Pure Michigan 2016 | Part 3

And last but not least a couple things to leave you with from our trip. As I mentioned in Part 1, this year we had a pool that we could go to, and man did us city slicker kids who don't really have access to a pool spend some time here. Probably 6 hours one day and 5 the next.

And at said pool we started playing the throw-the-thing-and-jump-in-while-catching-it game and I got the great idea of taking slo-mo video for it, which turned out pretty fabulous. So everyone's was really good... here's me and here then Mabel...

But one of the videos in particular stood out. Show 'em how it's done, Colin.

We went with our friends to Michigan, but I also met some friends there as well.

And so, with another successful year in the books, we got in the car and headed for home sweet home. Until next year...

Pure Michigan 2016 | Part 2

So the fishing and the fire, you get the point. Now, let's get down into what we really came for: the picking!

Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples. You name it we picked it. Not much narration needed here. Enjoy.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series of posts which includes the best part of the trip this year...

Pure Michigan 2016 | Part 1

So we trekked out and down and around Lake Michigan and then back up again along the coast for our annual trip to the place where Tim Allen makes it sounds like Heaven, and he's actually not that far off.

This marked the ninth year in a row we've done this, and it just keeps getting better. Mom, Dad, me, Mae, Pax, Colin, Steph, Ana and Sid. Got a little log cabin on Lake Goshorn again; last year we had the private dock and this year we had the pool (more on that a little later, or maybe even in Part 2 of this extravaganza.

So where to start... let's say the fishing pier. It wasn't private this year but it felt like it anyway, and we spent an evening there fishing and playing.

And while Colin was giving fishing pointers to Pax

Mae and I were reeling them in!

And then this happened. And we only had to practice it a couple times until this Olympic-like level of protection was reached by Ana and me.

The cabin was a huge success, as usual. We built a fire every night and had Smores (and got eaten alive by mosquitos) and we also had the tattoo shop open all weekend so everyone was inked up for three days straight.

And don't forget Oval Beach. Not a lot of pictures here because we were all busy having fun, but it was a picturesque day at Oval Beach and we made the most of it... outside of spending much time in the water, which was - no joke - probably around 45-55 degrees. Dad and Colin rocked it out in there though... old bones must not feel the chill as much.

That last photo right there reminded me of this photo from Spring Break in Denver.

Well, that about does it for Part 1. In Part 2 we'll hit the pool and orchards and leave you feeling like a slice of blackberry pie... stay tuned.

Pure Michigan 2014

This year we tried to make our Michigan trip a little earlier to avoid some of the bad weather we've experienced the last 2-3 years.  So we packed up the car on Labor Day weekend and headed to our spot with our best friends Ana and Sid and their mom and dad, Steph and Colin.

It was more of the same this year - apple picking turned into apple and peach picking; due to the season only a couple apples were available...

Pax picked his first apple ever. And for the first time in his life he could walk around picking things up off the ground and eating them and it was actually okay.

Took a little break up at Crane's for some donuts, apple cider and tomfoolery.

Then on the way home we were having a couple meltdowns when Dad laid the hammer - "Listen! This family may be a democracy but once in a blue moon your mother and I would like to do something that WE would like to do. Now we've never been blueberry picking, so the crew in the back seat is going to get it a grip on themselves and we are going blueberry picking!!" (There might have been a goddammit thrown in there for good measure.)

So we landed at a blueberry spot and it happened to be free picking weekend because it was the last weekend of the season for blueberries. It's a short season - July 3 through Labor Day, but we hit the mother load because only two other people were on the whole farm so we picked and picked to our hearts delight.

First stop - get your buckets!

Then it was out to the farm.

And then it got me thinking, "Boy, we've been doing this Michigan trip every year for quite some time." so I thought I'd throw in a couple pics from 2010 when I was two and Mae was a wee wittle kid who was just learning to stand up.

Ah, memories. Well, back to 2014 - next day we took advantage of the beautiful weather and hit the beach for most of the day, then the rest of the weekend consisted of breweries, parks on the water and ICE CREAM! Michigan 2014, you will be missed, but we'll see ya next year.