City Girl Goes Camping

I think I may have mentioned before that I really don't like hate camping. I hate getting dirty, I don't like getting wet, and I really hate bugs! However, this past weekend I went camping in Mackinaw City!

My husband and I decided to take our time on the drive up, and made a quick stop in Frankenmuth. We arrived at the Bavarian Inn just in time to watch the famous Glockenspiel tell the story of the Pied Piper of Hameln. Finding an empty bench under a nice shady tree, we enjoyed the summer breeze and watched the story unfold.

                 

 

The drive up north was long, but the weather was perfect so we mostly drove with the windows down. I was getting anxious as we neared our destination, however all the doubts running through my head about our campground and cabin were quickly relieved when I saw the lovely cabin that would be our home for the next 2 nights.

                               

And the views were nothing less than breathtaking! 

The view right behind our cabin!

Mackinac Bridge from a lookout point at our campgrounds

Mackinac Island and the Grand Hotel visible from the beach

The following day I had my very first trip across the Mackinac Bridge and into the Upper Peninsula! I know it might not sound like much, but having been born and raised in Michigan and never getting up this far north, it was a big deal!

The view from the center of the Mackinac Bridge

My first time here! 

We stopped and ate lunch at a pizzeria that allowed us to eat on a patio overlooking the beautiful Great Lakes of Michigan (the Mackinac Straits is the connecting point of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan). We then decided to do something fun and different, and went to the world famous Mystery Spot in St. Ignace.

And being the "Doubting Thomas" that he is, my husband volunteered for all the spectacles to debunk the mystery as just optical illusions.

                           

 

Even if it really is just one big optical illusion, it was a lot of fun that created memories we will share for a lifetime!

On the morning of our departure we decided to drive down to the Michilimackinac State Park, and walk along the sandy/pebble stone beach enjoying the wondrous views one last time.

And because it is a tradition my Grandmother taught me long ago, we took our shoes off and put our feet in the water to enjoy the feel of two Great Lakes at once!

The cabin was cute and extremely clean, the views were more lovely than I even dreamed, and it was a trip that was long overdue in my life. It may not have been technically camping in the traditional sense, but to this city girl it was as close to camping as I like to get!

Have you taken any trips this summer? What is your favorite vacation spot?

New Year's in the Windy City!

Most people are shocked when I tell them I have never been to Chicago…especially when I have lived 4 hours away my entire life! I can now say, I will never get that shocked and disappointed look again, because I got to spend my New Year’s in the Windy City!

I must say, it is a lot easier to visit a big city when you are also visiting good friends who can show you the sights, and make the trip much more fun and enjoyable. It also made the trip a bit more affordable when our friend’s invited us to park our car on the free street parking in front of their apartment building in the charming Rogers Park. A 3-day CTA pass made travelling around the city easy, and sometimes entertaining. We found a great deal on our hotel in the Loop, and we were very pleased with the hospitality, friendliness, and cleanliness. In fact, Ken and I were both pleasantly surprised by the general friendliness of the city as a whole!

Our first evening we had dinner at Dick’s Last Resort. That was truly a unique experience! I highly recommend going at least once in your lifetime, but find it would be amazing for large celebrations such as birthday’s, bachelor/bachelorette dinner parties, etc.

After dinner the men went back to the apartment with the baby, and us ladies were able to shop the Magnificent Mile, all lit up for the holidays, at our leisure. We ended the evening with a stop at a Cupcake ATM! It was one of the best cupcakes I have ever eaten!

New Year’s Eve was spent exploring the Field Museum.

Six hours, and two very sore feet later we left the museum, and headed back uptown to the Cheesecake Factory. The restaurant was crowded, and we waited an hour to get a table, but the food was well worth the wait and the service was outstanding! We took our cheesecake desserts to go (I got the pineapple upside down cheesecake!), and headed back to our hosts apartment for an evening of cocktails, and Euchre. It was great day, and an amazingly fun evening. I can’t think of a better way to end one year and start a new one than with the sound of laughter with great friends!

Ken and I got on the L to head back to our hotel at about 1:30 am. To our delight the train was mostly empty, and a nice warm reprieve from the bitterly cold wind outside. However, slowly the trains started to fill up and before we knew it there were people jammed packed on to the train! People (mostly 18-20 year olds!) were sitting on top of one another, standing on the back of the chairs and on the dividers…smoking, passing bottles and flasks of beer and liquor, singing drunkenly, yelling, and then….someone puked! Our nice serene train ride back to the hotel had quickly turned into a frat house party nightmare! Each time the train stopped at a platform packed with wall to wall people, our train would get a little crazier! When our stop FINALLY arrived I allowed Ken to aggressively plow his way through the aisle to get me off that insane train! It was very stressful at the time, but it makes quite an amusing story to tell. Oh the adventures of travel! What was even more insane was all the women walking the street of Chicago in sub-zero temps (with the wind chill) with no coats, no stocking, and wearing short, strapless cocktail dresses! Here I was trying to walk the 3 blocks to my hotel wearing jeans, thick socks, a full length wool coat and a scarf wrapped around my head and still trying to manage not to get frost bite or hypothermia, and hundreds of women are walking around in little more than what they would wear to the beach!

Overall, I would describe our trip as fun, frigidly cold, entertaining, exhausting, educational, and nothing short of an amazing time! Happy New Year!!!

What is your favorite thing to do in Chicago? What is the best way you like to spend New Year's Eve? 

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

What am I thankful for this week? A birthday filled with some of my favorite things!

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a wonderful surprise to have a beautiful day with blue skies, and mild November temperatures. My day started with a lovely gift from one of my oldest, and best-est friends... a bottle of wine in a personalized bag sitting on my desk at work.

Having a bottle of wine right in front of me, while I'm at work, and in a celebratory mood, probably isn't a good idea, so I quickly packed it away. I left work early and spent the rest of the day with my husband and daughter. First stop on my list of favorite things...shopping of coarse! Shoe shopping! It must have been my lucky day (well, it was my birthday after all!), because I found a lovely pair of suede T-strap heels in the clearance section at DSW.  With the addition of my $5 off birthday reward certificate it made these shoes a wonderful birthday bargain!

Every fall, since my grandmother was a little girl, it has been a family tradition to visit Michigan's oldest cider mill for the most amazing, 100% pure, apple cider, and cinnamon donuts. Making this trip in the early afternoon meant there were very few people there (opposed to the bustling crowds and super long lines that are quite common at this cider mill!). It was very nice, and peaceful, and with the sun shining we enjoyed our cider and donuts at an outside table.

For dinner we headed Downriver to my favorite Mexican restaurant for the best chips and salsa on the planet! This picture will totally make both of my sister's jealous! 

After dinner we spent a few hours visiting my cousin, Danielle, and her family. It was so nice to just sit around telling (sometimes singing) stories from our childhood. Laughing about the silly things we had made up while playing Barbie's, and old movie's we used watch. It was a fantastic visit!

There were a few more surprises waiting for me when we got home! A mailbox full of birthday cards:

And a single red rose, and one of my new favorite movies, waiting on the dining room table from my loving husband!

This year, I can honestly say that my birthday was a fabulous day filled with lots of love from my family and friends, an abundance of letters, posts, texts, and emails with thoughtful birthday wishes, little surprises, great food, and the joy of laughter. For all this I am truly blessed, and thankful! Perhaps the best way to sum up my feelings on the day is with this sign from Franklin Cider Mill: