Chicago and Michigan 2019

Wednesday, July 3rd 

The plan was to leave at 10am but I think we left at 11am.  We pretty much packed the morning of our trip.  Dave wanted to leave in time to beat rush hour traffic and meet Sean and family at Novi’s Beef in Berwyn.  Sean was a bit behind us so we went to Martha’s place and unloaded.  She was recovering from a knee surgery a few weeks earlier and said she spent most of her nights in her armchair so she let Dave and I sleep in our bed.  We met Sean when he arrived at Martha’s and we went to Novi’s together.  Martha was generous and hosted the whole group’s dinner cost.

We had planned to swim at Sean’s hotel that night but as we drove there we found out the outdoor pool was closed.  We hung out in the lobby and made plans for the next day.

Thurs, July 4^th

Dave cooked up scrambled eggs, grits, bacon and canned cinnamon rolls in Martha’s kitchen for breakfast.  We headed over to Sean’s hotel pool and let the kids swim for a couple hours.  Dave and Sean looked at the train schedule for downtown travel.  We caught the 2:38pm train from Lisle to Union Station then found a place (after 5 restaurants) for lunch at Shake Shack.  We found tables inside together and enjoyed the air conditioning.  We meandered around the “kidney bean”, took pics, settled in the grass at the millennium park band shell and listened to a fantastic concert by the Grant Park Orchestra.  We managed the crowds and found a spot on the grass to watch the fireworks closer to the lake, but ultimately found that the fireworks were a big disappointment, so we left early and made sure we had enough time to walk back to Union Station to catch the 10:40 train.  We made the 1.1 mile walk, Dave got popcorn for the train ride home, and made a buddy named Patrick and shared the gospel with him as we rode back to Lisle.  It was a 12,000 step day.

Fri, July 5^th

Dave also cooked up breakfast this morning.  We had fried eggs, toast and sausage.  We did a quick load of laundry at Martha’s house and tried to take off for White Fawn Lodge as soon as possible.  We could check in at 3 and it was a 6 hr drive.  We said our goodbyes and left around 10.  Calvin wanted to make a last ditch effort to find a keychain in Chicago before we left for Michigan, so while Dave was in the starbucks drive through lane I took Calvin around an intersection and checked out a variety of gas stations and a grocery store, but no luck.  The drive was uneventful.  A traditional stop at Seguin’s cheese, then an hour to the cabin.  We got there around 4 in good time, and were very happy with the cabin 16 that we’ve never stayed in before.  It is comparable in size and quality to the other cabins, but the features we loved the most were its proximity to the water (super close), a working dock, floating raft, and the best part….a screened in deck!!  We unloaded, settled, then took off to Munising for some groceries.   We were first pretty hungry so we stopped at Main Street Pizza for 2 pizzas.  Calvin remembered the pizza shop and loved every bite.  After that was grocery shopping so Dave and I divided and conquered my shopping list at Family Fare grocery, and we got back to our cabin around 10ish.  The days don’t start dimming to evening until around 10 this time of year, so it feels like a forever long day and the typical bedtime for the kids is between 10-11pm.  Vanessa and Eli are loving the late nights. 😊 

Saturday, July 6^th

I think I cooked up breakfast this first morning.  These cabins don’t have a lot of counter space so it is always an adventure discovering which type of pots and utensils you have to use around here.  We tried to trim down the amount of things we brought so I didn’t bring pots/pans/lots of kitchen stuff.  The kids wanted to explore the lake and we give them independence to do this and go fishing on the floating raft as long as they have life jackets on.  We had a difficult moment with the kids when Dave and I had to go up to the general store a couple hundred feet away to use the internet, and I came back to find the kids had taken out the fishing boat by themselves, led by Violet, and they were in the middle of the lake.  She had asked to take the boat out herself and Dave had told her no, but she didn’t interpret that “no” as a “no” somehow.  I was really upset they did this, even though they were smart enough to get their life jackets on before going out.  Violet got a consequence to not use the lake that day. 

