I want to say how thankful we are to have even been able to take this trip; for a few reasons. Like I said in the last post, I booked these trips in February having no idea how Kirk would be feeling when we went on the trips and no idea when (or even if) he would be going back to work. I, selfishly, booked them for us because I felt we deserved it and I needed to have something to look forward to; I needed to feel like everything would be ok. Even then I felt like what we had been through warranted a family trip (or two, or three, if I'm honest). We've both gotten questions about how Kirk feels taking them or how his work feels about him leaving on trips as soon as he went back to work. We had no idea this would be the timing. And, danget, if there is one thing we have deserve after the last 7 months, it's a couple family vacations. #thankyouverymuch We don't feel guilty because we have no reason to feel guilty. This year has been hell. Dammit, we deserve it so please don't make either of us feel bad about it. And, can I just say, that even if your spouse hadn't spent 9 weeks in the hospital, even if the person you love hadn't spent a week on a vent, even if your husband or wife didn't have to regain all of their strength back, chances are you deserve a vacation, too.
So, our trip.
The last couple years, we have rented a cottage near Ludington and Manistee. Since we bought the pop-up last summer, we decided to put it to use this summer. We have spent a couple trips at a local campground, but nothing far from home and certainly not rustic. This trip was at Lake Michigan Recreation Area near Manistee. It was beautiful! The campground itself has four "loops". Our site in the Orchid loop was big, not too close to any other neighbors and close to the bathrooms. No showers, of course, but there were flush toilets and running water.
One great thing about the campground, is the gorgeous beach. We weren't able to spend too much time there because the campground is in the middle of Nordhouse Dunes. Dunes and Kirk are not a good combo right now.
My parents rented a cottage for a few days about 45 minutes from our campground. We spent a couple days there with my whole family, which is always fun. My brother is such a good sport and our kids adore him!
Anyone else taken the Beanboozled challenge? Is that even how you spell it? Either way, it's where you are given a good Jelly Belly or a yucky one. The yucky ones include barf, lawn clippings, rotten cheese, sweaty socks. Gross but oh so fun!
My sister and her family were staying in Ludington. We spent most our days at the beach together in either Ludington or Manistee. I love the fact our kids have been able to enjoy a vacation (sort of) together every year. This year, the kids spent a lot of time in the water. Especially Lincoln, Gianna and Ellery. Isadora and Easton spent more time in the sand and Quin did a little of both.
We didn't miss out on House of Flavors and thankfully, they still have sorbet for Isadora. I didn't get an actual picture of them eating ice cream, but we did get a picture afterward on the river walk in Manistee.
We had an absolutely wonderful vacation. It was full of family time and lots of really great memories. We do have one more trip at the end of the month. I can only hope it is as memorable as this one!
We had an absolutely wonderful vacation. It was full of family time and lots of really great memories. We do have one more trip at the end of the month. I can only hope it is as memorable as this one!
No comments:
Post a Comment