Up North

Right now I'm doing a lot of laundry, dumping out piles of sand from our suitcases, finding little corners of found rocks and wondering why it took us three years of living in Michigan to make a trip "Up North".  I'm so grateful to Paul's parents for inviting us and sharing their rented cabin for the week, no one wanted to come home so I think we created a new annual tradition.  Pictured above is Nanny and Henry at Pointe Betsie enjoying the sunset and looking for special rocks.

   

There was plenty of space for us all in this bungalow cabin at Chimney Corners.  I also really appreciated the extra set of hands that Nanny and Poppy offered in taking care of meals and children.  But mostly it was just fun to be together, going on outings, lounging in the sand, staying up talking, laughing and even knitting.

Our first outing was to the fish hatchery.  I remember going there when I was a child and the smell of the facility brought the memory back to life.  The kids didn't mind the smell and really liked seeing the fish jump.

Nanny hung on to Clara the caboose who is always trailing behind collecting milkweed pods, acorns, pine cones and wild flowers.  She said she was going to plant milkweed at home and I suggested that we just enjoy them here on the little trail.

On the way back to the cabin we were surprised to find raspberries still in season.  There were plenty of hands to help with the picking and one of the favorite memories of the trip were Nanny's raspberry pancakes.  We finished off 5 pints in just days.

Another favorite outing was a canoe trip down the Platte River.  We left baby Charles back with Nanny and Poppy and loaded into three canoes.  Daddy, Maryanna and George named their boat the Dragon Boat, James, William and Clara called their's the Punching Boat and I shared a boat with Peter and Henry called the Racing Pirate Boat.  

Henry picked out a pirate hat and sword at the gift shop and was in character the whole 2 1/2 hour journey.  He got the attention of many fishermen and I had to remind him that the middle of a canoe was no place to practice sword fighting.   

 The river was remarkably clear and peaceful, and because it was just a week into the off season it seemed we were the only ones making our way down the river that day. It was easy going until we encountered some strong currents as we entered Loon Lake and it was a relief to me that our inexperienced band of canoers made it through without tipping.  There were a few crashes among us, some on purpose and some just happened and there was just enough family competition to keep tired arms rowing.  Unfortunately the Racing Pirate Boat slipped way behind on the last stretch because we got caught on a log.  Peter had to jump out and pull us out, but being a hero of a rescue mission is just as thrilling as winning a family canoe race.

The next activity was a stop at Sleepy Bear Dunes.  Half the kids were up the first dune and out of site before I even unbuckled the youngest two.  That had me racing up the dune with a baby on one hip and camera in hand, and boy am I out of shape!  I caught up to the kids but they were too quick to catch many photos.  William said it was like the planet Tatooine on Star Wars.  These boys were in constant motion running, rolling, jumping and practicing all sorts of stunts and wipe outs.  At one point they even took a sand bath acting just like the chickens splashing sand all themselves.

George made it up all by himself. He was pretty pleased with himself.

 

Going down was not as easy though so he chose the butt scoot, filled his diaper with sand and left a long trail behind him.

Charles was happy snacking on the sand.  This is the very spot that William learned to crawl just 10 years ago the last time we visited.

The girls made sand angels and somersaulted down.

It took a promise of pizza for dinner to get everyone finally back in the car.

The older boys and Daddy returned the very next morning to complete the dune hike that led to Lake Michigan.  I stayed back with the younger kids and Nanny and Poppy and we enjoyed the clear blue water and empty beach at Crystal Lake.

I was fully dressed when I demonstrated how to paddle board.  When I paddled out to waist deep water I wondered if it was a bad idea, I started laughing and wobbling and offered a good laugh to the kids and Paul's mom on how not to paddle board.  Maryanna was a natural so I'll have to take lessons from her next summer.

Meanwhile Charles could not get enough time in the sand.  He quivered the moment his toes first hit the sand.

And most of the rest of our activity was in the sand. Here is our whole company in the sand at Pointe Betsie at sunset - thank you very much self timer!

And thank you George for standing a split second to get one of the kids all together.

The rest of the evening the boys played football, the girls looked for rocks and we all snacked on s'mores.  

It was  a great trip, I especially enjoyed the moments that Paul's parents allowed us to slip away.  We enjoyed a nice dinner out a few minutes here and there on a swing just outside the cabin.  We split some cherry pie and dreamed about farming in Northern Michigan, yes it was lovely until reality hit and a call from Paul's employer caused for a shortened trip.   The kids were not the only ones heart broken.

Now that we are home the kids are continuing the fun, as I type this they have life jackets and goggles on and are "swimming" in the garden.  They also spent the morning drawing a map of all the places and activities we experienced and have filled their journals with the memories.  And I am humming the tune "yes Michigan - the feeling's forever".