Back from Vacation, Part 2: (LONG post)

Normally when I think "Michigan", I think of Detroit and the
crazy metropolitan area. Busy roads full of potholes, mini mall after mini mall, and excessive signs for donuts, pop, and lotto.

It felt like an entirely different state up north.
It's calm. Slower. Smoother. Prettier. Nicer. Friendlier.
It's a place I grew very fond of last week, and no blog post can accurately describe how nice of a trip it was for us.

Let me start with the drive up.
We made decent timing. We left around 8-something Wednesday morning, and got to the cabin around 4:15. That included 2 bathroom stops and an hour-long lunch break. Not bad for traveling with 2 kids.

After lunch Aidan fell asleep in the car (good boy). Brennan did not appreciate that, seeing as Aidan was Brennan's entertainment. He cracked me up. He insisted on bugging Aidan and trying to wake him. It was hilarious. That determined little toddler was doing everything in his reach to pester Aidan (literally).
Once I completed my obligation of snatching the picture of little brother aggravating big brother, I had the audacity to make Brennan stop so Aidan could stay asleep.
The result? A tantrum with crying. (like I'm the only parent that takes pictures of my kids crying...)

Other than Brennan entertaining us, we were amused by several other things along the drive:
-"Bears crossing" sign. Oh yeah. For real. We drove through a National Forest and saw a few "Bears Crossing" signs.
-Intelligent signs that read "Do not pass when opposing traffic present". Gee, thanks. Good to know.
-Oh, and Brennan gagging himself. He's discovered he can stick his fingers down his throat & cause a weird feeling, & even stranger sound. You look at him and he just looks pitiful, gagging himself, red in the face, eyes watering. Yet when I pull his fingers out, he gets mad. Then sticks them right back in. Sure enough he made himself throw up a little in the car.

By the time we got there we were all ready to get out of the car.
The remainder of Wednesday we enjoyed just being at the cabin and visiting with Patrick's grandparents. They grilled out an awesome steak dinner for us, we watched the sunset over Lake Michigan, and did not miss the plug-ins. (yup, we were "unplugged"...no TV, Internet, or cell phone reception).

Thursday morning started off so nicely. It was so cool we needed jackets. Aidan wore his new hoodie, and he transformed into Lightning McQueen. He was pretending the fence was his racetrack, and spent about an hour zooming around.
After Brennan's nap we went into town and hit the beach. The boys were apprehensive of the lake at first, but once Aidan saw other kids, he was well on his way (with his Lightning McQueen shovel, of course).

This beach was perfect. The water temperature was relaxing, and this beach stayed shallow for a decent stretch. I didn't have to worry about Aidan getting in over his head at all. I loved that beach. They swam, played in the sand, watched the boats, and then we finished it off by walking through the town and getting some Super Man ice cream.

These boys were exhausted by the time we got home. They slept well that night.

Friday we headed into Leland, aka Fishtown. This is one of my favorite places.
They each picked out their souvenirs here, we ate a nice lunch, bought post cards, etc. It's a gorgeous little scenic town. So many boats, The Dam Candy Store, the smell of fudge...what's not to love?

For dinner that night we were invited to join Pat's grandparents & parents at Knot Just a Bar restaurant, which is overlooking Lake Michigan.
On the way there we drove past this super tiny airport, and sure enough, we were able to watch a real small plane land! The boys thought that was so cool (and it was).After the restaurant we made another stop at Peterson Park. We made it just before the rain poured down. This was not really a swimming beach, but it sure was a great one for throwing rocks.

I just couldn't stop smiling watching Aidan throw rocks into the lake.
His world was perfect at that moment. He had his daddy & mommy there, baby brother; he was outside in the fresh, cool air, facing Lake Michigan and throwing rocks. No other cares. No traffic to hear. No phone ringing. No TV to tempt us.
I suppose it was perfect at that moment for all of us.

Saturday was the day of the family reunion. It was for Pat's grandmother's immediate family. She is one of 9 children. This was huge. There were over 100 people there!
I have to add a quick side note about her family: Pat's grandma is a twin. She & her twin brother are the oldest. Her mother had another set of twins following this set of twins.Crazy! Two sets of twins in a row. Can you imagine? 4 kids under 3?!

We didn't stay at the reunion very long. It was not a very easy place with two little ones.
We headed into Traverse City-downtown. I tell you, downtown TC is much nicer than expected! Decent size, plenty of shops & restaurants...it was fun.

The first thing we did was ride on a train. There was a nice park at the Marina, and an old zoo train went all through it. Aidan & Brennan could not have been happier. It just gave me goosebumps.

We walked through downtown and ate dinner at Pangea's pizza place. It was some of the best pizza I have ever had. Yum! Following dinner we walked off some of our gut, hitting a few shops. I got a great deal on a fall jacket/raincoat for Aidan (picture to come tomorrow), as well as a hoodie for me. :)

Sunday left no time other than for packing. We packed up and bid a sad farewell to the cabin.
We drove back into TC and went to Mass (at the church where Pat was Baptized, actually), then had lunch with Pat's parents. The drive home took much longer. The boys were crabby and did not sleep as we expected. Plus we were all missing the cabin. Aidan has asked many times already if we can go back.

It was a great time. We all got some sun, and best of all, time away from all the business of our daily life. I really thought I'd miss the TV and computer, but I didn't. We visited with family and each other. It was so peaceful.