In 2020, our family (like many of you) had to put big vacation plans on hold due to Covid. Instead, we did a couple of shorter trips.
I’d hoped 2021 would allow us to move forward with a bigger vacation. But this year, my twins graduated from college. With one starting grad school and one getting a new job, we couldn’t find a block of time that worked for everyone to take a trip.
So . . . all that to say, sadly, we did not get to take that big vacation.
We wanted to do something together, however. And so at the end of August we took a long weekend trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In looking for a place to stay, we happened upon a Vrbo house that had just come on the market, a big house right on Lake Michigan. We snapped that baby right up!
Here is the house with a picture-perfect view of the lake from almost every window.
The first day of our trip we stopped at the Mackinac Bridge and a couple of lighthouses. I’ve dragged my family to lighthouses all over Michigan, so my kids and hubby are used to humoring by now.
We had a rainy second day but still had fun visiting the Soo Locks, Point Iroquois Lighthouse (yes another lighthouse!), and Tahquamenon Falls.
On our third day, we headed over to Mackinac Island and did the thing that should be on everyone’s bucket list—we biked around the island. It’s 8 miles of the most stunning view ever. We hiked up to Arch Rock, ate ice cream and fudge, and shopped.
Finally on our last day, we took a trip to Oswald’s Bear Ranch. This is a rescue ranch where they bring in cubs and bears that need a home. Since the U.P. is known for its bears, this was a perfect and fun last day getting to feed and pet a bear cub and throwing apples to all the other bears.
While it wasn’t the Grand Canyon, it reminds me all over again that I live in the best state ever! (No, I’m not biased in the least!)
Your turn! Did you do anything fun this summer or take any trips?
Jody Hedlund
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I loved these photos, Jody! It’s a great reminder that even a short getaway relatively near home can be so worthwhile. 🙂
This is my next dream trip, Jody! Loved seeing your pics and hearing about the trip. Even though bears scare me in the wild, I would LOVE to have fed and pet a cub!
This looks like a great trip, and how nice that you managed to ALL be together! We enjoyed a brief anniversary trip in May to Galena, IL, with a side visit to Dyersville, IA. Yep. We got to see the Field of Dreams MLB field in progress! The UP sounds like another bucket list destination … Sigh.
Great photos! So glad you had a time together. I have always wanted to visit Mackinac Island ever since I saw the movie Somewhere in Time starring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve – absolutely one of my favorite movies!
I can understand your love of lighthouses. I live in Virginia Beach where we have Cape Henry Lighthouse, also some amazing lighthouses along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My husband and I have visited beautiful lighthouses along the coast of Maine and on Mount Desert Island during out trips to Bar Harbor. I enjoyed your lighthouse story Out of the Storm.
Making up for last year, we were able to visit Corolla in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in late spring. Still a little cool and rainy. Then in early August, we went North to rural Maine, near the New Hampshire border. We also traveled to the coast (Portland) one day. So beautiful!
Sounds like a wonderful trip!
My family visited Big Bend National Park at the end of May. It was wonderful to get away and to see different scenery.
Hi, Jody, thank you for sharing the beautiful photos. We haven’t taken a trip this summer, we are going to Disney World in Fla. this December to celebrate our 20th anniversary and their 50th anniversary. Yes, I am a Florida girl, not born there but grew up here. We are looking forward to it.
What I have been doing is walking my dog around the neighborhood in the warm weather and I walked her to the beach for the first time, she is by little and I was never sure she would make it there. She liked the sand and the shore. Anybody who knows me, knows how much I love her. Also have been spending some time in the garden with my husband and drinking tea. That is my thing. It’s been a great summer. I hope it’s a safe winter (in Maine). Have a wonderful weekend.
I was born in Detroit back in the early 1940’s and our family took many trips through both the Lower and Upper Peninsulas through the years. One summer we went to the UP, (Upper Peninsula) and planned to spend a day or 2 at my uncle’s “hunting lodge”. My mom got one look at it and said “NO WAY”. We would have had to spend 2 or 3 days cleaning “it up and out” before my Mom would have even been willing to stay there. It was pretty obvious the “hunters” probably did more drinking than hunting while there. Nice country to travel around seeing the scenery, but we enjoyed staying at a motel while there.