I love living in Michigan, and I love all there is to do especially in the summer. Here are some places we've gone so far!
Brighton
My college roommate Joy lives in Brighton on Crooked Lake, so my WMU friends decided to get together there! I'd been to Brighton once or twice, but never really experienced it. It is such an incredibly nice town. We ate out at a Mexican restaurant, enjoyed the pretty lake, and on Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market. There was also a different market in the downtown, and both were nice. We also went into an adorable bookstore that had basically everything you'd want in a bookstore, and nice surprises like a really old turtle there(?) Joy just moved there with her family less than a year ago, and I can see why she chose it!
Chihuly at Meijer Gardens
Julie and I went to Meijer Gardens to see the Chihuly exhibit, and we both loved it. We learned more about him (do you know he wears an eye patch?), we walked all over the gardens to see his exhibits which were worked into the nature landscape there, and we are really bad at directions so we walked a little more than other people would. We've been there before, but the addition of the Chihuly made it even more special. There were also many more sculptures we hadn't seen before. Highly recommend!
Elberta, MI
Shhh. This place was exactly what I want in a lake Michigan beach - close and free parking, white sand as far as you can see, a pier to walk out on, giant sand dunes, and best of all...no people. It was like we had it all to ourselves!
Each year Kris' parents get a house for us to all go on vacation together, including Kris' sister Meghan, husband Jon, and their three kids. We loved Elberta Beach - that was my favorite. I liked the cliffs at Frankfort Beach, but there were more people there. (My friend Emmie said that Frankfort was like Elberta 20 years ago. Eventually I think it'll also be touristy there. Quick, buy a house!)
On Monday night, they had a free music in the park at an outdoor amphitheater, which was well attended. We kayaked on the Platte River, and the company we used was so chill and made it so easy. They even had tubes so we could pull the kids on the kayaks, and they just scrambled in between our boats or floated along. At the end the river goes into the lake, and it was warm and shallow and fun to hang out there and skip stones.
We went to Sleeping Bear Dunes, where I have been so many times, but this time had a very different experience! There is the 'Big Dune' that's 450 high at a 45 degree angle to Lake Michigan. They have a sign there warning you that it's really hard to get back up, and it someone has to rescue you it's like $3000 or something crazy like that.
Meghan, Jon, their kids William and Anna, Max and Cole wanted to run down it to the lake and come back. It was foggy and you couldn't see anything, and I didn't really want to do it. I didn't see the payoff.
Cole and Max got back up through the fog and said their hearts were beating fast. It didn't take them long...like 18 minutes.
Then suddenly a wind came up. And with it, the wind blew the sand. It was the kind of wind that makes people run for cover, plus the wind was whipping the sand on your skin. I grabbed Benjamin, my four year old nephew, and he, Max and I headed for the car. I remembered I left my sandals and went back to grab them and got a facefull of sand in my teeth and eyes. We got to the car before it started raining.
Cole and Mike waited for Meghan, Jon, William, and Anna - who were about halfway up the hill! Cole said it felt like the skin was being ripped off his body by the sand. Cole took a video and it really shows how miserable it was - like 60 mph of sandstorm. But they made it just fine!
Later I felt like I really missed out on going on the Big Dune. I asked my mom about it and she said I'd gone on it at least three times that she remembered. But I didn't remember, so I made plans to go back. She and I talked and she said, "No, not that one! The one that goes up from the parking lot. I have never gone on that big one." So I hadn't ever done it!
On the way out of town, Max and I went there. It was a clear, beautiful day - the exact opposite of the foggy one! Max said he'd watch me from the top. As I ran down I thought - wow, this is really far. This might actually be hard. The view from the bottom was gorgeous. I started climbing back up, and you have to bear crawl due to the angle. I enjoyed myself, took my time, took some pictures, and made my way steadily up.
Once I got near the top - probably 60 steps from the start - Max greeted me and said, "If you hurry, you can beat Cole's time." So I quickly walked to the end and finished in 16 minutes. Very fun if you don't mind a bear crawl! I'm glad I went back.
We also golfed 18 at a really pretty, hilly course. I rarely if ever play 18 or different courses, and it was really enjoyable to do both!
There's also a lot of hiking around. We did a little hike with the kids, but mostly a lot of walking and running around where our house was, just a mile away from Elberta Beach.
I love that there are so many new and different things to do just in one little state in one little summer.
