Pure Michigan

Hello there, sorry it's been 5 months since I've posted but. . . y'know.

It feels strange to type about this when it's snowing outside, but this summer trip does feel like it was just yesterday. It was good for the soul, too. We had wanted to have a family vacation and mini-road trip, but my disease was so volatile it kept getting pushed back. While I wish I could say I was in remission when we went to Michigan, the truth is I was coming out of a flare and if I recall correctly I was also on some prednisone. We pushed ahead anyway because Michigan had come to represent taking a hold of our life together and dang it if we were going to let disease ruin it. --That's a job for kids, instead!

The only thing I wanted to do on this trip was go up these dunes and look over Sleeping Bear. A certain 5 year old boy kept complaining about sand in his shoes and things were over before they even started. What.ever.

At least we got some amazing views along the way. It was green, green, green for as far as the eye can see. Coming from Illinois, this would be described as mountainous in my book. :)

Oh my goodness, the little farmer-owned shops along the way were the best. Michigan strawberries just burst in your mouth and cherries were in season when we arrived, which was a splendid thing as well. I can still taste the tart cherry juice we picked up on the side of the road, Heavenly.

Traverse City was a larger than expected, but still very quaint town. The views along the lake(s) were out of a picture book. On our last day we stopped at a French restaurant and got to speak with the locals. As expected they were totally lovable. Next time I'd like to take a pontoon boat around and visit all the lakeside establishments. Maybe by then my gut will welcome some ice cream. . .