Serving it up, Louhelen-style.: We're real Michiganders now!

Hello all! After a long time of not blogging, I decided to finally blog! After this, I will be completing a blog that details the months of January and February and early March. Look out for it!

Sooo my mom and brother came to visit! First they came to Louhelen to volunteer for a couple days - Jacob in the kitchen, my mom (Julie) drawing out plans for reorganization of some of the Louhelen classrooms. We had an amazing time - I'm so lucky they were able to visit, and that they could see what life is like at Louhelen. All the staff and youth really were so welcoming, I have to thank them for that. On Monday morning we got a car and decided not to plan out the whole vacation around Michigan but to go where we felt each day - and it worked out perfectly! We saw a lot of this beautiful state.

We started by heading to Grand Rapids - one of my favorite cities - where we went to the Public Museum and walked about the city along the river, then to the Frederick Meijer Sculpture Gardens, where a huge butterfly exhibit was happening and we saw many different species of butterfly flying everywhere around us. We stayed that night at a beautiful bed and breakfast in historic Heritage Hill - all restored Victorian homes with a fun little downtown area. All went well there, though I will note that veganism AND fasting are things you should tell the inn-keeper before arriving...

Tuesday morning, we woke up to another sunny, blue-skied day and drove to Traverse City. We first walked along the Grand Traverse Bay and enjoyed the sun while Jacob tried breaking the ice with snowballs (and failed!) and later walked in Old Town (downtown) through the sweet little shops and such. We then drove around the [what I have been told is called] Lelanau Peninsula...that north-western 'pinky finger' of Michigan that's sort of triangular in shape. Look at a map. Anyway, it's GORGEOUS. We stopped in Empire and climbed up to the bluff where we could see Lake Michigan for miles and miles out, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes to the north. We didn't do the 'dune-walk' that is so famed because walking on sand (and the world's largest dunes, for that matter!) for three hours didn't quite hold our attention. We did run into a lovely chocolate shop called the Grocer's Daughter - apparently well-known throughout the US Here's their website! The woman who owns it is lovely. - and acquired some delicious basil/thyme/sea salt truffles and Maya-bark and such. It made me so happy. We continued on to travel around the whole loop (so beautiful!), then stopped in again at Traverse City to have dinner at a great southwestern/Mexican place and stay the night.

Wednesday morning, with a slight tiredness setting in, we headed on along the coast of Lake Michigan and stopped at Petoskey State Park in Little Traverse Bay where snow meets sand! Since it was a weekday and also still winter (but so warm! Nearly 50 degrees!) there was hardly anyone on the beach and we felt like we were in Antarctica. We looked for the famous Petoskey stones (fossilized coral that is unique to Little Traverse Bay, apparently) but didn't find any...or did we? We're not true Michiganders so I don't think we would know it if we saw it! Then we drove through the 'tunnel of trees' on highway 119 along Lake Michigan to Mackinaw City. The town itself was almost a ghost town - it's only hustle-bustle on weekends, but I was glad to be there without tons of people passing by. The bridge to the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) was all I really needed to see there, and we then drove the 5 miles across the bridge into St Ignace, and walked the boardwalk to the lighthouse there. So windy, so beautiful! Lake Huron and Michigan meet up there, and they were definitely still frozen. That's where I got a facial sunburn, I believe...can you believe it?!? In winter! Ah well, it means more freckles for me. :)

The rest of that day we spend driving down to Saginaw to stay the night, and had a scrumptious meal at an Indian place I read about that was exactly what I was craving after a day of driving! Mmmmmmm palak and pinti chole and roti and saffron rice and chai. Except I didn't drink the chai because it had milk in it. But still. Delicious. And unexpected in a place like Saginaw!

Thursday morning we decided to spend mom and Jacob's last few hours in Michigan in Ann Arbor - the 'biggest little city' (or littlest big city?) that I love so dearly. Of course, with it being St Pattie's day, all the university students were wearing green, blasting music, and drinking to their heart's content. Jacob and I had a blast walking about the shops and university campus, and looking at the little fairy-sized mini-shops hidden in corners of certain places around town...yes, quirky and weird, but hey! It's fun. We then walked the arboretum on Huron River, and loved it. It was a relaxing and warm end to a long trip.

Three days of traveling gave us a lot more than photos or postcards, it gave our family a few moments to bond and a memory to keep forever. Thanks guys, for coming to visit. :)