Family Fun Weekend in the Irish Hills

Our second camping adventure of the season brought up to the Somerset Beach Campground located in Somerset, Michigan. We have been coming to this area for years as my Aunt and Uncle have a cottage in the area. We've passed this campground several times and my brother thought it was due time to check it out. He made the reservations as a surprise to Conner for his ninth birthday celebration. Aunt Liesel and Uncle Jimmy were happy to tag along, besides it was a short 40 minute drive from our house.

Ironically, we didn't spend that much time at the campground as we headed over to Goose Lake for the day on Saturday. The campground had plenty of activities for the kids from zip lining to fishing to kayaking to archery. I think the kids were a little disappointed that they didn't get to enjoy those activities, but we made up for it by spending the day at the lake with my aunt, uncle and cousins. The kids got to fish, enjoy several jet ski rides, swim off the pontoon boat, kayak and bounce around what energy they had left in an inflatable that was there as part as the annual summer picnic. We returned to the campground in the early evening and the kids barely had enough energy to have smores around the campfire. I cannot remember the last time that they wanted to go to bed.

Hard to believe that the summer is winding down, but we are just ramping up our camping. We have several trips planned through the end of the September and I cannot wait.

Here's some highlights from our family fun weekend in the Irish Hills...

Very nice lake at Somerset Beach Campground

Our campsite at Somerset Beach Campground

Pontoon ride at Goose Lake in Jerome, MI

Goose Lake in Jerome, MI

Cousin Paul was a very fine captain

Conner and Allison enjoying the lake

Jetski rides with the kids

More jetski fun

Cooper and Allison

Conner on the jetski

Conner in the kayak. He did eventually set sail.

Better Late, Than Never...

I cannot believe that it is August 12, the summer is almost over and this is my first blog update of 2015! I'm not sure where this year is going. It seems that every day, every week, every month is just flying right by me.

My summer started out with my first trip aboard to London and France for three weeks. I was blessed with an opportunity to travel with three co-workers from Siena Heights University to southern France. We were immersed in the French culture and studied with other faculty and staff members from ten Dominican Universities from across the United States. This trip was amazing from start to finish!

Once I returned home in the middle of June and settled back in, we had family commitments, work commitments, weddings, and birthdays to attend, so we didn't get on the road until the end of June. It was really a spur of the moment trip to the west side of Michigan. We camped at Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer, Michigan from June 28 through July 2, 2015. I called a week before to check to see if they had any availability for the week before the Fourth of July. I really didn't expect to find anything on such late notice. Sure enough, since it was during the week and not over the Fourth of July holiday, they had some openings. We stayed on site 103, and really, the park wasn't crowded at all. We have travelled to the west side of Michigan several times, so we were both very familiar with the area and what to do. We had visited this state park before but never camped there. It was very peaceful during the week, but as it got closer to the holiday weekend, the park filled up fast. The weather wasn't all that great, so we didn't take advantage of the awesome beach that was right at the park. Each night we were hoping to see one of the stunning Lake Michigan sunsets, but we didn't get that either.

Siena Heights University has a campus in Benton Harbor so we meet up with one of my co-workers, LeAnn and her husband for drinks and dinner at Greenbush Brewery in Sawyer, MI. The food and beer was amazing and we enjoyed our time with LeAnn and Gary. We had one more day left on our trip without any plans, so LeAnn and Gary recommended a trip to the Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, MI before we left town. I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, so this was an all around experience for me. I will admit I left double-fisted and am still enjoying the Old Country Goodness Apple Cider Liqueur. Cheers!

Below are some photos from this trip.

Warren Dunes State Park, Sawyer MI • Site 103

Warren Dunes

Jimmy capturing the sunset.

My dinner at Greenbush Brewery! 

The only decent sunset on our last night.

My flight of whiskey at Journeyman Distillery. Oh my!