Trekker’s Adventure with Mommy & Daddy

Dear Abigail,

I hope you are having a great time with Grandma and Papa! We are having a fabulous trip here in Traverse City, Michigan. This city is about five hours north (look to the top of a map for north) of Toledo, where you are. We arrived here on Saturday night after we dropped you off. Our friends, JJ and Dan (along with their dogs Reagan and Reilly) are here with us.

Saturday and Sunday were rainy and cold days here in Northern Michigan and we were worried that we were on another “Raincation.” Because this is Daddy’s surprise trip, he only knew where we were going, he did not know any other details. For example, he did not know that we were staying at a house on a lake with a boat! He did not know that JJ was going to decorate the house with lots of “40th birthday” decorations. He did not know the plans for the day until either the night before or that morning.

On Sunday, we went for a run on the Traverse City bay in the pouring rain. It was not raining that much when we left but of course it was really raining by the time we were halfway out there (and the furthest away from the car). Dan has a bum knee right now so he did not run, but he walked the dogs. He did not start the day well, as it was raining and cold and he was not warm because he was not running, but also because the bag he used to pick up the doggie poo had a hole in it. Hmm. The day could only get better after that! After we got cleaned up (in all respects), we took the winery tour up the Leelanau Peninsula. We visited five different wineries, had lunch in Sutton’s Bay and even went to the tip of the peninsula to see the Leelanau lighthouse. It did stop raining for much of the day, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Michigan is known for sweet and dessert wines and Michigan is known for cherries, so that is mainly what we tasted. Mommy even bought a bunch of cherries from a roadside stand! That night, we made hamburgers on the grill and watched the rain come down over the water.

Monday we headed out to a different type of adventure. Instead of working out first, we kept our exercise clothes on and went to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, which is on the western side of the state, overlooking Lake Michigan. We packed a lunch, water and snacks and headed to our adventure. The first path we trailblazed was about 2.5 miles and it went over several rolling dunes and back through a forest. Daddy said it was just like being back in his trail races. We were not ready to be finished by this point so headed to the “Dune hike” next. The first hike was supposed to be strenuous so we figured since this one said the same thing, it would be about the same amount of work. That was not actually the case. This trail is the one that everyone has pictures of, with the sand dunes so tall that you can’t see over them. Running down them was great, but going up them was quite a challenge!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009:
Dear Abigail, it’s Trekker! Today is Tuesday and today we went to see Mommy’s friend, Val, who lives in a place called Charlevois. This is a cute town about an hour north of Traverse City on Lake Michigan. Like every day on vacation, it was a really fun day! We arrived at lunch, met Val at a café, bought some sandwiches, and had lunch on the square, overlooking the harbor. Mommy has not seen Val since September, 2007, so they had much to catch up about. JJ, Dan, Reagan and Reilly went too, but they had their own picnic and walked out to the lake. Reagan and Reilly are such good dogs, they make friends wherever they go. They met some interesting people in the little town who shared all sorts of information that JJ and Dan did not really want to know. But, that is the way it works with friendly people. Anyway, it was a gorgeous day, 75 and sunny. It was so sunny that Mommy and Daddy got sunburned. They did not expect to be in the sun so they did not have their sunscreen on! On the way back from this little town, we stopped along the side of the road to buy some cherry goodies like jams and salsa. It was a long day and we were all very tired when we got back. We made Mexican dinner and had some margaritas, which made everything better again. We rented the pontoon boat to use the next day and the owner let us take a drive on Tuesday night. It was chilly but really fun to tool around the lake at dusk.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Because it was such a long day on Tuesday and because the weather forecast said it was going to be warm on Wednesday, we decided that would be the day to rent the pontoon boat and cruise the lake. Cruise the lake we did! We started at 10:30 in the morning and made seven laps around the lake throughout the day. We would take a lap, come back for a snack, or lunch, or dinner, then headed out again. Dan drove the boat and JJ, Daddy and Mommy all read books. It was another gorgeous day, the warmest of the week. There was barely a cloud in the sky and it was almost 80 degrees. The boat had a radio in it so we listened to classic rock all day and Delhila (a music program that plays slow songs) at night.

Thursday, July 30, 2009
We got up early today so we could drive to Mackinac Island. It is a 2+ hour drive so we wanted to get an early start. The weather was cool to cold and it looked pretty rainy on the drive. The weather did not get any better but we still had a good time. Mackinac Island is reachable via a ferry (big boat) that crosses Lake Yuron. You are not allowed to drive any motor vehicles on the island, so people either walk (like we did), ride bikes or take a horse and buggy. You would have loved the horses walking up and down the street! There is one main street with lots of shops and restaurants. We had lunch at an outdoor café because Reagan and Reily were with us. After that, we walked around the water area. It was pretty chilly and it started to rain. It reminded us of the weather we experienced in Chautauqua, and yes, there were many puddles that you would have enjoyed jumping in After Dan and Mommy tasted as many different fudge versions as possible, we made our purchase (Mackinac is known for its fudge!) and headed to the famous Grand Hotel. This hotel is huge, with a 660 foot porch and towers over the island, overlooking the lake. There was a $10 fee to go into the hotel, so we just took some pictures from the street. After that, we figured that we had enough fun and headed back to the ferry.

We packed sandwiches for lunch but since we did not eat them, we decided to have sandwiches and chips for dinner. Daddy had said at the beginning of the trip that he really wanted a Burger King Whopper for one of his meals. Luckily, there is a “BK” on every corner in northern Michigan, so we stopped by one on the way home and bought him his special meal. We were all pretty tired from our day in the rain, so played some Frisbee and hung out at the house after dinner. Wait, Dan and JJ actually went to the Ice Cream Vixen for dessert and Mommy and Daddy stayed at the house.

Daddy has really missed you. Mommy has missed you too, but Daddy can’t stand it anymore. So much so, that Friday morning, he said that he would really like to get back to Toledo to see you.

Friday, July 31, 2009
We got up this morning and went for a run at the park on the other side of the lake. Daddy did six laps and a little on the trail. Mommy did several laps and lots of time in the woods/trail. They did a cool-down lap and Daddy confirmed that he really wanted to see you today. So, when we got back, we packed up our things, and called Grandma to let them know that we were coming back. JJ and Dan came back from their run, got ready for the day and we all headed to downtown Traverse City for our last lunch together. We had a Pastie (which we had seen on our way back from Mackinac and thought was a misspelling), but it is pronounced PASS-TEE and is an English pot pie. We walked the city a bit and then parted ways. Mommy and Daddy, as you know, are very efficient packers so within 10 minutes of being back at the house, we were on the road.

Daddy said that he loved his surprise trip and appreciated all of the work and planning Mommy did for it. Mommy really enjoyed planning the trip and she highly recommends for parents to have some time away from their kids. They have missed you, but are glad that you are having a great time and spending time with Grandma, Papa and your aunts, uncles and cousins.