Tag Archives: Up North

Cabins in the Woods

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Not far from the cottage I mentioned in last week’s post sits a curious collection of tiny cabins, dotting a corner of the island. Belonging to a family for the last several decades, the compound has slowly expanded with each generation; deliberately, consciously. Each cabin is deftly designed and built by the hands of the family members – each of whom I’m told has been creating, designing, and building all manner of beautiful things for years.

For the most part, each cabin serves a simple purpose – sleeping; cooking and dining; laundry and showering; taking a sauna. Generally large enough to hold a bed and a few pieces of furniture, they are rustically minimalist, but cozy and inviting. Each one looks toward the lake, maintaining quiet privacy from one another.Photo Aug 25, 8 15 52 AM  Continue reading →

Northern Michigan By Air

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SleepingBearDune2
One benefit to my extra-long blogging hiatus is that I’ve had plenty of time to catch up on my reading – which means lots of reviews and other bookish content soon to come, but those are a little tougher to write. [Read: they take more way more time.] In the meantime, I thought I’d share a post about the family’s recent plane adventure in Northern Michigan.

For the Memorial Day weekend, Ryan flew Ruby and I to Traverse City to see my parents. Flying north for a holiday weekend beats driving every time, even if it’s a little bumpy. No traffic and crazy drivers! The forecast was also promising a sunny, cloud-free Saturday, so we took the opportunity to shirk responsibilities and take a sightseeing flight around the area. This was also my dad’s first time in a single-engine airplane!  Continue reading →

Epic Birthday Adventure (Belated)

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Plane PicMerit
I’m belated in writing this post, the birthday wasn’t. The birthday was right on time. You know how I was dreaming of going back to Mackinac Island? Mission accomplished. And as luck would have it, the weather was perfect for flying. We saved about four hours of driving and a ferry ride. Oddly enough, the island doesn’t allow cars, but they have a quaint little airport. As it is northern Michigan, things freeze, and sometimes air travel is the best way on or off the island. Plus the views from the air were pretty spectacular. We stayed at the Metivier Inn, which I would definitely recommend. As usual, we ate, drank, and bicycled our way through the weekend. Below are a few of the hundreds of photos I took, and one special video. Continue reading →

Travel Flashback: Mackinac Island

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(And no, sadly the title of this post doesn’t rhyme. It’s pronounced “mack-in-aw”.) Last summer, I wrote about my trip to Mackinac Island, up in Northern Michigan. I hadn’t been there in about twenty years, and instantly fell in love. It almost pains me to say that, since it’s considered by some to be a tourist attraction here in Michigan, but oh well. It’s for a good reason. The island is charming to pieces, the views are spectacular, the dining is fun, there’s interesting history, I could go on. But instead, I’ll just relish in the trip again with a little flashback…

Hotel Iroquois at the Shore
To get to the island, you have to take a ferry or plane. There are no cars on the island, only horses and bikes. So as you approach the ferry docks, you get an incredible view of hotels, cottages, and the marina. Continue reading →