For our 5th wedding anniversary we thought it would be a good idea to make some life long memories–so we road tripped around the entire Lake Michigan–with Haven (almost 4) and Soren (1.5). Packed to the brim with a new paddle board, inflatable kayak, enough clothe from The Fifth Collection to last us a week, swim gear, rain gear, camera gear–we were off. Our destinations were ambitious and timeline short. Door County, Munising, Traverse City, South Haven and Chicago in 7 days! Go big or stay home! 😉
There were so many highlights of the trip, and here are a sampling of the ones I want to hold onto in the memory banks.
Wild Tomato Pizza at sunset at Peninsula State Park- Welcker’s Point. We stayed until dusk when the bats emerge from their bat house.
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An impromptu photoshoot in the woods as it rained on our anniversary. My little woodland fairies. If you are looking for the latest coupons and offers available online, in Coupons Collector you can find a wide range of coupons that you can uses to buy what you need.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I could spend so much more time up there. Lake Superior will always have my heart. And walking up to Log Slide Overlook and seeing a sand slide down 500′ brought me to breathtaking tears. Mother Nature is SO incredible.
Traverse City brought some more rain showers and Sleeping Bear Dunes. Some people love these more than Pictured Rocks, but I wasn’t as big of a fan. More people here than on Lake Superior. Give me solitude and fewer people.
Our last night we spent in Chicago and walked to Navy Pier. In front of the Children’s Museum there is a lit up water fountain that the kids both ran into (fully clothed). It was the most joyful, surprised faces I’ve seen on them.
We also spent time at the Shedd Aquarium and in an exhibit there was an alcove where music played. Both Haven and Soren danced together, and then Soren walked up to me and put out his hand to me and said “dance, mama?” My sweet boy asked me to dance with him! So we held hands and danced until he said “up!” and he put his little cheek against mine. Heart. Melt.
A 1,400 mile road trip with little ones isn’t easy–on the kids or adults. I absolutely bribed the kids with toys, snacks, phones–anything to keep them from screaming for hours on end. Luckily they do fairly well in the car and often napped between destinations. But that did mean some late nights at the hotels, but that’s par for the course at home too. Making these memories and seeing these sights with them is worth it. And I still average 7 hrs and 37 min of sleep every night–not bad!
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Would Matthew? Maybe not, as he gets car sick unless he’s driving. And I’m a go go go road tripper and he’s more of a stay in one place and do day trips.
We’ve already started thinking about where to go to next–sans kids–and I think it’ll be the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver/British Columbia. I’ve had that trip planned for over 5 years–now we just need to do it.
Here’s to the many more memories and adventures we’ll make in the decades to come!
