Day 1
Our departure time was around 8:00 am. We stopped quite a few times on the way, much more than normal anyway. The drive up was quiet - Oliver played with toys I'd stocked the car with and Graham slept quite a bit. We found out during this trip that the older kids get, the more difficult travelling becomes. Breakfast was at Cracker Barrel then other stops were just random places to have a snack, stretch, or eat our picnic lunch. We reached our destination mid-afternoon, Traverse City, Michigan. Brent and I took a huge leap out of our comfort zone this trip by staying at a Great Wolf Lodge. After check-in Brent came back to the car wide-eyed at what we referred to as over-stimulation. This place catered to kids BIG TIME! Our attraction to it was the water slides as entertainment in between our day trips. We also had a room where the kid beds were not visible from the adult bed, meaning we could maybe stay up a little later than them. Though we were not, it would be easy to get sucked into spending a lot of money on your kids at one of these lodges. Our focus was on the events we'd enjoy outside of the hotel, it was basically our sleeping and swimming ground. On Sunday night after settling in and having dinner at Red Mesa Grill, amazing Mexican food, we spent some time discovering the water park that is at the hotel. The boys "got their feet wet" but were too exhausted from the travelling and excitement to truly enjoy it.
Day 2
Sleeping is always challenging for us the first night we stay somewhere new. This trip proved to be spot-on. We decided to let Graham sleep in the bottom bunk of the beds in the room. Around 4:30 in the morning he hit his eye, giving him a nice shiner for the remainder of the trip. He screamed out a little then went right back to sleep. I guess he's used to falling a lot these days! Monday morning officially started with breakfast out on the patio, which turned into something the boys really enjoyed each morning. This was especially true when about a dozen ducklings walked by because ducks are Graham's favorite animal. Once we were all fed, we made our way to Mission Point Lighthouse. Traverse City is the mid-point of two different peninsulas, so we ventured up one of them on this day. We enjoyed climbing up into the lighthouse, though it was a little challenging to carry Graham to the top. The view was gorgeous! Afterward we stopped on our way back into town to pick cherries. I was the only one truly into the event, but now we have 5 pounds of sweet goodness, which we have already shared with friends a bit. After our picnic lunch at the hotel we decided to try making the kids take naps. It was a disaster and the only day we tried to officially make them lay down because it was a complete waste of time. Next we went to a local beach in Traverse City. Oliver liked getting in the water and Graham only wanted his hands in the sand. The wind was really rough so we didn't stay long before going to dinner at Traverse City Pie Company and getting ice cream at Moomers. Both meals were amazing! The cutest thing was that Graham was so exhausted by the time dinner came around that he slept on me for the majority of our dinner. Brent reminded me to soak up that time because it is probably one of the last times it will happen since he's getting so big. It's those moments that I hope I'll remember most about the trip! The day ended with Story Time in the hotel lobby for Oliver and I while Brent put Graham to bed.
Day 3
Like every morning of this trip, the day started around 6:00 with Oliver being ready to attack the day. Since no one else was even thinking about being awake in our room, I took him to the lobby and we played Go Fish for a while until Dunkin Donuts opened (not until 6:30) and we could take breakfast back to the rest of the family. Again, it was a sweet moment where I could spend some special time with one of my sweet children. After our bellies were full we prepared to go hiking in Sleeping Bear Dunes Park. The trail we ended up on was Shauger Hill. It was a nice loop, though we got slightly derailed for a small bit (which always seems to happen at least a little!). Hiking is one of my favorite things we do as a family. Nature is Brent and my happy place and we love sharing it with our children. Oliver gets lots of opportunities to ask questions about everything around him without interrupting anything. Graham just giggles at everything! We truly love everything about it! After our hike we walked up Sleeping Bear Dunes. It is a huge sand dune! Brent had been building this event up to Oliver for over a month before the trip. So where most kids were complaining on the way up, Oliver was encouraging us to make it further. The entire trek could be up to 3 miles and take hours because it is hiking through sand. We went about 20 minutes up and sat to play in the sand and enjoy the views for a bit. Oliver and I pretty much ran up while Brent carried Graham. This was Oliver's favorite part of the trip based on what he told us on our way home today. After the dunes we went to Crystal Lake Beach to play in the sand and water. Oliver and I enjoyed jumping off of one of the boat docks (which we were told we had to stop) and we all enjoyed swimming together. The water was warmer than the previous beach and much clearer. Once we left the beach and put on dry clothes we went to dinner then played at the water park back at the hotel. Unlike the first night, I was able to get Oliver to try some of the bigger slides with me. Of course he ended up loving it! After all of these things we were all exhausted! Everyone slept hard that night!
