Michigan Vacation – Week One

Our longest trip to Michigan yet and this one is definitely full of adventure! We’re only in week one of our “escape” and we have already hit a lot of great Michigan Must sees!

Scroll to the bottom to see the Vlog!!!

Just the kids and I took off from our home in Virginia Beach for the mitten state. We made it in record time and got to stay at my Aunt Di’s house in Whitmore Lake (0:27)

We stayed at my childhood home in Vanderbilt and got in lots of outdoor time. We caught frogs, built a teepee in the woods and played on the slip and slide. This was the first time anyone on my side of the family met Roelyn, now 4.5 months! My parents are also working on renovating the basement, a project that is taking longer than expected to say the least. A Vanderbilt must-do is Whippy Dip for ice cream.

Next up is our Mini-Tour of the U.P. which might possibly be my favorite part of the trip so far. My mom and the kids and I loaded up for a 6 hour scenic tour of the upper peninsula. First stop was Kitch-iti-kipi, a natural spring with crystal clear water. You can see all the way to the bottom of the 45 ft deep sandstone hole, and even self propel your way across the spring on a glass-bottom raft. (5:07)

We drove north for Munising, the town we used to visit for high school cross country camp and home to the most beautiful lakeshore. We started with a short hike to Olsen Memorial Falls (6:01). Then we checked out Miner’s Beach for views of the cliffs. Really wish we brought our swim suits for this, but the kids swam in their clothes anyway.

Heading west, we followed dirt roads into Newberry to see the famous Oswald’s Bear Ranch. Definitely gave me tiger king vibes, but we got to pet a baby bear! (8:00)

Our last stop for the day was Tahquamenon Falls. I had never visited before and my mom hadn’t been since she was a kid. The are magnificent and beautiful, but we only had time to check out the upper falls. (8:42)

We stayed for two nights at our family cabin in Sault Ste. Marie. (9:20) Our family built this red cabin. It has electricity, but not running water. We use an outhouse and the cell signal connects to Canada. But it sits right on the St. Mary’s River. We got to take the boat out, ride by Freighters, were served fresh popcorn every morning from the neighbor, saw two juvenile bald eagles and even got a visit from our friends of 20 years, the Brown’s (12:10)

Back in Gaylord, we had a sister’s dinner at Alpine Tavern. We also got a tour of Amy and Brandon’s new apartment.

True midwesterners always garage sale together. We stopped at a couple of places in Boyne City, then made a stop at Magnus Park in Petoskey (15:20). The kids swam and we found Petoskey stones.

At my best friend Sammy’s home in Gaylord, we held a potluck BBQ for our Cross Country Team Reunion. (16:13)

We had a visit from our childhood friend, Taylor. (17:36)

At my mom’s home, we had a family birthday party for Cambri. (18:17)

Anna left for Kansas, and we got another play date with my BFF Sammy (21:59). The big cousins and a sleepover at Aunt Amy’s. We got some mulberry’s to make crisp, a sweet ending to our first week in Michigan.