Of Strawberries and Sandy Shores

We just got home from a long road trip to see our family in Michigan. I told my husband on the way home that I love traveling because it makes the world feel smaller and bigger at the same time. Do you know what I mean? 

We had a great time and I thought I'd share some of the highlights. If you never thought of Michigan as a vacation destination you might reconsider. : ) One of my fond memories of summer vacations to Michigan is strawberry picking. 

I guess it's kind of like treasure hunting for me. See those little red gems? 

Five and a half of us went picking. The berries were smaller than usual, so at first we thought it was going to take a long time.

But pretty soon strawberries were spilling into the crates by the handful.

And before long the crates were heavy with ripe, red fruits.

My goal is always to pick enough that we have to eat them for every meal in order to eat them before they go bad. Mission accomplished. See Thing One's mini basket? He was quite the little berry picker. A boy after his Mom's own heart. : )

Later in the week we went up to a friend's beach house on Lake Michigan. We stayed in Arcadia, a tiny little town on the coast. My grandma took us all to ice cream at this awesome little shop. It was the best ice cream I've ever had and the shop itself was so cute. They have a story behind every piece of wood in there. Part of the bar is made out of pieces that used to be an old church. It was a step back in time.

We also made it to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. It was the first hike I've ever done that was easier without shoes (most of the time). A crazy thought for a girl that's used to hiking in the mountains. It was so beautiful. We are already missing the beach.

On the way back from the dunes we spotted this chocolate shop. Half an hour later and a little bit poorer we emerged with our chocolate prizes: dark chocolate covered cocoa nibs, dark chocolate nibbling disks, and earl grey chocolate bars. Wow. Little road-side stands and shops like this are my favorite; the road less traveled.

I'm so thankful we got to go on this trip and experience all this stuff with our kids and all our family. We all stayed at the same house by the beach so it smacked of Dan in Real Life, and we loved it, but we are glad to be home. I don't know when our next adventure will be, or where it will lead us, but I'm thanking God for this one and for the privilege of living in such an awesome and diverse country. I hope you are having some summer fun and that you enjoyed Father's day!

Thanks for reading.

- Haley