The Beresfords take on Northern Michigan

I punched my time card at 11:27am on July 19th and I'm not due back in to work until August 1st at 06:59am..... its vacation time!

We are blessed and lucky to have good friends who allow our family to stay at their cabin every year, right on Lake Charlevoix in northern Michigan.  Its a peaceful retreat without a TV, and without the daily distractions of 'home', and is surrounded by nature.  To say that we love our time up north is an understatement.

If you take out your handy-dandy map of Michigan (your left hand), Charlevoix is up near the fingernail of your ring finger.  It's a pretty good hike up there from Grand Rapids (3.5 hours) and it sits right on Lake Michigan.  Lake Charlevoix is joined to Lake Michigan by a channel (in Charlevoix proper) that is crossed by a still-functional drawbridge right in the middle of the 'downtown' area.  It's a cute little town that, at this time of year, is filled with tourists that arrive by both boat and by car.  Nearby coastal towns also include Petosky, Boyne City, and Traverse City.  If you've never been to see these wonderful places in the summer, you really are missing something spectacular.

Our trip began with a later-than-planned departure from the farm, but we arrived at the cabin without incident.  The kids all took a nap while we drove, making the drive much more pleasant for Matt and I, without the "Are we there yet?" line of questioning every 15 minutes.

The kids couldn't wait to go see the water, so we left Matt to unlock the cabin and unload the van......

 ... and we went to see the beach we love so much.  Welcome to Lake Charlevoix!  This was Elliott's first time up to the cabin and he absolutely loved it as much as we did.

Elliott pronounces Charlevoix as "Charlotte-Boy" which irritates Charlotte to no end.  But the three of them are really getting along great, and the girls have been eager to show them all of their favorite spots.

We returned to get Daddy, and got suited up for fishing and swimming.

It was at this time that I realized that I had violated the cardinal rule of vacationing: DON'T FORGET YOUR SWIMSUIT!  I did a bang-up job at packing everyone else's bags, but neglected my own.  Doh!

(photo won't flip.... ugh!)

The water was so warm and so clear.  The water here has never been this awesome. 

I made dinner and we all gathered around the campfire to enjoy S'Mores as we waited for the sun to get closer to setting.  Charlotte had been eyeballing my sunglassess all day, and finally found an opportunity to try them on. 

After S'Mores we headed back to the beach to watch the sun set.  And play!

H - A - P - P - Y !

Day #1 was a complete success.  We are all happy to be in 'vacationing mode' again, and looking forward to some really good family time as we explore the beauty of northern Michigan again. 

Goodnight from Charlotte-boy!