Other than that occurrence, the day was pretty calm.  The kids swam, fished, paddle boated around, and asked a hundred times when their cousins would arrive.  Sean and family arrived around 4, and Lisa and family arrived around 5.  A few weeks prior while planning this week, Dave and his siblings agreed to share meals and arrange who cooks who dinner, so Saturday was our day first since we arrived a day earlier than everyone.  We cooked a big pot of rice, 6 lbs taco meat, and all the toppings possible for Mexican rice bowls.  Sean and April brought Corbin, Logan, Bowen, Lynnea and Adalynn.  Sten and Lisa brought Anja and their god-daughter Kaylee.  We spread out in our cabin on outdoor and indoor chairs/couches, and enjoyed our first meal together.  The weather was beautiful and we ended up chatting about Sean’s visit to his Aunt Kathy’s place in IL.  Tonight was the first round of fishing. Dave took out the boys first.  It seems to be a year when more northern pike are caught than bass, but some of each have been caught.  Vanessa also went out fishing.  She caught a bass and Calvin caught a pike and a bass. 

Sunday, July 7^th

After eggs and bacon we waited around for a time when all of us could get together for a time of worship.  Lisa had gone grocery shopping so we waited until they were back to start.  We chatted in Sean’s cabin with them for awhile.  We did have a worship time in Sean’s cabin with the entire group and a lot of us shared some and we sang one song.  It is hard without a hymn book to remember lyrics, esp with a lot of kids around. 

The gals of the group had to work out some girl drama – the introduction of Kaylee to the group added a dynamic Violet didn’t expect and all of it seems to be shaken out, but it was a rough start.  This day was everyone’s first day and we all stayed by the lake most of the day.  Lots of swimming, fishing, and at the end of the day, Sean and April cooked Mediterranean turkey burgers with tsaziki sauce and dill pickle salad, which was delicious!  We ate outside at two picnic tables by Sean’s cabin. 

Dave took me out fishing with Violet.  We caught some pike but nothing was big enough to keep.  A fun moment was Violet and I both getting a pike at the same time and Dave netting them together.  They were both too small to keep but it was a fun catch.  We also had some good conversation in the boat. 

We ended up at Sean’s campfire and we made a parental decision to not allow the sleepover the girls were planning together.  We also made plans to go on to Miner’s beach via the walking trail on Monday.  Checking the weather, the two hottest days were Mon and Tues so we planned our outings for those days.

Monday, July 8^th

Pancakes by Dave today!  We tell the kids to try sleep in til 8 and they can then play their screen games at 8:30 until breakfast is served up.  The pancakes were yummy with the sausage links, added blueberries and real maple syrup.  We get 2 kinds of syrup….log cabin for kids and real maple for Dave.  I’ve been liking the real maple syrup lately too.   It was good to fill up on pancakes/peanut butter for the hike and swimming at the beach, because we just packed clif bars for a snack and waited for supper.  The walk was interesting with the trail having lots of roots and trees to step over.  Violet was brave enough to pick up a garter snake that was spotted on the trail right before the bridge over the river.  Once we reached the beach the water was much calmer than our last windy visit, so a lot of us braved the freezing water and got in to cool off.  I got up to my neck for awhile and that was enough!  The rock ledges are just beautiful and we explored them more than in years past and I got some great pics.  Violet and Dave also came along to explore the rocks.  We hiked back from 4-5 and I helped Lisa with her supper which was indian chicken over rice – it was delicious.  Ted and Cindy had arrived by the time we got back so we greeted them.  Eli discovered before supper that his favorite black zip up had some holes in it from embers flying out of the fire, and he was really sad about it.  I wasn’t feeling like coaxing him to eat indian chicken for the next 2 hours being so sad so I took him back to the cabin and gave him some leftover pancakes which he was really happy about.

Dave took me out fishing and all the kids got a turn to go around the lake a time or two.  First it was the boys.  Eli left, Vanessa joined, then Calvin left, then both were done and then Violet joined in.  We didn’t even get one bite.  Not even a fish too small to throw back.  Not even a nibble.  Just weeds.  It was a rather boring fishing experience, so we quit when it got dark and went to hang out by Ted’s fire. 

