Vacation, part 2: Ludington and Lake Michigan

As I mentioned before, we had the opportunity to spend some time vacationing on Lake Michigan, at a cabin belonging to our sweet friends, Mike and Julie Berend. We were going to be there with another family, but at the last minute they had to cancel. It took us a bit of time to get used to get over the disappointment of not having someone else to share this beautiful place with. But as each day passed, we got more comfortable here and found our bearings.

We decided to keep driving on Friday, after we arrived in Indy from a day of travel from TN. The car was already packed, the kids were in the mode and we decided to see how far we would get. After driving for awhile, we settled on staying overnight in Holland, MI. We reserved a room at the Doubletree Hotel there and upon arrival, received an upgraded room for a discounted price! The room was sooo nice and it was great to sleep in a bed, not the car! We got there at 2:30 and finally were able to fall asleep around 4 AM! Everyone slept in until 10 AM the next day and soon, we were on our way to find breakfast!

After a wonderful meal in downtown Holland, we got back on the road and drove up to Ludington, which was about 2 hours north. We arrived at the cabin around 3, unpacked the car and headed straight for the beach.

I have been to Lake Michigan twice before and both times was taken aback by its beauty. This time was no exception. It is so vast and the water was so clear and beautifully blue and warm, after a few minutes of adjusting to it!

We spent the late afternoon playing in the sand and water and enjoying the sun! It was very windy out on the beach but it wasn't took cold for us. But for Amos, it was too much. We discovered that after he came in from playing in the water, that he would need to change into a dry shirt and put a hoody on to restore a warm body temperature. The poor boy has no fat to insulate him!!

A few cute pictures of Baby Sister on the beach!

Warming up cuddles...

Daddy and Amos got to use the outdoor shower when we returned to the house. Amos loved using the removable arm!

Nathan and I scaled the Bluebell Sand Dune behind the house and caught the last of the sunset!

Sunday:

We woke up late on Sunday morning. It was nice to have a slow morning, with breakfast together.

Amos discovered Kix cereal and decided to eat them dry. We would not let him do this if there was milk in the bowl, especially at someone else's house!

Nathan made a yummy breakfast and then it was time for Family Worship...it was Sunday, after all!

That afternoon, after we all had sufficiently napped, it was time to hit the beach again.

On Sunday night, as we sat and sipped the most delicious Papillon wine, I got a taste for s'mores. Luckily, we had the fixin's so I took the cover off the burner on the stove and roasted up some marshmallows. The wine and the s'mores were an awesome paring!

Monday:
On Monday, we decided to be tourists and go play putt putt golf. There also happened to be go carts there, so the boys got to do that after we golfed.

The putting went slowly, but Amos had fun. Actually, we all had a blast, including Flannery, who got to sit and watch the action. Nathan figured out how to carry her stroller up the stairs, backpack style, and she eventually fell asleep from all of the excitement!

After a lengthy wait, the boys finally got to drive the go-cart. The fun was shortlived, though, because they blew a tire going around a curve!

That was ok, though, because inside we got to drive in a NASCAR race!

Later that afternoon, we got ready to go to the beach again! Today, it was Daddy's turn to have Baby Sister in the front pack as I wanted to play in the lake a bit!

Daddy waded out a bit in to the water, so Amos and I went out and joined him!

After our time in the water, it was cuddle time!

Then we walked down the beach. Even though it was overcast, the air was warm and the beach was still really enjoyable. We savored these moments there, as we thought that this would be our last day there.

For dinner, we made burritos and margaritas. It was all soo good!

The next day, poor Nathan got a migraine headache from drinking too late the night before. We decided not to drive that day and to rest and hope that he would feel better soon. Playing on the beach and walking helped a little bit.
We walked to the Coffee Shop down the beach for lunch. Amos got to get ice cream after our lunch, and Nathan cuddled with Flannery in hopes of feeling better!

The boys made a sand castle!
And then we went for a walk, again, down the beach.

At the Coffee Shop...


That night, we went back out to the beach in hopes of catching the entire sunset. We thought of this as a good time to teach Amos about how the sun sets, since he asks us every night if the sun is going down! We only caught half of it, though, as there were clouds just above the horizon. It was beautiful, nonetheless, and we enjoyed our true last night there!

We are so thankful for the time we were able to have at Lake Michigan. Thankful for the Berends and their generosity and thankful for such a beautiful place to relax!