Up North

Everyone in Michigan talks about going "up North" and how fantastic it is (as in Northern Michigan).  We finally got a chance at the end of the summer to take a long weekend and go on a camping excursion "up north" with some friends.  We stayed at a campsite in Interlochen which turned out to be not so bad.  All of the hot spots are booked 6 months in advance so we had to take what we could get.  I prefer more of a rustic, secluded campsite but it wasn't too bad.  It was situated on a strip of land between two lakes and we camped on the edge of one of them which made for quick access to sunset canoeing (my favorite time of day to take the canoe out!)

We went on a bike ride through Traverse City and strolled the quaint downtown.  We drove out to the penisula and enjoyed some playtime in the water.  We explored sleeping bear dunes and packed as much sand as we could into every nook and cranny on ourselves.  We canoed the Platte River and played in the waves of Lake Michigan.  Not to mention smores, dutch oven goodness, roasted weiners and sleeping on rocks, it was bliss!

The best part of the trip was going to church on Sunday.  We bathed in the lake on Saturday and intentionally didn't start a fire Sunday morning to minimze the odor that lingered in our hair and clothes.  However, we did break camp that morning and our neighboring campers left a smoke bomb of a fire brewing in their campsite wreaking havoc on our church clothes.  I don't think we realized just how bad we smelled until we got out of nature and walked into the church building.  We found ourselves a spot in the back row of the overflow but before too long the family in front of us got up and moved.  At first we thought it was because our kids were a little rowdy but when I saw the woman plug her nose and wave her hand in front of it I realized it wasn't the kids it was our stench!  It was THAT bad.  We high tailed it out of there as soon as we could after the meeting was over to ensure noone could stop and chat, but not without a quick trip to the restroom to relish in the flushing toilets and running water.