Honestly, we did a whole lot of nothing, and it never felt better. What a relief it was to have four whole days to escape the confines of life and just hang out. Friday, we spent the day at Young's Lake Campground, a privately owned facility that is mostly occupied by annual clientele. It was so quiet and peaceful there, and it was a steal at $12 per night!
Saturday we went to our friend's house for a BBQ. It was so great to have an afternoon like that, and I didn't do any cooking! Do you know how weird that was for me? Every occasion like that in our family I do all the cooking. What a blessing that was. The guys explored the property and just hung out while us girls drank homemade green tea, cut lettuce from the garden for salad, and relaxed. I got some time to shoot some nice photos as well.
Sunday we planned to go canoeing on the Pere Marquette River, but Adrian was being a wet blanket and Pat was concerned about his neck. He injured it several weeks ago, and it is really giving him fits even with numerous visits to the chiropractor. Fortunately, they had access to a pontoon boat. We spent the day on the Muskegon River. It was so relaxing and a lot of fun.
Monday we closed camp, went to breakfast and stopped back by their house to pick up the eighth of a beef that we purchased. We don't eat much meat, but the meat we do eat we are very conscious of. We always know the source. No grocery store meat for this family. After loading up we headed home and unpacked and prepared to meet at very hectic week.
So, without further ado, here is my photo journal:
Adrian and Andrew around the campfire.
It's nice to have a musician in the family now!
Our camp set up.
I don't remember this cow's name, but she justwanted me to take her photo.
Andrew spent a lot of time playing fetchwith their Border Collie, Pippy.
This is their driveway. Serene, or what?
Pat and Dave prepare the pontoon for our day on the water.
Pippy taking a break from the hard work of herding her toy!
Flowers in Linda's garden.
This is my favorite shot from the whole weekend. I plan to frame it and send it as a thank you for their hospitality.
Andrew and Adrian being silly in the truck.
In our family we know dad loves us by the way he likes to play. I guess it's a guy thing.
Andrew driving the pontoon.
The Muskegon River.
Adrian's idea of tubing. Neither one of them ever did get in the water.
What?
Part of a swan family that we saw during our journey.
Pat and Linda laughing about something.
Pat and Andrew bringing the boat in to dock.
I do not know this dog personally, but check out his hairafter his day on the water!
Victory is mine!
A moon shot from our campsite.
Breaking camp.
Crab Apples on the farm.
The end of our journey.
4 comments:
Wow. A camping family! Tents no less. I thought we were the only ones who did that. Round here, in suburban Philadelphia, when you say that you are going to go camping for your vacation they look at you a little funny.
I grew up with family camping vacations and carried the tradition into my family. The last few years it has been a little tough getting a wife and 2 teenage daughters to still want to sleep in a tent and have to walk to campground bathrooms. They seem to be much more interested in going to the beach. So we have been alternating years and with our tight budget this year they can't even suggest getting a place at the beach.
We are going to the Finger Lake in NY, tent camping. YES! But I did have to give in some. My wife said she won't do more than 4 nights in a tent so we are going to visit some friends in Rochester, NY and then visit Niagara Falls to round out the week.
Nothing better to get away from life and work then camping. Nothing better for a family.
Boy we have a lot in common Tina. I will have to send you some pictures. Only wish we had a guitar player in the family. Violin, but I can never get her to play for us, and it might be a little weird at a campsite :)
We used to use a pop-up years ago, but honestly I like the tents better. As long as I have an air mattress I'm happy. We never camped when I was a kid. We were super poor, and we never went on vacation. Pat and I just took the kids camping, because what else can you afford for a family of nine and still have fun? The girls camp with their kids and their friends now, and everyone seems to have fond memories. I'm sure Pat and I will be taking grandkids in the future and we even go by ourselves.
We road tripped it for our honeymoon from Michigan to Lubec, Maine; the furthest point East in the United States. We camped most nights and stayed in a hotel twice in two weeks, I think. It was great! You get so much more bang for your buck.
On our way to Maine we camped in Finger Lake, NY. BEAUTIFUL! We even visited Niagara Falls. I had been there once when I was a kid. We just passed through stopping long enough to see the falls and then moving on.
There was a guy across the roadway that had a banjo. It was SO cool to fall asleep to his playing. My idea of a perfect evening.
What great pictures! Looks like you guys had such a wonderful time. I love camping but honestly cannot remember the last time I went. It all looks so relaxing and fun. The dog with the hair - hahahaha - now that was funny!
Glad you had a great time and glad you posted pics.
Miriam
Thanks, Miriam! I thought that dog was too funny too. I just had to ask if I could take a picture. So glad they let me.
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