Our first Michigan vacation

Last week Pete had the whole week off! Heaven!!! And of course it went by WAY too fast. The first few days we stuck around home, catching up on things, dentist appts, doctor appts, errands, boring stuff that just has to be done. Then from Wednesday to Saturday we set out to explore this beautiful state... and boy is it beautiful! We went up to the northwest tip to Traverse City, Leelanau Sate Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes. Farm country, cute little towns, beaches, lighthouses, lake after lake, forest, rivers, beautiful sun sets, we saw it all! The original plan was to camp the three nights we were up there, but after looking at the weather the night before we frantically searched for another option. Rain, wind, and temperatures down into the 30's at night didn't sound like very fun camping conditions, especially with the kiddos! So we ended up staying at a motel in Traverse City the first night, then rented a mini-cabin at the campground up in Leelanau State Park the second two nights. There are campgrounds all over the state that have these mini-cabins, and you can better believe we will be doing that again! Only $20 more a night than camping, but you get a couple bunk beds, heat, a small fridge and a microwave and still have a fire pit, grill and picnic table right outside your door. It was the perfect solution for camping in cold fall weather. Here are pictures from the trip (lots of them!)

First stop: Traverse City. A really cute little town right on the water, with fun shopping, great wine (so we here), food and cherry orchards. After sleeping at the motel and taking a quick soak in the hot tub that morning, we headed into town to window shop and bought some pastries to try along the way. It was rainy and windy one minute and then warm and sunny the next. Typical Michigan weather.



Then it was off to Sleeping Bear Dunes! This was our first peak at the dunes and Lake Michigan from one of the stops off the scenic loop.







The Sand Dune Climb. A gigantic hill of sand. The kids climbed up, rolled down, made sand angels, and climbed up again.





Our cute little cabin.

For our first camping breakfast we went gourmet: German pancakes in the dutch oven. SO good! A repeat for sure.

You know it's going to be good when the pancakes are exploding out of the pot.


Is this not the most delicious thing you have ever seen?! Too bad we had to share it with the kids :)

This was probably the highlight of the trip for me: a 1 mile hike through the forest, ending at the beach. I felt right at home, thinking we were on a beautiful hike in the mountains, but instead of hiking to some peak, we hiked to the beach. The winds had died down and the sun even peaked through the clouds. And Joe surprised us all by hiking all the way there! Not having to carry anyone just topped it all off for me.




The end of the trail finally turned from forest to beach... a welcome sight to all!












Pete took John and Dan to a park and to see the boats in a small town we passed through while Joe and I took a power nap in the car. A trip with young kids is so much fun, but boy is it exhausting!


Dan shows how to NOT roast a hot dog... 2 feet away from the fire... that might take a little while.

The sunset from the lighthouse at Leelanau State Park... we were maybe about 10 minutes too late :( Missed the best part, but it was still beautiful.




Saturday morning we all packed into our kayak and took a ride down the Platte River. A gentle, shallow river, perfect for the little guys.

John took the front, Joe between my legs, Dan behind me, and Pete bringing up the rear. We actually fit quite nicely!




We finally came to the end of the river where it runs into Lake Michigan. Beautiful sandy beaches. Unfortunately it was a little cold and windy, so we didn't spend much time there.


The trip ended of course with wrestling on the grass. Some things even vacations don't change.