Sunday morning we packed up the van and headed out around 10am. We happened to pass a Sam's club in Traverse City and made a pit stop to give Jeff a fix (to those who don't know, this is my hubby's favorite store) and to have the tires balanced on the van. Only 2 days before we left, we had some brake work on the van and they were supposed to rotate and balance the tires. It had been apparent to us on the trip so far when we reached speeds > than 70mph (only for passing ;) ) that the tires had not been balanced. We had a nice encounter with a mom and her beautiful daughter from Korea while we waited. I also thought of my dear friend Stacie and her weird favorite smell of new tires---Mind you I was still trying to shake the stomach virus thing, and on a good day, new tires don't smell good to me, but this morning they seemed especially nauseating to me! We also fed the kids an early gormet lunch of pizza from the Sam's snack bar, then we were on the road.
It was only a short 2 to 2 1/2 hours to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes on the western border of Michigan and on the coast of Lake Michigan. I have memories of my parents taking me there as a child and I figured if it had stuck with me for all this time, it would be a good place to take our family. We started with a Mac Woods Dune Buggy ride---a 40 minute guided tour with a very entertaining guy. We all loved it, but at one point Lizzie said "He's not driving careful!". We then went to the state park area and proceeded to climb the dunes. Sliver Lake is a lake formed by an inlet from Lake Michigan. It is separated from Lake Michigan by a line of very large sand dunes. On our ride, we got a more detailed description of how the sunes were formed and the changes they continue to undergo. When we climbed, we ended up on top of one dune facing Silver Lake. Jeff, Elizabeth and I sat on top of one due and let the 3 boys climb up and down and play in the lake at the bottom. As I climbed and walked to the place where we decided to watch, I realized that my ankle is not 100% recovered from my injury on May 2nd. The boys wanted me to come down and get in the water with them, but besides the fact that all that climbing just equaled a lot of work, I was afraid of reinjuring my ankle. They also wanted to climb another due that would face Lake Michigan, but we convinced them that the water wouldn't look that much different.
We at dinner at a restaurant slose to the lake, then went over to the Little Sable Point Lighthouse. I had hoped to maybe go up in it, but it was closed when we got there, and I had also found out it was 132 small steps up and then back down! We really, really loved this beautiful area and we may decide to come back north one year and vacation at this beautiful beach instead of driving to Gulf Shores, AL, or somewhere else in Florida. The sand was soft and beautiful and the temperatures were soooo wonderful. I realize it can get hot there, but it was far from it the day we visited. I think it was about 75 degrees, and we were actually chilly in the evening as we visited the lighthouse. The kids waded into Lake Michigan, but Jeff and I stayed back and watched. Elizabeth kept wanting to run all the way in. Aaron, thank you for bring her back, and keeping me from getting in that cold water!
We headed back to the hotel and let the kids swim awhile and then got everyone ready for bed. This was the only place on our trip where we got adjoining room and therfore had 4 queen sized beds. They boys thought it was great to have their own room! The next morning we let Elizabeth sleep till 10:30, then got on the road again--this time heading for Bremen, IN.
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