Summertime in Michigan

People who live there know that there is something indescribably special about summertime in Michigan. I can only guess that it comes from the deep appreciation of sunshine and warm weather that is built up during the long, harsh, grey winters... but that is probably only part of it. There really is something about those summer days... the breeze blowing through your windows at night... the blue skies during the day... the stars in the sky... the wildflowers... the sunshine... the lush green landscape. It's something special to take in.
We decided to take our family there this past summer to indulge in the beauty. We went "up north" to Leland, in the Leelanau Peninsula, which allowed us to explore much of what northwest Michigan has to offer... Traverse City, sand dunes, canoeing, and of course Lake Michigan.

 This is the little cottage where we stayed - it was dreamy...
We rarely stay in hotels anymore when we travel. We find these charming places that typically add some unexpected joy in our journey.  
In this little fairy house, we had wildflowers... Charlie picked me 3 bouquets of them...

The kids got lost in them...  I love seeing our kids explore like this


We also had this little screened in patio that was full of charm

And the boys' favorite feature of our little fairy house in Leland...

the tree swing




That, my friend, is summertime in Michigan....

We drove to downtown Leland to see Lake Michigan in all her glory...  it was a wee bit chilly






We went canoeing on a beautiful river that opens up to the sand dunes





The boys were mesmerized by this momma duck and her babies

We were all in awe over the magnitude of the sand dunes... truly breathtaking

And, of course, a little coffee break in Traverse City

It is safe to say that we all enjoyed the carefree beauty of our trip "up north" and hope to be back again someday.


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