Late campfire chatting with Sean, April, Ted and Cindy at Ted’s camper.  I learned his siblings Donny, Tommy (battling cancer), Billy and Dickie are still alive.  Shirley, Bobby and Beverly have died.  Ted is the youngest of the 8 and his dad died when he was in kindergarten.  He didn’t fall out of an apple tree, it was a tree, but not an apple tree.  The history is Shirley and Bobby bought a cabin on Corner Lake and that is how Ted came up to the lake when he was younger and why he came back to the same spot as an adult with his kids.

Tues, July 9^th

I got up around 7 this morning not able to sleep anymore…the bed is feeling more and more uncomfortable and I end up spinning like a rotisserie chicken most nights.  I wanted to journal about the trip, so I’m trying to remember back the last 4 days. 

We plan to rent pontoon boats and explore the chain of lakes today. 

**

We did in fact rent pontoon boats.  Sean and fam and Lisa and fam were all in agreement. After making breakfast (I had eggs/toast, Dave made himself an omelet, kids – I think a combination of cereal and eggs)…Dave went to the store to settle plans with George and the boats today.  It was a bit of a rush trying to clean up after breakfast and pack a lunch for boating, but we made it happen.  Calvin and Violet cleaned fruit, I made sandwiches, and we grabbed floating things, life jackets, sunscreen, walkie talkies and took off.  The drop spot for the pontoons is usually at Straits lake, so we went there and didn’t see any pontoons.  We wandered around in foresty trails looking for them but ended up deciding to find a different drop spot at Corner Lake instead, and that is where George was.  He got them in around 11am and that is right when we pulled up.  There was a bit of a decision to figure out who was going in which boat, and it settled out a little later that the one Dave drove (with the canopy) was the tubing / swimming boat and the other one with no canopy was the fishing boat.  First we all saw a volleyball net set up in the middle of the lake on a sandbar so we all docked up and played volleyball – more like “nukem” which is a catch and throw version of volleyball that is easier for kids.  Sean and Lisa really wanted to fish but Dave did not, so we took the tube and a lot of the kids and gave them tube rides, which turned out to be the best kind of fun!  We wiggled our way through the channels between the chain of 4 lakes and only had to get out and push our way through once.  The water is so clear and pretty.  There are lily pads and blooms all over the place.  We hung out on the water until 5 pm.  We ended at Corner lake beach to finish the day and met George so he could haul the boats back to the store.  We drove back to the cabins and Ted and Cindy had a hot supper ready for us.  They served BBQ pork and chicken, buns, and a variety of salads with tomatoes, cucumbers, coleslaw, and potato salad.  A lot of people wanted to fish right then and have birthday cake (that Ted and Cindy bring to celebrate everyone’s birthdays once a year) later so Sean took April out and I stayed on the store to keep track of what kids were up to.  Most of them fished off the floating rafts.  I don’t think any of them caught anything.

After birthday cake T&C gifted the kids with birthday cards and $20 each. 

After the kids were done fishing I started up a card game of 6 Nimmt with Kaylee, Lynnea, Violet and Adalynn.  We played 3 rounds and by that time it was close to 11:30.  Sean came in from fishing and we discovered he’d hooked a lure hook through his ring finger accidentally.  He’d caught a pike and it flinched when he was unhooking it. He tried getting it out but was unsuccessful. 

Wednesday, July 10^th

This was a perfect lazy morning.  I was so thankful to have slept better and felt rested.  Dave and I made cheese grits and fried eggs.  Calvin and Violet had this with us – Eli and Vanessa had cereal…they don’t like grits.  We read a couple days of our Bible devotion and prayed.  Sean visited to report that he was planning to go to Munising with his family to visit an urgent care clinic and get the hook removed and shop at some souvenir shops.  We had planned to go there too and take care of a couple loads of laundry, get some local pasties, ice cream at Frozen Flamingo and hit some souvenir shops too.  Dave and I tackled the laundry first and let the kids watch a movie in the van while we did that.  We got lunch (pasties) at Muldoon’s (they are so good fresh with gravy!).  We hit a couple shops, got ice cream, then stopped at the grocery store for some last minute dinner things for the last two nights. 

