Up North

Quick note - this is the first time I have put pictures in a slide show for viewing. There are some options that let you turn captions on/off, etc... Move your pointer over the picture and the options pop-up. If you click on the picture you can view the album where I store these pictures - and see them full size. (I think!)

I have been told that Michiganders have a unique way of describing directions. Up north, down south, out west, back east… If you grew up here, you know this is true. That is how we talk about going somewhere. We go DOWN south for the winter. (Okay – I don’t do that yet, and honestly don’t know if I ever will.) One of my brothers moved OUT west, and I hardly ever go BACK east. But now Matthew can say he went UP north for vacation.

It was cute, really… explaining to a 4 and a ½ year old what vacation means. And then the questions start. “Are we at vacation yet mama?” “If I be bad, is vacation over?” “Is Grandpa going to vacation with us?” “When do we go camping mama?”

So in August, we went up north, more specifically to Empire, Michigan. We camped at a wonderful place called Sleepy Bear Campgrounds on a rustic site that had a ton of tree cover. Our site was near the facilities as well, so it wasn’t too far for us to walk in the mornings or evenings as we were starting and ending our days. I managed, with help from Matthew, to get the tent up, and the canopy w/ screen cover for our sleeping and food storage needs. (And he really did help… he has seen dad put up the canopy a few times, and I had to ask him what each step was. There were not any directions in the bag!) Matthew helped to inflate the air mattress and I never had a back problem from sleeping on the hard ground. He was in his element because he just loves camping. I think it will be a regular thing for us to do as a vacation getaway from now on.

The first couple of days we were up there we spent time in Traverse City. It was the weekend of the annual M.E.S.S. Softball Tournament. This is an event I used to participate in regularly (5 or 6 years in a row) but have not played for the last two. It was great to see the guys again, and watch some softball. Sheri and family were there, so we got to spend time with them, too. Matthew had fun with Sami, enjoyed the hotel swimming pool, and like the views of the Grand Traverse Bay. (Of which I have no pictures… I was driving every time we passed it.)

The second and third nights of camping we spent the evenings at our campsite. Matthew had a blast playing in the dirt and cooking up some food for me. Thank goodness the camp store had fire logs to help get a fire going. (Otherwise we never would have had a campfire.) And the weather was very agreeable while we were on vacation. No bugs to speak of, rain the first night only, and a light load of people in the sites around ours.

Day three was spent in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. We stopped at the Visitor Center, did the dune climb, visited Glen Haven, and took the scenic drive. I remembered the Dune Climb with a child’s memories. Yeah, well a few years have passed between those memories and this past August. Boy, I am OUT of SHAPE! However, the work was worth it. The views you get from the top of the first hill, and then when you go a little further… the views of Lake Michigan are fantastic. Matthew thought the all of that sand was the best thing in the world. He did a really good job on the climb. Thank goodness that going down is easier than the climb up, though. By the time we were heading back to the car, Matthew was starting to feel the effects, and I knew there was no way I would be able to carry him.

In Glen Haven, we visited the blacksmith shop, the general store, and the boat museum. (Yeah – not too keen on the general store.) The blacksmith shop was really neat. We were the only folks in there when we first arrived, so Matthew was able to ask a lot of questions. The gentleman running the shop that day was very patient and answered questions to the best of his ability. It was really pretty cool. Everything in the shop was created by the various blacksmiths that spend time there. And the items are all available for a donation, which helps stock the supplies needed to keep the shop going. The general store really left a lot to be desired. Didn’t fit my mental picture (or the one created by Little House on the Prairie) in any way, shape, or form. The store didn’t really have items that I would consider to be a necessity for life, just items that are the normal tourist trap. I had a bit of a time trying to get Matthew out of there without buying anything, and still having a happy child. Fortunately, we had the boat museum to look forward to. The boat museum had all different size boats that were used around Glen Haven and the Manitou Islands. We saw canoes, sailboats, small motor craft, and what I would consider a fishing trawler. After we finished looking at all the different vessels, we walked out to the beach area. We didn’t really go too far along the beach however, because it was getting to be time to start heading back toward Empire. Along the drive back, we took time for the scenic drive.

The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive was really neat. It provided a couple of opportunities: for viewing the Sleeping Bear Dune and for Matthew to see how big Lake Michigan really is. There were 12 different stopping points along the drive, and we did most of them. (Had to skip the last two… the activity of the previous two days, plus the dune climb were catching up to us.) Not a lot of descriptive words here, I think the pictures speak well for themselves.


The fourth day was our final day up north. We started with a pack-up of the campsite. Then we went to the public beach in Empire. There was a really cool play area for kids, and Matthew had a great time climbing, running, sliding, etc while I did some catch-up on my work email accounts. I got even though… I sent my coworkers a picture of the view I had while working that day! :> When I was done with the computer we changed into swimsuits, and went onto the beach. The waves were a lot of fun, but the wind was just too much. The sand kept whipping into our eyes, and the breeze was kinda chilly. So we packed up from the public beach, and went to North Bar Lake. This is located just north of Empire, and is part of the National Park. You drive a ways back on some nice dirt roads (okay, not really that nice – lots of washboards) and then park. From there you walk, partially on pavement, partially on hard, packed ground, and a lot on sand. We made it somewhere between ½ and 2/3 of the way around to where the lake is separated by a bar from Lake Michigan. Here, Matthew was able to play with all of his sand toys and enjoy the sand and water without the harsh breeze.

Once the sun really started to disappear behind clouds, and look as if it were not going to come out again, we walked back to the car and started back down south. I happened to check my cell phone, and found a message from my friend Karin. Fortunately we had not gone too far south, and so we back-tracked a little and then headed east to Traverse City one last time. We met up with Karin at the Grand Traverse Mall and got a little visit in. Karin even got Matthew and me a ride on the Grand Carousel they have in the food court area. Matthew took a picture of us at the cars as we were getting ready to head in a homeward direction for the second time.

And that was pretty much our vacation. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and I’ll try to post again soon, before too much time goes by.