Crystal Mountain Resort ~ Day 2

Our second day in Michigan involved yet another road trip (though thankfully only an hour) to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I had just downloaded Google Maps to my Blackberry (thanks to my brother) before this journey, so I thought I would have no problem finding the Visitor's Center. Well...a few stops on the side of the road and a missed turn or two later, we eventually found our way there. At least I wasn't as bad as my dear friend, Sarah, who literally drove down any road Google Maps told her to--whether it was a "by car" or "by foot" set of directions! She and her husband have some stories that could rival any Clark Griswald story about detours.

Anyway, after a brief stop at the visitor's center, we followed Angie and Kathryn's cars around the scenic drive and stopped at all of these beautiful locations. The views were truly breathtaking.

Alligator Hill and Glen Lake (I think)

Moira being "silly"

Our first group shot at the dunes
Hannah, bless her heart, fell asleep on the scenic drive. So, Alan and I took turns waiting in the car with her while one or the other of us would get out with Moira to look around. Thankfully, she awoke at the "right" scenic stop--the dunes that were so incredibly steep that people were literally told to climb down at their own risk.

The kids had a blast playing in the sand while we marveled at Lake Michigan. When I looked at the color of the water, I truly could have been transported to the Mediterranean, Hawaii, or even the Caribbean. It was breathtaking!

Kathryn, Caitlyn, Evan, and Moira (holding hands)

Moira and the boys

The dunes and the color of the lake! Look at the people!


Soaking up the views (and digging their hands in the sand)

More fun in the sand
Sleeping Bear Dunes is named after a Chippewa legend about a mother bear and her two cubs. It's a bit depressing, but you can read the description here. The island in the distance represents one of the cubs. I just couldn't get over how spectacular it was. Here's a video of the landscape and a few pics.









After exploring the bluffs and soaking up the scenery, we hopped back in the car and made our way to a quaint little village called Glen Haven. There was a beautiful little beach with incredibly clear water where the kids played. Believe it or not, this day marked the first day Moira and Hannah truly played on a beach in swimsuits in warmth. We've been to the beaches near Alan's parents' house in Devon, but it hasn't been quite as warm as it was here. 

All of the kids had so much fun playing in the water, and Moira and Ruby truly had a lot of fun hopping the waves. But I was most fascinated by Hannah. She is such a water baby. She loves the water, and she loved the sand. She couldn't get enough of it, and it was so much fun to watch her explore. 







After some fun at the beach, Alan and Moira went a place in the park where they could do a Dune Climb. Again, Hannah was asleep, so I stayed behind and watched Moira and her dad climb up the big dune. She had a great time digging her feet into the sand, and I was amazed at how quickly they climbed the dune, walked around at the top, and then came back down to the car. See if you can spot them in the series of photos below. 






After the dune climb, we realized we were hungry (again), so we caught up with Angie, Daniel, and Hadley in a delightful little town called Glen Arbor. We stopped at a place called Cherry Republic, and Alan ate a cherry chicken salad sandwich in the car with Hannah asleep while we all walked around this place. 

Moira and Hadley were hitting it off, apparently, while I was running around buying gifts and snacks. Daniel caught lots of really funny photos. Lauren, Jeff, and Maxwell joined us too, and Moira was very sweet to Max as well. All in all, the road trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes was completely successful--I would love to go back again some day with our family.





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