In early July, we were fortunate enough to finally get to take a family vacation. Last year, we took time off but stayed home due to the pandemic. This year, we wanted to do something but knowing we're still in the midst of a pandemic, we decided to still have a low key vacation but spend it at D's family cabin in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. This also allowed for us to visit with D's family who we hadn't seen in over a year in a half. So the first week of July, we headed out on our road trip. From our house, the cabin is 12-13 hours away. We knew with Declan we wouldn't be able to make it that far in the car in one day, so we decided to drive 8 hours to D's grandparents' house in Lansing and spend the night with them and then finish our trip up north on day two. It gave us time to visit with D's grandparents too.
We started out early on a Friday morning and Declan did great in the car. He was so excited to go to Michigan and see everyone. We only had to make a few potty stops and a stop for lunch and we made it to Lansing just in time for dinner. Saturday morning he woke up at the crack of dawn and wanted to go to the cabin, so we set out fairly early again after breakfast for our remaining 5 hour drive. We got to the cabin early afternoon and Declan got to see his PaPa Tom and Grandma Kristin as they were going to be at the cabin a few days also. Declan was so excited to see the cabin and the bay and just be out in nature.
When we planned this trip, because we hadn't seen D's family in so long, we made it a point to try to see everyone and planned to have D's dad at the cabin for a few days, then D's sister and her family and then travel to see D's mom and her side of the family. Logistically, this was the best plan for us as we can't get to Michigan very often due to our work schedules, the time it takes to drive there and this year, saving some vacation time for maternity/paternity this year.
On the drive to the cabin after we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, we decided to stop at Castle Rock and climb the 200 steps to the top to see over the Upper Peninsula. It was breathtaking and Declan didn't want to leave, but we wanted to get to the cabin. We had a low-key Saturday once we got to the cabin. After two days of a lot of driving, we stayed in and unpacked and just relaxed. Sunday was Fourth of July and the town put on a parade, so we decided to take Declan to that. He loved watching the cars, fire trucks, and people and had a blast picking up candy that the people on the floats handed out. After the parade, we headed back to the cabin where D's dad had the boat ready to take D and Declan to "the Point" to rock hunt. Rocks are another one of Declan's favorite things, so he was in heaven finding rocks in the bay and getting to bring them back in his bucket. Afterwards we had dinner and sat by the bonfire, but it still had been a long few days for us and with Declan trying to forgo naps to enjoy all of his cabin time, we went to bed early and missed the fireworks for the Fourth.
On Monday, we decided to take a trip into Sault Ste Marie. D has always loved going to the Soo Locks and wanted to share his love of freighters and the Locks with Declan. We parked and walked around and got to see a few freighters by the Locks. Apparently there was an electrical issue that needed to be fixed before any of the freighters could go through, so there was a line of freighters docked waiting for the issue to be resolved. We knew we had a few more days to visit the Sault, so we decided to head to Meijer. If you know my husband at all, you know no trip to Michigan is complete without stopping into Meijer at least once (and probably a few more times after that). Meijer is one of his favorite stores -- the aisles are so big; they have the best products; it's so clean -- are a few of his compliments, so we went into the Meijer in the Soo and picked up nearly everything he needed and/or wanted. Afterwards, we headed back to have dinner with D's dad and step-mom at the Cozy Inn before they left to head back home.
Tuesday we headed went to the Point Iroquois Lighthouse, checked out Lake Superior up close and went back to the Sault to visit the Soo Locks again and walk down Portage Ave. We stopped into the many shops along Portage Ave to look for souvenirs and find Declan a toy freighter. We had lunch at Karl's Cuisine and watched freighters from their rooftop. D's sister was making the trip up to the cabin that evening so we headed back to the cabin to get ready for her family's arrival.
Wednesday, Declan woke up to his cousins being at the cabin and he had so much fun seeing them and playing with them. We also decided that we'd take a Soo Locks boat tour that afternoon after nixing our idea to go to Mackinac Island due to the poor weather that was expected there. We all got ready and decided before the Soo Locks Boat Tour, we'd have lunch together at The Wicked Sister. The kids all sat together and it was like they had been best friends for years, coloring on their placemats and just talking up a storm. We went on the Soo Locks boat tour afterwards and later in the evening went to Pickle's for dinner and more playtime at the cabin.
Thursday was our day to leave the cabin as we had to head to see D's grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin on his Mom's side of the family. It was another early day as we had to make another 4 hour drive to the Lake Michigan side of northern Michigan. We got there around lunchtime and visited with everyone for a few hours before heading back to D's other grandparents house in Lansing that evening. By staying in Lansing, it allowed for us to visit with D's grandparents again and see D's mom.
In Lansing on Friday, D got to visit his other favorite store, Horrock's Farmer Market and we met D's mom there. After an hour of browsing and catching up with a few people D used to work with there, we went to lunch and headed back so Declan could take a much needed nap. I worked for a few hours on my computer to get caught up while he slept and D went to visit with one of his best friends from growing up.
Saturday we made our way back home to Missouri. While we wanted to stay longer, we knew we needed a day to recover before heading back to work on Monday. The drive home was similar to the drive up. We stopped a few times for potty breaks and lunch and got home around 6 pm. It was a great week visiting with everyone and getting some time away but I was definitely ready to be back in my own bed and at my own house. We're hoping to see everyone again at Christmas given that there are no other crazy surges with the pandemic.
Here is the photo dump from our trip:
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