September 5 - 8, 2019
For the third year in a row, we planned a family trip with the Ronas crew! This year, we headed even further north and landed in Petoskey and the surrounding area. It's a gorgeous area, and though sadly it wasn't a very warm weekend, we still saw the sun and were able to do some adventuring!
Day One - Friday, September 5
Though we arrived on Thursday (where we explored our fun VRBO rental on Crooked Lake and had a yummy dinner prepared by Son and Hien), it wasn't until Friday that we were able to do some real exploring. First, we ended up on M119, the Tunnel of Trees, and at Pond Hill Farms. They had a winery, brewery, animals and all sorts of things to see. We did lunch (and a few drinks!) and let the kids play outside. We got caught in some rain, which we road out in the barn, and then proceeded to climb to the high point of the property overlooking the area.
Our next stop was the Thorne Swift Nature Preserve on Little Traverse Bay. We were hoping to hunt for Petoskey stones, but the guide told us they were found on the other side of the bay. Despite that, we walked through the woods and down to the water to hang out on the beach for a bit before heading home.
That night we did s'mores by the campfire!
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| ^This kitty came for pets while we checked out the deck (waiting for lunch) |
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| ^She's the coolest. |
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| ^Lu and Baa. |
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| ^Watermelon face! |
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| ^Outside to explore. |
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| ^Found a playground! |
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| ^Nope! |
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| ^The rain caught us so we went inside and hung out with some goats. |
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| ^The rain let up, so we ran up the "mountain" |
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| ^Why do children love dirt so much??? |
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| ^One to the next stop! We saw some GORGEOUS houses on our way to Thorne Swift. |
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| ^My most precious Lu |
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| ^Helping. She loves him ;) |
Day Two - Saturday, September 6
On our second day, we expected more rain in the morning but we were pleasantly surprised with a gorgeous sunrise! It did rain a bit later but only briefly! We headed out to check out Charlevoix. Sadly, there was just too much wind to do much there. Although we did find an alley with a huge Jenga and Chess set to play at for awhile. We wandered around the main street for a bit, saw a ferry boat pass under the drawbridge and then had lunch nearby. Which was very good ;) Then we went to Fisherman's Island State Park where we hung out on Lake Michigan for a bit and found a bunch of Petoskey stones! The girls loved just messing around in the sand and stones.
After that, we drove down to the end of the park and the boys road back on the bikes while the girls slept. We had an early dinner and went to Kilwin's for ice cream. We were hoping for a chocolate factory tour too, but they only do them during the week. Mike suggested we go to a playground after, which was a great idea because it was right on the bay where you could see the sunset. It was windy but we got used to it and even walked down the pier before heading home.
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| ^Pretty sunrise. |
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| ^Mike and Laina are on the dock out there. |
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| ^Finding the ducks. |
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| ^Duck walk. |
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| ^One shot in Charlevoix ;) |
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| ^Stone finding... kind of. |
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| ^Found a turtle in the road. |
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| ^Playground shenanigans. |
Day Three - Sunday, September 7
Our last day started with the Ronas's going to church and us packing everything up. But then we went to Harbor Springs and wandered until they got there. We had breakfast and did some more exploring. We spent a ton of time in a bookstore which was kind of fun. Then we headed to downtown Petoskey. It would have been cool to get to spend more time there but it was still neat. We visited a flower/gift shop for awhile, trying not to break things and then we got some gelato for a snack and then the girls played in the grassy area behind. The met a few dogs (including a basset hound puppy!!!!).
Last, we went back to the house to take a few quick photos before heading home. Hien and I had concert tickets (oops, wrong date!) which would have been sad to miss, but we still had a fun trip!
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| ^A pretty church in Harbor Springs. |
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| ^No one else would let me take their photo :( Thanks Allie :) |
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| ^Wish this place would have been open! |
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| ^Gelato ladies. |
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| ^Sugar RUSHHHHHH. |
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| ^Another fun trip together! |
