see: Southwest Michigan post about appreciating my home state.

I love going home to see my family, don't get me wrong, but it is usually for a long weekend or during the holidays when I already have time off work. I don't usually purposefully vacation in Michigan, because I would rather use my PTO on locations somewhere else.

But during summer 2020, with limited options on where to holiday due to the pandemic, I took a week off work in July and traveled home to see my family in Mt. Pleasant Michigan, and enjoyed it!

This summer, with the pandemic still in full effect, we decided to take a family vacation to Northern Michigan, renting a house for all of us to stay in on Platte Lake. We had quite the crew; myself and my parents, my sister and her husband and four kids and two furry friends.

Mornings were spent on the lakeside dock, drinking coffee and hot chocolate while sitting around a breakfast bonfire listening to the world wake up.

Afternoons were for adventuring. We spent time at Lake Michigan, walking up and down the shore one day and dodging the gusty wind the next. Downtown Frankfort was for strolling; popping into shops for souvenirs; grabbing lunch and a beer at Stormcloud Brewing Company or making delicious decisions about what ice cream and cone combo to get at The Scoop. Platte Lake and it's crystal clear water was the perfect place to blow up our rafts and go for a paddle on the SUP board we rented. The hot tub at the AirBnb became a second swimming hole when the wind on the lake picked up and brought in a bit of a chill.

Nights were spent grilling, putt putt golfing and around the bonfire. We had a lot of laughs, but my 5 year old niece Piper said it best: "what I love most about vacation is that my whole family is having so much fun!"