Pure Michigan
We arrived back in the states only to jump right into a busy schedule of visiting with family and friends, a wedding, and more traveling. We arrived late at night on Thursday, August 3rd. We got up in the morning on Friday to get our haircut (the first thing Will wanted to do when we got back). We spent the rest of the day unpacking and going out to dinner with my Grandma before sending my dad off to meet up with my brother and sister-in-law in Wisconsin.
Saturday, we attended my college friend’s wedding in East Lansing. It was nice to visit my old college campus to see how things have changed, especially with the nice summer weather and fewer students on campus. We had a great time catching up with friends.
The next morning, we woke up early since we were still recovering from our 6 hour time change, and headed home from Lansing. We got home in time to pack up the car to head out for our week long Pure Michigan tour! We were preparing to meet my dad, brother, and sister-in-law on the West side of the state where they had sailed across Lake Michigan from Racine, Wisconsin the day before. We got the car packed up and drove over to Pentwater, making sure to hit up one of the breweries in Grand Rapids. We visited The Mitten and enjoyed some good beer and pizza before completing our journey west.
We arrived in Pentwater Sunday evening and found the sailboat docked in the municipal harbor. It was a cute little town and had everything sailors could need including private bathrooms and showers, cute shops and restaurants, a grocery store, a laundromat, a filling station, etc. We walked over to check out the beach and pier and relaxed for the evening. We stayed in a hotel about five minutes away and ended up staying for two nights and hanging out on the beach a bit before heading up to Frankfort on Tuesday.
On our way to Frankfort, my mom, Will, and I stopped at the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. This was one of our Michigan bucket list items, so we made sure to climb the dunes while we were passing through. It was a great day for it since it was sunny and not too hot. After we did the dunes, we finished our trip up to Frankfort and met the other three to grill some dinner by the harbor. Frankfort was a similar cute little lake town, and we stayed there for one night in a small motel a couple blocks from the harbor.
Wednesday morning, we left the sailors at the harbor to drive up to Mackinac Island. This was our main goal of the trip and something we had been talking about doing for a few years. We were able to get a last minute room for the four of us at Mission Point Resort. We grabbed lunch before getting on the ferry over to the island. The first thing we did when we got to the island was the island loop trail on our bikes. Then we had killed enough time to go check into our room. After getting settled, we went for a quick dip in the pool and hot tub before getting ready for dinner. We rode into town to get dinner from The Village Inn. After dinner, we rode up the big hill by the Grand Hotel, checked out the old houses on the bluffs, rode through the cemeteries, found Arch Rock, and rode back to the hotel just as it was getting dark. The mini golf course was doing glow golf that evening, so we grabbed a few evening drinks at the bar and watched people play glow golf while sitting by the lake.
Thursday morning, Will and I got up early to do a morning bike around the island before the it got too busy. We were able to ride around the island without running into too many people and enjoyed the scenery of the lake and the wooded bluffs of the island. We got back a few minutes before the pool opened, so I made sure to be the first one in the pool and hot tub. I had it to myself and enjoyed the lack of screaming kids which contrasted our visit to the pool the day before. We packed up and went into town to get breakfast and fudge tastings (and some take-home fudge obviously). After getting our fill of fudge, we took the ferry back to Mackinaw City. Our next stop was to visit with my mom’s old coworker’s family in Boyne City. They moved up north about a year ago and have a house on a small lake where they entertain themselves with lots of fishing. We obviously made a trip to Red Mesa, our favorite restaurant to visit in town, which is especially tasty after a day of skiing at Boyne Mountain. We filled up a bit more than necessary and went back to the house to attempt a boat ride and campfire. Both were quickly rained out, so we sat inside to watch the storm.
Friday morning, we hung out on the lake for a little while before heading toward Traverse City to find a place to stay so we could meet Kirk and Lauren in Leland the next morning. They had stayed in Frankfort one more night and sailed to South Manitou Island and would be sailing toward Leland Saturday morning. We found a hotel on the East side of the bay that was close to a bike trail that we took downtown for dinner. We got dinner at Rare Bird Brewpub and were also able to visit Right Brain and The Workshop as well before riding home in the dark.
Saturday morning, we packed up and headed for Leland to wait for the sailors to arrive. The original plan was for my dad to join them to continue to Charlevoix that day, but they got a late start, so they decided to dock for the night and try again in the morning. We hung out in Leland for lunch, then took a quick trip to Traverse City on our way to Torch Lake where we stayed with a family friend at her cabin. We had a great dinner at the Taproot Cider House in Traverse City and arrived at the cabin where we unpacked and headed down to the dock to watch the meteor shower. We saw several shooting stars, and went to bed when we got too cold in the night air.
Sunday morning, we spent some time in beautiful Torch Lake before packing up and driving to Charlevoix. We met up with the sailors again, and got some dinner before starting our long drive downstate to get my dad back for work the following morning. We had a great week visiting so many Michigan sites, but have more on our list to see next time. We are likely going to drive through the UP on our way to Madison next time since we can take our time and visit a few more places on the way.
This week has been a little less hectic, but we still squeezed in a boat trip to Zukey Lake Tavern with some friends and a visit to another one of my mom’s old coworkers and her family.
