We are currently spending our last night of the road trip in the great state of Michigan! When I last wrote we were on our way to Port Sanilac to see our next Great Lake, Huron. The Nixon’s besties, the Gilbos were so welcoming at their “cottage” on the lake. We had two days and two nights enjoying Great Lake life. It was cold but felt awesome. We drank, laughed, swam and ate. I even went night swimming on the last night. Gilbo was kind to drive Phil and Mark to the airport. I scooted out by 9am and the rest of the crew stayed to help with clean up. The kids and I headed to Mackinac City to check into our real cottage on Huron. We took the ferry to Mackinaw Island. We are fudge and rode bikes around the perimeter of the island. Ellie says this was her favorite thing. Then, we hiked to the top of the island and then met up with the Nixons and gal pals for dinner. The kids and I ferried back, saw the sunset and fireworks. The next day we drove over the bridge to the upper peninsula. Not much cell service and it was cold. We checked into Uncle Ducky’s paddlers village. It took me a bit to get used to it. I failed at packing for this part of the trip. We had no blankets, sleeping bags or pillows. We used towels and wore all our clothes to stay warm that first night. Epic fail. We all got back in the car at 6am that first morning to warm up. I drove up the road to a Holiday Inn and sent Marly and Abby in for hot chocolate and coffee. They saved the day! Once warmed up we went back to camp. The kids took naps and I read The Alchemist. I’m so glad I booked the noon session of kayaking. The sun was out and the day warmed up. Kayaking Pictured Rock and exploring Lake Superior was my favorite part. It was surreal. Clear, cold and colorful. We stopped by the National Park office for stamps and to see the Muinising water fall. We had dinner at the Duck Pond (blackened whitefish right out of the lake!) and then went on a pontoon boat tour of Grand Island. The boat captain was so kind to let us borrow blankets. That nights sleep was much better. We learned all about body heat! We checked out and drove back down south. We stopped for lunch at Legs Inn in Cross Village then continued down the coast of Lake Michigan through all these cute towns. We met back up with the Michiganders in Traverse City and hung out with them at their hotel bay beach. The next morning we drove up to check out Fishtown and then Sleeping Bears Dunes National Lakeshore. The kids got their Junior Ranger badges and we explored the scenic tour of the dunes and the towns around. We rented tubes and floated down Platte River which empties into Lake Michigan. It was a very slow float. We now have an appreciation for Ichetucknee not allowing food or drinks. We stopped for pizza then drove down to Ludington. We watched the sunset on the beach then headed to bed at a cute lakeside inn. This morning we went to mass at a cute chapel in a neighboring town called Pentwater. We explored Snug Harbor and stopped to see Silver Lake. We went to a cherry farm then took the long route along the shore of Lake Michigan to Benton Harbor. Ellie and I are loving listening to Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus! This hotel is more off the coast close to the interstate. We checked in then went to Silver Beach. The rain cleared everyone away so we had the place to ourselves. It was a nice, low key night. Here are the pics from the week. https://photos.app.goo.gl/nC2pbvPrKMV9jv7c7