Wow, where do I begin? 6 days in Michigan with my husband and 4 (soon to be 5) year old son. I love reading blogs about other people’s travel experiences so I’m sharing our story and adventure! This was the other side of Lake Michigan for us, the west side of the state. We live in Chicago and go to the beach, see Lake Michigan all the time… but not like this. Honestly, I need to pinch myself because it all seemed like a dream….

We did so many fun things and we all had a blast!  Looking back at pictures, it seriously doesn’t seem real or like we were somewhere else…. more than just a 5 hour drive from home. Let me begin by saying I LOVE to travel and see other parts of the country and world and to do it now, in my 30’s with a son is the best ever. As a child, we went on a lot of vacations. I was fortunate to experience many airplane rides because my dad was a US Air mechanic and we spent a lot of hours in airports. I loved it. It’s what I knew. We also drove to places as well. It’s fun! And I’m fortunate now to have a kid who is SO GOOD in the car (thank the Lord!)! Seriously, when his time is up on his tablet he’ll either sleep or just sit there and look out the window.

I’m not trying to brag. I’m really not. Kids, and people in general, do not need much. I’m such a minimalist and realized at a young age how little we need to survive. And I think that’s why I enjoy traveling so much. Even just going to the beach. We need a towel, a few toys, water, snacks. Done. No need to bring your entire garage. Half the time your kids won’t play with what you brought. Chairs? You sit in a chair every day. Sit in the sand! The same goes with taking a vacation. If you forget something, who cares! Chances are you don’t really need it, or you can find a store and buy it when you get to your destination.

Ok, enough chit chat. Let me begin our Michigan adventure. Here we are, car packed ready to go!

We even brought our bikes! Our first stop was Traverse City. We rented a little cottage through Airbnb for 3 nights. For us, this was a 5 hour drive. We stopped once to eat lunch at a Burger King.

Island View Cottages is where we stayed and I highly recommend if you are ever in TC. We had a kitchen, our own room, Liam slept in a pull-out couch and the property has it’s own private beach! Literally, our cottage was 15 steps to the beach. I was in love!!

Beautiful, clear water. Nothing can beat it.

The first day we were here we did a 2 hour canoe ride at Riverside Canoe Trips. The night before we went to Meijer and got breakfast and lunch food. We brought a picnic lunch and had a great time!

After our canoe trip we drove to Glen Arbor with our bikes. Here, we did an 18 mile, HILLY bike ride. I was so mad at Ferro (my husband) for picking the route. I swore at him  a few times which is very unlike me. But when we got back to our car, I was glad! It was hard, yes, and we kept going and saw some beautiful sights that not everyone gets to experience.

And let me say this now. None of these pictures do this trip justice. These are all taken with my iPhone 7 and this hill just above… holy cow! The hills up were SO hard and the hills down, I thought my brakes were going to go out! But it was fun and I thank my husband for being the biker in this relationship and making me do it 🙂

The next day we kept open to relax…. well, relax for us. We visited the Traverse City Commons and went on a little hike.

Ferro took some really good family pictures with his DSLR and we got to enjoy some nature. We then had lunch at Spanglish, a restaurant I recommend if you like tacos (I mean, who doesn’t?!).

It’s right next door to Barefoot Charlie Winery. Oh, come on, you didn’t think I’d go to Michigan and not go to a wine tasting, did you? And yes, Liam was with us the entire time. They even gave him a juice box and crayons and a page to color. Bring the kids! They will accommodate you.

When we got back to the cottage we ate leftovers for dinner and made s’mores on the beach. Definitely my favorite night of the entire trip.

I mean, a glass of wine in hand, fire blazing, toes in the sand? There is nothing else I want in life. Besides world peace.

The next day we had to pack up our stuff and hit the road to our next destination- Charlevoix. But first… let’s check out the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It’s about a 45 minute drive from TC and $15 for the pass that you need to display in your car. Done.

And… leave it to us to pack a lunch, climb down the dunes, eat, and climb back up, disreguarding the warning signs posted at the top saying that it may take you 2 hours to get back up. Well… We did it in 25 minutes! That’s right, all 3 of us, Liam too and he didn’t cry or whine! Hallelujah!

But that view? Come on! How can you not go down there?! Side note: We are a very fit and physical family. They have the signs for a reason so please be careful! However, if you do decide to climb the dunes, I recommend going barefoot and using your legs and not doing the zombie crawl like you will see most people doing.

After that, we hit the road again to our next Airbnb in Boyne City, just outside of Charlevoix. Here, we really only had 1 full day. We drove and took a ferry to a place called Castle Farms. It’s a beautiful place where you can walk the grounds yourself. We fed ducks and fish and had a picnic lunch. They have an awesome train set up that of course Liam loved! It was very neat and we all enjoyed ourselves.

After we explored Castle Farms for a couple hours, we drove to Michigan Beach. It was a bit too chilly for us to go in the water but it was still a beautiful day to swing on the swings, go down the slide and see the lighthouse!

We then drove back to Boyne City and the boys fished (with no luck) and we enjoyed our last evening relaxing, by the water, having dinner and getting ice cream!

On our drive home, we stopped at a Jimmy Johns in Grand Rapids. Another awesome city to drive through and stop quick if you are ever near there. And then we made it home! Seriously, the worst part of travel is packing, then unpacking and having to do 3 loads of laundry. But who cares! Obviously it’s totally worth it.

So I hope you enjoyed reading about our Michigan journey 🙂 Please leave comments about your experiences or questions if you are planning on a trip there yourself!

Take care, and enjoy life!