Last year, we went to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. This year, we drove up to Traverse City, Michigan over 4th of July to see the Cherry Festival and Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Halfway through our five-hour drive, we made a pit stop in South Haven to stretch our legs and have a greasy lunch.
The food was unremarkable, but the photo ops were cute!
After lunch, we weren't ready to get back in the car yet so we strolled down to the waterfront.
They're lucky Daddy is a lot more relaxed than Mommy. I was a bit nervous about them climbing out on the rocks.
A pirate ship!
Saying hi to all the baby ducklings before we got back in the car and drove the rest of the way to Traverse City.
When we got there, it was too late to walk around town. But not too late for a quick dip in the pool!
We spent our first two days walking around town, attending various Cherry Festival events, and making the most of the various pools and water activities that our hotel had to offer. In general, we spent as much time near water as possible because of the scorching heat wave that hit Traverse City (as well as various other parts of the Midwest). It was over 95 degrees both days, although slightly more tolerable in the shade. If you've never walked around in near-100 degree weather with three small children, let me tell you, it is not for the faint at heart.
Cooling off in the splash pad.
Watching the duck races.
They sweated off their face paint within a couple of hours. (And yes, that's a buffalo on D's cheek.)
Swinging in the shade.
Cooling off with some Moomer's ice cream.
This is the only shot I got of us in our patriotic 4th of July clothes. It's a bit dark. But then again, so is the state of our democracy (sorry, can't help myself).
Telling secrets over pizza.
Cute little Captain America.
Water umbrellas in the hotel splash pad.
What heat wave? Let's go in the hot tub!
Danny and Aaron each went down the hotel water slide at least 10 times.
Jill tried out the pool rope course.
Quick car nap on our way back into town.
Cheering at the air dog show.
That's right, I said air dog.
Time for another cool down, at the beach this time.
We didn't have any beach toys, but they were pretty content with the empty gum containers I found rolling around on the floor of the car.
Our third day was by far my favorite for two reasons: (1) we spent it at beautiful Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, and (2) it was a breezy and comfortable 71 degrees the whole day. There was much to explore at the Park, including the dunes, a scenic drive with various interesting sights and stops, and a hiking trail through the woods. Another highlight was the opportunity for the kids to achieve Junior Ranger status by doing a series of activities, finding certain landmarks, and answering questions in their ranger workbooks. What a great idea and way of getting kids engaged!
We started off our Park visit at the dunes.
D needed a little boost to get to the top. Piggyback selfie!
What goes up...
...must come down!
And then back up again.
I was on a quest to get the perfect family photo at Sleeping Bear. This was the first attempt and, in the end, probably the best result because no one was sick of me asking them to pose for the camera yet. It was only a matter of time...
Taking a break at the top. Jill did not like it when the sand blew in her face!
Taking the road less traveled.
Dune buddies.
Family photo take 2.
Take 3.
Take 4.
Jumping our way back down.
Lunch at the bottom
Family photo take 5, and first stop on our scenic drive.
Take 6. Jill's over it.
Another stop on our scenic drive brought us to the top of a sand dune that dropped so steeply down to the water that Chris got vertigo and the kids got nervous getting too close to the edge. Beautiful view though!
Me and my cliffhangers.
After we finished the driving portion of our expedition, it was time for the hiking part. Our hike was about 1.5 miles total.
The kids were troopers!
Although they needed a little help here and there.
Tree huggers.
Getting to know the locals.
Daddy found walking sticks for everyone.
The sticks also made excellent swords.
Ooh-ooh another scenic overlook! Take 7.
No more pictures, Mom!!!
Aaron and I doing our best to personify our shirts.
(In case you can't read them, his says "happy camper" and mine says "cranky camper.")
Everyone earned their Junior Ranger certificates, pins, and badges!
On our last night there, we had dinner at a quirky local restaurant called Sleder's Tavern, that was filled with the mounted heads (and one butt) of unlucky deer, buffalo, moose, and even a jackelope. One of the things to do there is to "smooch the moose" for luck. I dared Aaron to do it and even promised him a t-shirt if he followed through.
He really wanted a t-shirt.
D just really wanted to smooch the moose. Jill wanted nothing to do with any of it.
I'm not convinced the moose had anything to do with it, but we certainly were lucky to have had such a great family vacation in Traverse City. Throughout the course of our trip, we repeatedly raised our glasses to "Broyles Family Vacation 2018." It makes me smile to think that (Lord willing) someday we'll be raising our glasses to Broyles Family Vacation 2025 or 2030. Even stranger to think that someday the kids might join the toast with a beer instead of a glass of chocolate milk! But for now, we are grateful for our wonderful family and the fun memories we got to make together. Cheers to that!
Post Script: Here's Aaron showing off his "smooch the moose" t-shirt. A well-earned souvenir!
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