept saying “well I’ll let you go, but I could tell you stories…well, just one more…”
His stories were genuine yooper stories alright, which means they were about 1/10 true.
He has a soona (or sauna to those of us who are not genuine yoopers) where he sits and drinks beer (sounds dangerous).
Hubs made his day by giving him our empty pop cans.
“When you’re a yooper, you take what you can get.”
Or so I’m told.
Hubs reminded me that after TQ Falls we actually headed up to Whitefish Point before going back to camp.
So many adventures I forgot where we were! I believe they also wanted to charge us like $10 to visit the Shipwreck Museum.
Honestly, how do you travel with a family?
Considering the museum looked smaller than my house, we decided it did not appear to be worth the asking price.
Besides the fact the the coolest thing was probably a giant 2 story rudder that was outside and we could see for free.
We stuck our toes and fingers in Lake Superior (that’s about all you can stand-brrrrr!) and checked out the drift wood and stones.
They have the best stones up there. They are so smooth from being in the water and and awesome colors.
We are back from all our adventures. Back at work today (blech) and trying to catch up on laundry (never going to get done).
We had good weather for the most part. Sunday when we arrived at camp on Lake Michigan it was a little chilly. That night was cold sleeping. We were all bundled up in hats and sweatshirts inside our sleeping bags.
Monday morning we dressed in jeans since we had been so cold the night before and we were heading further North to Tahquamenon Falls. Once we arrived, it was decidedly warmer and we changed into shorts and t-shirts after our picnic lunch in the parking lot.
The falls were crazy fast and areas that had been dry before were now wet. I guess that is what 17 feet of snow will do for you. Hubs rowed (and I use that term loosely) over to the island walked all the way around. J-rod rowed (again subject to interpretation) us back. We checked everything out including going up and down like 200 steps (not an exaggeration).
Totally wiped out we headed back to camp where it had warmed up and sleeping was perfect (temperature wise). We took a quick “bath” in the lake (Brrrrr!) after dinner.
Up early we headed off to the Island. It looked like a storm was brewing and the lake was very choppy at camp. We decided to just have granola bars to avoid any mishaps on the boat (if you get my drift). We also dressed in jeans and long sleeve shirts.
However, since we live in Michigan, weather can be different five minutes away and the lake was totally calm on the other side of the bridge.
Before biking around the Island we fueled up on some eggs and toast at a breakfast joint on the main drag. Then we hit a T-shirt Shop and probably annoyed the clerk with our sillyness. They only had swim shorts for the boys, which we decided were better than no shorts at all. I bought a Mackinaw Island t-shirt. They only had one kind of shorts appropriate for girls (although I think they were boys) and they were the ugliest shorts ever created.
So N and I both bought a pair. We looked like twin softball coaches.
Now that we were dressed to a T, we went on our island adventures, which involved spending $10 on each activity. I think because you are trapped on the island, they figure they can gouge you for everything.
Even the map cost $1.
We spent the whole day there and had a ton of fun. Just as we were getting ready to call it a day it started to rain. Perfect timing!
After dinner we headed towards Sleeping Bear. We decided we could not make it all the way before dark and found a campground in Charlevoix. It was right on the lake and was really cool (despite driving past a cement factory to get there). It was cold on the lake side, so we stayed in the woods. Had it been warmer and had there been more time I would have loved to hang out there.
We had to set up in a little rain, but it stopped about bedtime. It was warm enough that I slept outside my sleeping bag most the night.
We packed up early and headed to the Dunes. My MIL says that Mackinac Island is her Mecca. I would say Sleeping Bear is mine. I absolutely love it there. We were tired and J & N wanted to get back home, so we didn’t stay long. We were able to show them our new favorite spot, Pyramid Point, which you have to see with your own eyes. Pictures just don’t do it justice.
I was glad to home (and shower!) but also a little sad to leave. It is so relaxing up there.
We made it back from our supposed back country camping trip. Unfortunately, the back country sites were full, so we had to take a regular tent site. There were only a couple of those left too. Apparently everyone decided it was a nice weekend to camp.
We had to wait for people to exit our site, so we hung out at lake then for a while, then we took a a beach tour with a park ranger to learn about dune plants. Then we went to the maritime museum and learned about the early coast guard.
I never get tired of that lake. We just call it the big lake in these parts. We have discussed living other places throughout the course of our marriage, but I’m not sure if I could ever leave that lake.
After we set up our tent, we decided that the back country food was lame when your car is right there. With rain clouds looming, we headed into town and got pizza.
It started to rain pretty steady, so we decided to take a drive instead of playing cards back at the tent.
Best decision ever. We found a bunch of new advenures and trails. We came across a trail called Pyramid Point. It was quite a hike up, but what a view when we got there!
We stopped in Glen Arbor for ice cream and that is a really neat area too.
Pics coming soon
Even though it was not the trip we had planned, we had a lot of fun, a lot of relaxing, and new adventures.
We are back from our long weekend in Ohio. Craziest thing happened while we were gone-Summer Arrived!
Everything is all leafed out and stuff is blooming, the kitty is shedding like crazy…AND it’s warm! Yeah!
We had a good time in Ohio. Even though it is only 6 hours away it was Hot there and they have strawberries already.
The highlight (that may not be the right term) was a trip to Louisville with the Bro in Law. We had originally planned on spending the day with him and his girl, but she was really sick. Since we are such caring people, we went on with out her to the Louisville Slugger factory tour.
Louisville is about 2 hours away. Except that day. There was an accident on the highway and we were 1 hour parked, car turned off ,on the highway. Due to the delay, we only had 48 minutes at the factory before they closed. It was barely enough time for the tour and the museum. Then we hopped back in the car and headed back so we could at least all have dinner together.
So if you do that math, we spent 5 hours on the road for a 48 minute adventure. But it was cool and we got a story out of it! I told the boys, the point was to spend the day together, and we did. In the car.
Other than that we had big fun just hanging out, relaxing, and helping the Bro in Law get settled into his new apartment. We got to meet Marvin’s cousin Oscar who is BIG! If kitties grow into their feet like puppies, he is going to be the size of a puppy!
Back to the old grindstone tomorrow, but at least it will be a short week.
We made it back safe and sound from out trip to Ohio. We had clear roads all the way there and all the way back (well almost).
It was a pretty low key trip. We exchanged gifts with the in-laws, and gave the kids their presents. New Years we had a nice dinner with everyone and got to meet the Brother’s girlfriend. She is very nice and like her a lot.
We also played a rousing game of Settlers of Catan , our gift to the Nephew. It was a lot of fun, and I’m not just saying that because I won.
The rest of the weekend was a mix of helping with some projects around the house and reading, talking, and relaxing. We got them hooked up with a new ceiling fan, new valances, and lot of plans for the future. We already have our next long weekend planned for more projects.
They may not invite us over anymore.
Today we went to church and got to see the Brother play guitar in the praise band, which was awesome. After church we all had lunch together before heading back to Michigan.
It was so good to see everyone. And I really enjoy going to church and seeing all the great things going on there.
Now I am exhausted and facing an entire 5 day work week, which I have not seen too much of lately.
Overnight we got what can only be described as an insane amount of snow. Unfortunately it was still snowing while I went to work and continued for several hours after I got there.
It was a mess.
They don’t really plow our road out here in the woods. Although, they didn’t plow our road much in town either. Not sure why we keep living on roads that don’t get plowed. However, our road now, being dirt and all hilly, is much more treacherous (sometimes even in good weather).
The old Souped up Roo busted out here like it was nobody’s business and got me to work on time (and by on time I mean 15 minutes late).
It stopped snowing around 2 pm, so by the time I had to drive home the main roads were pretty clear. Our road, not so much.
It took a couple of tries to actually get my car onto our road (something about turning into a hill, just doesn’t work out in winter conditions). Once I was able to get going however, I just plowed through. The snow pulled me around some, but I never felt out of control.
I do love that car. My mind is boggled as to why there are not more all wheel drive cars sold in Michigan. I mean, we have winter like 11 months out of the year. It’s totally worth it (kind of the opposite of swimming pools).
We are back from our 11 year honeymoon and it was fabulous. I don’t think we have had as good of weather since, well, 11 years ago when we got married! Hubs will have pics over at Stonewerks.
We went up by Grayling (Roscommon to be exact) to kayak down the South Branch of the Au Sable river. I had read that the South Branch is much nicer than the main branch. Having never done the main branch, I can’t say for sure, but the South Branch was awesome. There are very few houses so it is mostly undeveloped forest. It was so beautiful! It is a lot of pines, so there was not a lot of color on the river, but it was still gorgeous.
I had also read that the South Branch does not have as many people on it (judging from the fact that there are 3 canoe liveries, vs about a dozen on the main branch, I believe that to be true). There were a handful of other people in canoes (One guy and his son were duck hunting from their canoe. They got 2 ducks.) and a few fisherman (One guy was not wearing waders. He is either really tough or crazy, that water was cold!), so for the most part it was like we had the whole river to ourselves. It was so serene and peaceful.
We did the 4 1/2 hour trips since we did not have anything else planned. We packed some snacks to have a long the way. Once we got off the river we were pretty tired and hungry. After a quick clean up at the motel we headed up to Gaylord for dinner.
Actually we went into Roscommon first, but the grill closed at 5 at pretty much the only restaurant in town and they looked at us like we were crazy when we walked in. I think I heard banjo music playing softly in the background, if you get my drift.
Anyway, up in Gaylord we went to a place called Gobblers, that serves, what else, Turkey Dinners! So we had a little Thanksgiving feast, which is exactly what we needed after being on the river all day. Hubs noted when were done, that we had not only eaten in record time, but also ceased all conversation. Guess we were a little hungry.
The hotel we stayed at was just an old little roadside motel. The guy that owns the place was really nice and they have a fire pit and picnic area with gas and charcoal grills for you to use. It was slightly dumpier than we normally stay at, but it seemed just right for this adventure.
Before heading back home we went up to the Hartwick Pines Forest. We spent a little longer there than we thought but it was really pretty and also interesting. They had these different stopping points with numbers that matched up to your brochure and it would tell you about the trees or the animals. Inside they had a display with different birds that live there. You could push buttons to listen to them. We recognized some of the calls from our own yard, so now we know who lives in our woods!
At different points along the trail the wind would pick up just right and the leaves from the birch and maple trees would flutter down like confetti. It was awesome.
We stopped in Cadillac for lunch at a deli that has kind of become our Up North trip tradition. And now we are home. I definitely want to go back. It’s close enough that we could just go up on a nice weekend. They also have a 2 day kayak trip with a campground in the middle. I thought that sounded like a lot of fun.
Oh I almost forgot! Saturday night we went to our friends who live about an hour away for a bonfire. It seems like that was a week ago! Isn’t funny how you can be gone for just a couple days and it seems like forever?
Here’s to a perfect autumn weekend in Northern Michigan!
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