We got gas, ice, then headed back to our cabin JUST in time before a massive downpour hit. The thunder rolled, then it downpoured for 15 minutes from 6:30-6:45.  The sun came out, and it appeared to be sunny and calm so Dave and I went out fishing, but another dark cloud rolled in and drenched us!  Dave made a beeline through the center of the lake in the rain and going faster than usual, I caught a bass.  Crazy.  Everyone on shore was laughing at/with us.  We got to shore and changed clothes.  We did end up going fishing later when it REALLY calmed down and I caught a 24-25” northern.  Our ruler only went to 22” so it was hard to tell how long it was.  It felt like I was reeling in a log.  I collected our kids from Sean’s cabin and put them to bed.  Everyone seemed to turn in early that night – no campfires.

Thurs, July 11^th

The morning was slow waking up – I made French toast and we ate in shifts.  The boys are always up first, the girls always last.  Lisa and Sten came over to our cabin around 11:30 am and announced sadly they had to take off early.  They were dealing with some family members back in Texas with various health issues and were POA for one of them.  Being in MI with no phone service was making that difficult.  We all understood but were sad to see them go early.  We snapped a pic before they left.  Kaylee was sad to be leaving early. 

Sean and April came over to our cabin with everyone a bit after that and we all settled down for some games since it felt really, really cold outside.  The kids played a Werewolf game with audio instructions from Bowen’s phone and the older kids and adults played “Things”.  We put out as many things as we could get people to finish out of our fridge and freezer…carrots, chips and dip, fruit, popsicles, etc…and we played for what seemed like a few hours. It was 3-4pm-ish by the time the kids wanted to go outside.  It was sunny and beautiful.  The kids played games like ghosts in the graveyard, sardines, hide and seek, etc….and ran around for what seemed like hours as well.  I sat by the campfire with T&C for awhile and we giggled as we watched Lynnea climb into a garbage can for a hiding spot and nobody found her for the longest time.  Kids hid in the back of Ted’s truck, under his camper, in bushes, in cabin 15 (the one that needs to be torn down), all over the place…it was entertaining to watch them.  When the got tired of that game we went to our cabin for supper.  I’d got some Chinese beef, chicken and broccoli to add to our leftover rice for supper, so that heated up quickly and we had supper around 7.  After that Dave went out fishing for awhile, took Eli around the lake for a lap, took Violet around…campfire settled at Ted’s camper and he told stories and more stories and more stories for hours.  April made guacamole – a snack with chips that always hits the spot.  The kids played around inside our cabin and the night ended around midnight.

Friday, July 12^th

Last day.  It feels like the time away from home went slowly and feels long.  I feel ready for this to be our last full day and pack up tomorrow to leave.  We have all caught plenty of fish for the fish fry tonight.  Sean plans to grill his fish, we plan to fry ours.  Everyone tries to empty their fridges and put out for supper whatever is left from the week.  Dave took Violet out fishing one last time in the morning.  Sean seemed to be catching things but Dave hadn’t had any luck.  I got up around 9:30 and showered, got ready for the day.  The boys were up first as usual.  Dave promised he’d make me one of his famous omelets for breakfast, so I’m up enjoying coffee on the deck, journaling about the last day or so, watching those enjoying the lake with paddleboards, fishing, and paddleboats.  The breeze is chilly but I’m wrapped up in my fleece blanket.  Dave came in to say he was going to lap the lake once more with Violet.  He started cooking when he got back and it smells delicious in the cabin! 

Dave did make that omelet and it was delicious!  He made one for Calvin too.  Calvin usually has multiple breakfasts….LOL….he has cereal, then eggs later, and today he had a green pepper sandwich with dad.  He’s the only one that likes them. 😊

I walked up to the store to contact Google support to see how to share a purchased app with all in our family group but after an hour of talking to 2 people and being on hold most of the time, the phone call got disconnected, and I decided to waste no more time on vacation doing that.  Dave and I rented some kayaks and paddleboards for the last day for everyone to use, and they turned out to be a fun thing.  Violet, Calvin, Vanessa, Dave and I went across the lake and back.  Dave got dunked after falling off a paddleboard…later on Eli got in one kayak and said “do I know how to do this?” and I gave him a shove into the lake, showed him how to use the double paddles, and let him figure it out.  He mastered it no problem and went across the lake and back with Corban and Logan.  Corban had a bummer when he accidentally lost his phone in the lake.