Day 4
After breakfast we headed up the other side of the peninsula to go hiking and to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Hiking turned out to be a bust because the mosquitoes were horrible! The lighthouse turned out to be my favorite thing of the trip. The weather was perfect! Because our days started so early, we were able to explore around the terrain before the lighthouse even opened. Graham and I ventured down to the water where he played with rocks. I loved sitting there watching him investigate their colors, sizes, and shapes. Once the lighthouse opened, we explored to the top. Before leaving we had a picnic lunch. Graham was so tired at that point that he was throwing most of his food so a chipmunk was loving the leftover Goldfish crackers. Once we got into the car we drove through a few small towns, stopping in one to explore. The boys had actually fallen asleep so I walked around alone for about half an hour before they began to stir in the car with Brent. After a bit more strolling we enjoyed ice cream. Since it was only about 3:00 we decided to take the boys to the children's museum in Traverse City. It was perfect for about 2.5 hours of entertainment! Oliver made a friend and together they built train tracks and water paths. Graham mostly loved the indoor slide and the area where he could play in the kitchen. Brent went back to the hotel for some down time before picking us up to have pizza for dinner. The restaurant, Pangea, had popcorn appetizers while we waited on our food. Genius! After dinner we walked around the shops in Traverse City before going back to the hotel and calling it a night.
Day 5
Brent and I had the crazy idea to take the kids out on a catamaran on Thursday morning. The prices were reasonable and it was geared toward kids. It actually turned out to be a fantastic idea! Both boys loved sitting on the nets that were right above the water. Oliver got to drive the boat for a little while. Graham "learned" how to tie a knot. They also enjoyed orange slices and bubbles. It was awesome! Oliver said it was his second favorite thing of the week. Once our ride was over we enjoyed Mexican food at a restaurant called Spanglish. We were all exhausted so the next stop was actually nap time back at the hotel. Graham had fallen asleep in the car so I carried him in without waking him and he stayed asleep for almost 2 hours. We bribed Oliver with going back to the water park if he took a nap. And Brent and I slept for well over an hour each. It was amazing! As promised, we went to the water park for a while before dinner. Dinner ended up back at Traverse City Pie Company, but this time we had some pie for dessert. I had strawberry rubarb and Brent ate apple dumpling. Both were amazing! After dinner we were all still very energized so we stayed up late. Brent took Oliver to the arcade in the hotel. $10 got him about 150 tickets, which buys a bouncy ball and handful of Tootsie Rolls. They were about to leave when a teenage boy gave them 600ish tickets, which was enough for the Oliver lunchbox we'd been eyeing but unwilling to pay for in tickets. So when Oliver got back to the room he was stoked! It was a great ending to our trip.
Day 6 and 7
Friday morning we ate breakfast then hit the road for Kyle and Kristen's house in North Manchester, Indiana. It's about halfway between Traverse City and Burlington and we'd been wanting to see them all summer. So we enjoyed Kristen's amazing taco salad, played at the park, let the kids run around and be loud, then talked over ice cream after the kids were in bed. This morning after breakfast we made our way back home. It was a fun week that we will all remember as our first vacation as a family of 4!
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