Yesterday, we drove down to Cincinnati to keep up our busy schedule. We’ll keep you posted about our plans! We are still planning to head west starting in October, but we have some more family visiting and HAMILTON before that. :)
Saturday, we attended my college friend’s wedding in East Lansing. It was nice to visit my old college campus to see how things have changed, especially with the nice summer weather and fewer students on campus. We had a great time catching up with friends.
The next morning, we woke up early since we were still recovering from our 6 hour time change, and headed home from Lansing. We got home in time to pack up the car to head out for our week long Pure Michigan tour! We were preparing to meet my dad, brother, and sister-in-law on the West side of the state where they had sailed across Lake Michigan from Racine, Wisconsin the day before. We got the car packed up and drove over to Pentwater, making sure to hit up one of the breweries in Grand Rapids. We visited The Mitten and enjoyed some good beer and pizza before completing our journey west.
We arrived in Pentwater Sunday evening and found the sailboat docked in the municipal harbor. It was a cute little town and had everything sailors could need including private bathrooms and showers, cute shops and restaurants, a grocery store, a laundromat, a filling station, etc. We walked over to check out the beach and pier and relaxed for the evening. We stayed in a hotel about five minutes away and ended up staying for two nights and hanging out on the beach a bit before heading up to Frankfort on Tuesday.
On our way to Frankfort, my mom, Will, and I stopped at the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. This was one of our Michigan bucket list items, so we made sure to climb the dunes while we were passing through. It was a great day for it since it was sunny and not too hot. After we did the dunes, we finished our trip up to Frankfort and met the other three to grill some dinner by the harbor. Frankfort was a similar cute little lake town, and we stayed there for one night in a small motel a couple blocks from the harbor.
Wednesday morning, we left the sailors at the harbor to drive up to Mackinac Island. This was our main goal of the trip and something we had been talking about doing for a few years. We were able to get a last minute room for the four of us at Mission Point Resort. We grabbed lunch before getting on the ferry over to the island. The first thing we did when we got to the island was the island loop trail on our bikes. Then we had killed enough time to go check into our room. After getting settled, we went for a quick dip in the pool and hot tub before getting ready for dinner. We rode into town to get dinner from The Village Inn. After dinner, we rode up the big hill by the Grand Hotel, checked out the old houses on the bluffs, rode through the cemeteries, found Arch Rock, and rode back to the hotel just as it was getting dark. The mini golf course was doing glow golf that evening, so we grabbed a few evening drinks at the bar and watched people play glow golf while sitting by the lake.
 |
| Looking out at the lake over the bluffs |
 |
| Arch Rock |
Thursday morning, Will and I got up early to do a morning bike around the island before the it got too busy. We were able to ride around the island without running into too many people and enjoyed the scenery of the lake and the wooded bluffs of the island. We got back a few minutes before the pool opened, so I made sure to be the first one in the pool and hot tub. I had it to myself and enjoyed the lack of screaming kids which contrasted our visit to the pool the day before. We packed up and went into town to get breakfast and fudge tastings (and some take-home fudge obviously). After getting our fill of fudge, we took the ferry back to Mackinaw City. Our next stop was to visit with my mom’s old coworker’s family in Boyne City. They moved up north about a year ago and have a house on a small lake where they entertain themselves with lots of fishing. We obviously made a trip to Red Mesa, our favorite restaurant to visit in town, which is especially tasty after a day of skiing at Boyne Mountain. We filled up a bit more than necessary and went back to the house to attempt a boat ride and campfire. Both were quickly rained out, so we sat inside to watch the storm.
 |
| Red Mesa |
Friday morning, we hung out on the lake for a little while before heading toward Traverse City to find a place to stay so we could meet Kirk and Lauren in Leland the next morning. They had stayed in Frankfort one more night and sailed to South Manitou Island and would be sailing toward Leland Saturday morning. We found a hotel on the East side of the bay that was close to a bike trail that we took downtown for dinner. We got dinner at Rare Bird Brewpub and were also able to visit Right Brain and The Workshop as well before riding home in the dark.
 |
| Rare Bird Brewing |
Saturday morning, we packed up and headed for Leland to wait for the sailors to arrive. The original plan was for my dad to join them to continue to Charlevoix that day, but they got a late start, so they decided to dock for the night and try again in the morning. We hung out in Leland for lunch, then took a quick trip to Traverse City on our way to Torch Lake where we stayed with a family friend at her cabin. We had a great dinner at the Taproot Cider House in Traverse City and arrived at the cabin where we unpacked and headed down to the dock to watch the meteor shower. We saw several shooting stars, and went to bed when we got too cold in the night air.
 |
| Torch Lake |
Sunday morning, we spent some time in beautiful Torch Lake before packing up and driving to Charlevoix. We met up with the sailors again, and got some dinner before starting our long drive downstate to get my dad back for work the following morning. We had a great week visiting so many Michigan sites, but have more on our list to see next time. We are likely going to drive through the UP on our way to Madison next time since we can take our time and visit a few more places on the way.
This week has been a little less hectic, but we still squeezed in a boat trip to Zukey Lake Tavern with some friends and a visit to another one of my mom’s old coworkers and her family.
 |
| Megan and Lily on our way back from Zukey |
Yesterday, we drove down to Cincinnati to keep up our busy schedule. We’ll keep you posted about our plans! We are still planning to head west starting in October, but we have some more family visiting and HAMILTON before that. :)
Comments
Post a Comment