We made plans for the fish fry, and planned to eat around 7.  Dave and I sat by the lake and watched kids play with kayaks and swim for awhile.  They played on the kayaks for what seemed like hours!  April got out all their fish and we were amazed how much there was.  We decided to split up their fish to fry and grill and keep ours frozen.  I took all the small pieces that would not work well on the grill grates and we fried those up and Sean grilled the rest.  We made tartar sauce by mixing mayo and chopped pickles.  Both fish tasted amazing…so worth all the work.  The rest of the leftovers up for grabs was egg drop soup, green beans, cucumber and tomato salad, potato salad, BBQ meat on buns, dill pickle salad, and sliced tomatoes.  Ted brought a cooler of pepsi.  The kids all went out and played on the kayaks again after supper.  We called them in around 10pm when the sun was going down. Sean and Cindy pulled out about a hundred glow bracelets so the kids all wore them in crazy ways.  Adults stayed by Sean’s “epic” fire – he was making a huge one because he wanted to use up all the firewood he had. 

We had to call it a night because the bugs were biting so badly.  I had 5 bites on my thigh right through my pants! 

Saturday, July 13^th

We set the alarm to get us up at 8.  We had to eat breakfast and pack up and leave by 11.  Calvin was the first one up so he was available to help pack up things like chairs, life jackets, etc.

I made the last pack of bacon, fried up the last 9 eggs, and toasted the last English muffins for breakfast.  As usual Calvin had 2 breakfasts…first cereal, then later eggs.  The rest of the morning was eating, cleaning, and packing.  The scoured the whole cabin and found things the last minute by turning over recliners …a hair clip here, a forgotten razor, a t-shirt behind a chair, etc.  Many eyes confirmed an empty cabin.  We stood on the dock, took a pic, prayed and thanked God for the week and asked for a safe drive home.  Sean and April were packed up too so we said our goodbyes and settled the cabin fees at the store, and took off.  I think we left around 11:30 am. 

The drive home:

HIs and LOWs

Eli: “Everything high!”  “I think my favorite thing was kayaking.”  “A low was I only caught one tiny bluegill.”

Violet: “Hiking to the freezing ocean.  Loved being dragged by the pontoons. Tubing was so fun. Playing games on the paddleboards. Low: not catching more than 1 fish.  Holding a fish by under the gills. 

Vanessa: “Fighting was a low, not getting to do the sleepover, everything else a high.  Loved pontoons and tubing.”

Calvin: “Sandbar, hanging out with cousins, kayaks, swimming.  Lows; everybody teasing him about Kaylee. Getting slapped on the head by Violet. 

Dave’s thoughts:

We should have enough food when we arrive for the next morning, and plan to shop for food the next day so we can fish the first night.  Fun to get pizza the first night though. 

Getting there at 3pm is nice.

9:30-10:15am is good time to fish in the morning. 

Group meals was a good idea, having some unplanned evenings also. 

If evening fishing happens, it goes from 8-10:30pm so evening campfires don’t really happen, or are pushed to really late. We had envisioned boys sharing around campfire but it didn’t happen.  Snacky lunch stuff was good. 

Sunday mornings – would be nice to have had some song lyrics. 

May be good to aim for group morning devotions 10 min blessing for day. 

Don’t bring non-family members. 

Trolling speed between 30-50 Sean used that and used the most fish. 

Black and white hot-tot lure caught the most fish.

Like Cabin 16 and would rent again.

Pontoons and tubing was a bit hit on the chain of lakes.

Worked good to have pontoons on day Ted and Cindy made food so we came back and didn’t have to cook supper.

Kayaks were big hit on last day.

Food/grocery/necessities bill for the week was around 500.  We did all our shopping at the family fare grocery store in Munising.