Magnificent Michigan

We had an awesome opportunity to visit Michigan this summer. But not only did we get to vacate, but we did so in our "new" camper!

We started off with a 4 hour drive to Little Rock, Arkansas. We were about 15 minutes from the park we planned to stay in when Nick noticed steam coming out of the engine. We pulled over and found out that we blew a hose. After some clever rigging, we were ready to limp to the park. (By the way we had three different people stop to check on us during the 20 minutes we were pulled over at 10 PM. I was impressed.)

Once we made it to the park entrance, we were met with a gate and a pretty "CLOSED" sign. Soooo, we turned around and headed back to a truck stop for the night. Let me just tell you - DO NOT stay at a truck stop in a camper. We were kept up all night by the various truck noises. We were grateful for someplace to stay though.

Next morning we hit a parts store, and in just a few minutes we were fixed up and on our way to Illinois.

In Illinois we stayed at a park called Hamilton County State Park. We met up with Ryan and Lis and began our great vacation.

Cooling off in the kiddie pool.

We went on a little hike. This old oak tree stump was awesome.

After hiking around a while, we finally came out of the woods...on the other side of the lake. Oops. We ended up walking on the road back to the campsite.

At least we got to go over this cool bridge!

Another cool bridge.

Eating cereal like a boss.

We stayed in Illinois for two nights, then headed out to Michigan. More specifically, Warren Dunes State Park.

Ryder and Sabrina's birthday was going to fall while we were gone, so we celebrated with birthday donuts.

Birthday presents: cameras!

The dunes! This picture cannot capture how huge this thing was!

The dads hauling the babies up the hill.

Family cheese!

They had a cool swing on top of the dune.

Going down the dune was the best part!

Ryder sitting on this rock version of Jupiter.

Beautiful Lake Michigan. No salt!

Kite flying.

Best toy ever: random cup found in the sand.

Day 2

We needed to do laundry so we decided to spend the day out and about. This was on the side of a building in Three Oaks.

Teasing ducks and geese in New Buffalo.

Awesome restaurant!

Happy boy!

Sleepy boy.

We stopped and got ice cream.

Another trip up the dune in the afternoon.

Tree climber.

We had so much fun at the dunes and would definitely go back.

Day 3 we headed out to make it to a park further up the coast of Lake Michigan. Once we got there, we found out that their beach was closed, and the entire park was basically a parking lot. We weren't impressed, so we decided to go stay at Nick's family member's house about an hour away.

We are so glad we did. They live on a farm and it was so beautiful!

Our coffee spot on day 1.

We spent most of the day in Cadillac, a cute nearby town. After lots of shopping, we stopped and had lunch in a park.

Cool fountain.

Nearby pier.

Nick got me a mandolin! A pawn shop had this beauty and We jumped on it!

We did a little more driving around the rest of the day, so these two kiddos fell out.

The next day we hit a local store called Ebel's, then enjoyed some yummy ice cream at the Twisted Cow.

The next day was the wedding day!
And also these two cuties' birthday! 7 & 5!

Family shot!

The men of the family, minus the groom. He was a little busy.

Bored kid shenanigans.

Crosby giving Mama a flower to smell.

Horses!

Beer and cards. More specifically, root beer and go fish.

Good times.

Happy wedding! Happy birthday!

Cupcake!

The next morning we set out early for home. This is what tired looks like.

We parked for the night at an awesome park in Wynn, Arkansas called Village Creek State Park. There was so much to do there and two lakes to access!

Canoe - conquered!


We got home the next day, exhausted and ready to be home. All in all the trip was a success. We had a great time, loved staying in our camper, and we can't wait for the next adventure in our new home away from home - on wheels!