ramblingriggs: Pure Michigan

It is hard to believe that today is the first day of fall! As much as I do love this season, I hate to see our camping come to an end. We were able to head out for another week long trip to Silver Lake State Park in Mears, MI and Ludington State Park in Ludington, MI. We have spent a lot of time on the west side of our beautiful state and still cannot seem to get enough. It is simply amazing from the pure white sandy beaches to the amazing Lake Michigan sunsets.

Our first stop was Mears, MI and we stayed at Silver Lake State Park. We arrived on a Saturday to find that we had the last spot in the park. This is the place to go if you have a dune buggy and want to ride the dunes. We definitely felt a little out of place with our bikes and kayaks. The park was nice. Our site (#33) was roomy but it backed up to a very busy road, so we had traffic noise to contend with at night. On Sunday, we woke up early and headed out for my maiden voyage with my new kayak across the lake to the sand dunes. Jim has had a kayak for years that I won at a charity auction. This summer I decided to try it out and discovered that I really enjoyed it. So, we purchased another one for me. I'm still working on my exit strategy and my paddling, but I'll get there. I don't have any photos from our adventure as I'm still not comfortable in the boat and wouldn't want to tip and lose my camera.

Half away across the lake, it started to rain. We decided to keep paddling. Once we got to the sand dunes, it really started coming down. I just wanted to turn around and paddle back, but Jim got out and did a little exploring. Thankfully, we headed back across the lake in the pouring rain and made it safe and sound. It ended up raining the rest of the day.

On Monday, we packed up and headed 30 minutes up the coast to Ludington. My parents said I was there when I was two years old. Needlesstosay, I don't remember a thing from that trip. This park was truly amazing! We were on site 264. This parks has so many things to do that we felt like we didn't have enough time to do everything. We hiked, biked and kayaked. Every morning Jim would make our coffee and then we would head out for a morning walk. We would end up on the broadwalk to watch the wildlife and enjoy the scenery of Lost Lake.

On our kayak adventure on Tuesday, I was able to witness my first ever bald eagle. It was so awesome to just sit, be still on the lake, and watch him soar. It is truly a moment that I'll never forget. We kayaked for over 2 hours that day. It was such a nice day and I really wanted to get a little more comfortable with my new ride.

On Wednesday, we connected with one of our former students that worked in our office last semester. She lives in Ludington and suggested we come to the restaurant that she works at for breakfast. Chef Johns Bakery and Cafe was the cutest little place I've been to in a while. I had "Eggs in a Nest" which was a "local favorite" according to their menu. It was probably one of the best breakfast I've had in a long time. It was a mixture of potatoes, sun dried tomatoes, prosciutto and parmesan cheese all "nested" together and baked. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. They also make their own breads and I had apple cinnamon harvest. Yumm-O!!! We also purchased some homemade cinnamon rolls to go for our Thursday morning breakfast. If you are ever in Ludington you should check this place out!

We had another awesome Pure Michigan vacation! As always, on the way home, we were talking about our next trip. Looks like we only have 2 more weekends open to squeeze in some camping. I'm hoping this beautiful fall weather holds for us to do just that!

Of course, I took well over 150 photos on this trip. Some good, some not so good. Below are some of my favorites...