Listen, friends. Pull up a seat. I have a strong opinion to share today: Northern Michigan is the most underrated summer vacation gem. Seriously! I do not understand the allure of all flocking to Florida or even the southern east coast for summer beach vacation when Michigan is just a half day drive away (from us in Ohio). It’s STUNNING. The weather is beautiful. And there is so much to do. In a world where I usually don’t air strong opinions, this is one that I will shout from the rooftops!
The Hines family always gathers annually “Up North” in Michigan, but this year the DeValve family (my side of the family) also decided to do a small family reunion/vacation in Northern Michigan. It was the most central location for my parents, my family and my brothers family to meet up. We each had about a 5-6 hour drive before arriving in Pentwater, Michigan! The drive was actually very beautiful, even on the highways! Tera told us all about how windmills worked since she had just read “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” in her 4th grade class!
We were the first to arrive, so we explored the Airbnb, unloaded our van and sat on the porch swing while we waited for everyone else to arrive. Everyone got there around 5, and my Mom whipped up some dinner and we ate outside, just chatting and reconnecting. We usually get together once or twice a year around a holiday, so this was a special treat to all be on vacation together!
We really planned this vacation on a perfect week- it was the “golden hour” of summer and the weather was perfection. We had clear, blue skies the entire time we were there! And we went in the middle of the week so we didn’t have to deal with any crowds or traffic.
My brother has 3 kids- twin 7 year old boys and a 4 year old girl. Together there are 7 kids ages 10, 7, 7, 7, 5, 4, and 1. It’s a FUN crew!
After dinner we all decided to go for a walk and see if we could walk to lake Michigan. It seemed like it was about a mile away from our airbnb, so we set out. First we came across the canal that connects Lake Michigan to Pentwater Bay, then we walked along the canal until we walked right out onto the beach sand of Lake Michigan! The kids LOVED it!
One of them asked if they could put their feet in the water and I said, “Sure! But only up to your knees!”. The kids all had on regular clothes and we had a mile walk back to our Airbnb. Take a look at these photos and see how well those directions were followed……..
It was 100% worth it for the squeals and laughs and THAT SUNSET.
Tuesday Morning we woke up slowly and got breakfast, then decided to head out on an excursion. We all agreed on a budget for the house and the extras, and decided to spend some $ on a Mac Woods Dune ride. It was a giant open air jeep (like a limo jeep) that went up onto the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and right onto the shores of Lake Michigan. Our guide had a great sense of humor and had various stops along the way to tell us about the area and it’s history, etc. It was worth every penny and SO FUN!
After the dune ride, we headed back to the Airbnb for lunch and a little down time (and a nap for Ori). Dan, Kelly, my Mom, Evelyn, Tera and I walked around the cutest little downtown Pentwater and I found a used book store to make my heart happy. Once Ori woke up, we loaded up and headed to the beach to swim, collect shells and play in the sand. I apparently didn’t take any pictures on the beach oops! We headed back to the Airbnb where Kelly had dinner cooking in the crockpot and enjoyed another meal all together. We saved a ton of money by not eating out and each couple/family was in charge of one dinner. We all brought breakfast and lunch foods and just shared those along with snacks.
There was a puzzle out and the cousins played lots of games- mostly Uno and Cover Your Assets.
Wednesday morning we woke up and opted for a hike. We decided to drive back to the Silver Lake Dunes and hike the Dune trail to Lake Michigan. The hike said it was about 3 miles and we all agreed that the kids could totally handle that. LOL. Little did we know that this hike started with a steep sand dune climb and it just about TOOK US ALL OUT. Seriously. I had just run a half marathon three days prior and I would have considered myself in “good” shape. But that hill laughed in my face, chewed me up and chewed me back out again. We literally made it up that hill and one more dune before we abandoned the idea of getting all the way to the lake. We hiked maybe 1/3 of the way there hahahaha. We were also very underprepared with the amount of water we brought and were already running low after we had climbed the first two dunes.
This house was right on the edge of the dunes and our guide for the dune tour said that the houses in these neighborhoods are literally being swallowed by the dunes year by year. They apparently have to haul truckloads of sand out of their yard each month and within a few years the house will probably be buried! Crazy town!!!
Thankfully, the hike back down was much easier than going up!
We once again headed back to the Airbnb for lunch and a nap/rest time. The kids really wanted to go mini golfing, so after nap we got ready for the beach and then went mini golfing! We had such a big group that we ended up just letting the kids go ahead with Theo and Kelly supervising (they didn’t pay to play) and the rest of us playing actual golf. This was one of the most fun mini golf courses I’ve ever been on! Every hole was so unique and different!
After mini golf, I took Ori and went to the store for some rotisserie chicken (it was my night to cook dinner) while everyone else headed back to the beach. The beach was so much easier for them without a baby, and I didn’t mind missing out on beach time. We had one last dinner and then walked downtown for some ice cream.
We went to sleep that night with full bellies and full hearts! It was wonderful to spend time together as a family and we are already talking about making this an annual occasion! Until next year, Pentwater and the whole DeValve clan!
I swear that happens every time I say “just your feet!” But it’s always worth the wet, sandy clothes afterwards. That sounds like a wonderful family vacation and I love that you got some great group shots.
For sure! I thought there would be a lot of complaining on the way back to the cabin, but there was none at all! They had SO MUCH FUN! I’m sure it will be one of those core memories for all of them!