P U R E M I C H I G A N
You know I love Michigan. And this year we took an extra long trip back to my childhood home. This is our third year doing this where Michael goes on a climbing trip (this year, he went to Mt. Baker in Washington) and I travel all over the state of Michigan with my mom and the kids.
I bit off a little more than I can chew this year, thinking we could do ALL the things. I definitely had moments of frustration, there were plenty of meltdowns, I dealt with my inevitable sinus pain, plans didn't exactly go right, nobody slept well, and it was stressful; BUT, I think memories were made and the kids had a really fun time. I was able to take them to some of my favorite places in the world and spend time with people we love. So, it all worked out.
Day 1: Travel Day and Warren Dunes
Normally, we head to St. Joseph and stay the night before continuing on. This year, we decided to do the full 6 hour drive in one day. But we stopped halfway at Warren Dunes to swim and climb the dunes. It was hot, it was sandy, and it was fun. The kids did great overall and Isla even climbed to the top of the dune!
Day 2: Frankenmuth
Day 2 was everyone up and back in the car! We headed 45 minutes north to Frankenmuth, one of my favorite places in the world. The entire town is a quaint German village with the largest Christmas store in the world, Bronners. The kids always pick out an ornament for the year (Isla- pink glass dove, Ewan- Spiderman, Eleanor- a raccoon in a snowglobe) and then we look around at all the lights. The store is 320,000 square feet, which is over 7 acres of Christmas magic.
Then we walked around the town and checked out all the shops. They have a cheese haus where we get chocolate cheese, a cherry shop where I get cherry wine, famous fudge shops everywhere where we get multiple flavors of fudge, a taffy shop where the kids picked out their own flavors, toy shops where the kids purchased something with some money that Grandma June gifted them, and so many other little shops. I especially love the River Place village with it's cobblestone streets and unique finds.
Day 3: Rest Day (Sort of)
I tried to incorporate a rest day for us, since most of the trip was so busy. We spent time playing outside, especially in the magical woods I spent my childhood in. We also visited Grandma June, ate at my favorite restaurant, and played at the park too :)
Day 4: Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad
When I was planning the trip, I thought it might be fun to visit the little historical village that I hadn't been to since I was about Isla's age. Turns out, it was a really cool place. We all enjoyed it so much and I definitely plan on going back next time we're in town. It's considered a "living history museum" where most of the buildings were actually real historical buildings from the surrounding Flint area that had been relocated to this village. There were actors and demonstrations in almost every building, which really made the village come alive. I even bought a broom that had been made right there by the craftsmen. We rode a steam train that took us around Mott Lake, enjoyed a puppet show, watched how the sawmill and cider press worked, and shopped the general store and sweet shop. Isla asked one of the actresses about her crocheting and Ewan enjoyed talking to the blacksmith. It was a lovely day.
Oh! And we rode Michigan's fastest carousel at a racing 10 mph!
Day 5: Sick Day
It just really wouldn't be a vacation if I didn't get sick :( Sort of all week, my sinuses were bothering me, but then I spent the night holding a hot compress on my face, trying not to throw up from the pain. So when we all woke up on day 5, I declared we were staying home, watching tv, and sleeping! This meant we had to change/cancel some plans, but everyone was super flexible.
Day 6: Caseville
Then it was time to boot and rally, so to say :) I really wanted to go to Caseville, so even with sinus pain we made it happen on our last day at home. Caseville is where my mom grew up in the summers. It's a sweet little beach on Lake Huron, about an hour and a half from my parent's house. So we spent the day in the sand and finished with icecream. Isla took her metal detector, which was really fun, but we didn't find anything. And then all 3 kids fell asleep on the way home, which almost never happens anymore.
So this year we swam in two Great Lakes, one on the west side and one on the east side of Michigan :)
Day 7: St. Joseph and Home
And then, finally, it was time to go home. My dad drove halfway with us where we met Michael in St. Joseph. My dad got his car back from Michael that had been left in Bloomington and we got Michael for the rest of the trip home! We missed our guy so much. It's always a really sweet reunion when we've been away from each other this long. And Michael and I realized this was the longest we've gone without talking probably our whole marriage since he had no service on the mountain.
We spent some time in St. Joseph at the splash pad and carousel before coming home.
When we got home, I immediately checked on my garden. And then immediately turned around because the weeds and harvesting that needs to happen were overwhelming. But that's what I get for leaving for a week in the summer :) We had a nice trip, but we sure are happy to be home.
Here is what Michael was off doing:
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