Upper Peninsula, MI, USA: Girls' road trip

August 4

Well, you might think after 50 days on the road, I would sit back, relax, and be still for a hot minute while trying to recover from jet lag in a reasonable manner. Well, if you thought that, you would be wrong.

Dmitri, Jack, and I return from Tokyo on August 1. August 2 and 3 are filled with unpacking, doing laundry, and reacquainting myself with home stuff.

And then on August 1st I fly to Michigan! Like I'm seriously deep in the throes of poor sleep, being awake at all times of the night, not being sure when to eat or what mealtime it is. PERFECT time to fly to the Midwest, meet up with friends, and road trip!

Welcome to the blog Lisa, Kelli, Kelly, and Tia, as I join them for a girls' trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Another lifetime ago, I taught middle school in Livonia, MI with Tia and Lisa. The Kellies currently teach with both of them. Last summer the five of us had a magical and unforgettable trip to Maui. The four of them have a history of traveling together and I've wisely inserted myself both into the travel group and into the fun.

I haven't been sleeping well due to the aforementioned jet lag so waking up at 6 am is a struggle. Oof. I take a piece-of-cake 4-hour flight to Detroit. Lisa picks me up at the airport and we meet up with Tia and the Kellies, have a quick dinner, then hit the road and head north as far as Houghton Lake. We are going to stay with (Kelly's) Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob for the night to break up our drive a bit. Our cars are filled to the brim with cooled beverages, yummy snacks, and our suitcases and backpacks. And, naturally, Sock Monkey! We are ready for adventure!

Kelli, Tia, Lisa, Kelly, and me

We arrive before nightfall. We chat with Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob and then head off to a nearby cabin, where we find Kelly's mom, Kathy, and aunt, Cheryl. Even though we have an early start in the morning, we stay up well past our bedtimes and chat and laugh and laugh. Kathy and Cheryl are hysterical and regale us with stories about rock collecting in the UP and we talk tattoos, various hair colors, Morse code bracelets with dirty messages, and just about any other topic under the sun. It's almost midnight when we tear ourselves away and head to bed. Laughter is good for the heart and soul and it's the perfect start to the trip.

August 5

We are up and out early--as we have to drive a few hours before we take the ferry to Mackinac Island. But first--Aunt Linda has prepared us an egg bake and we have that with toast and Michigan cherry jam and fresh fruit. Yum.

We hop in our two cars and off we go. Mackinac Island is a personal favorite. What can I say? I love the bike riding. I love the summer vacation feel of it all, and boy do I love me some Mackinac Island fudge. We consolidate bags and only take overnight bags on the ferry since we are only spending one night on the island. Then we hop on the ferry and off we go. It's a beautiful day and we are lucky enough to be on one of the ferries that goes under the Mighty Mac--the Mackinac bridge that is a very long suspension bridge and the divider between Lakes Michigan and Huron. Tomorrow we will be going over it on our way to the Upper Peninsula, but today it's all Mackinac Island.

We laugh as poor Kelly gets sprayed with water on the upper deck of the ferry. She's a great sport and doesn't seem to mind at all.

In no time at all, we are on the island. We head over and check with the porter of the Windermere Hotel about getting our bags sent to the hotel. Annnnnd, hit our first snag. He doesn't have our names on the list. Kelli checks the confirmation email and we realize that the Windermere thinks we should have arrived LAST night. Oh noooooooo. Guess our first stop is the Windermere to get it sorted. We head on over and are told that, no, there are no rooms available and since we booked for last night, there will be no refund. Sigh. Margaret, the woman at the front desk desk is a bit snippy and condescending with us, but she does call the tourist bureau to see about other rooms on the island. Nope, all booked. There's one hotel which miiiiiiight have availability and it's just across the street. We go and check and it's $1100 for two rooms for the night. Ugh ugh ugh. We fuss and fret and go back and forth about whether we should just overpay and stay on the island as planned or book some rooms in Mackinac City and take a late ferry back. Eventually, reason prevails and we go with the latter option. We all would love to spend the night on the island but we are already out the nearly $500 we won't get back from the Windermere and spending $1100 when we are only going to wake up, ferry back, and drive to the Upper Peninsula doesn't make much sense.

We walk back to the dock and arrange for our bags to be sent back on the ferry. And then we decide it's time for drinks!!! We walk to Mission Point and have lunch outside and some truly yummy cocktails. While we are waiting for our food, Lisa looks up the confirmation that was forwarded to her when Kelli first made the reservation. And would you look at that! We DID have the right date. At some point between when Kelli first made the reservation and when they sent her another confirmation days before we were due to arrive, THEY changed the date from August 5 to August 4th. Turns our we DID NOT miss our reservation. Oh ho ho ho, Margaret, Maggie, Marge, Margie--we WILL be having words. Just as soon as we have more cocktails and a yummy lunch.

I can personally vouch for the Blue Bicycle Mojito

Lunch (ahem, alcohol) fires us up and we are spoiling for an I told you so to Margaret! We go back to the Windermere and are practically giddy with the thought of seeing Margaret's sour face when she realizes HER mistake. Instead, we get lovely Rosemary at the desk who puts in a call to the powers that be. She explains everything, looks through their files and found the same evidence we found. The person on the other end of the phone says they will look into it and get back to us. We decide enough is enough and go and rent bikes and start riding around the island---we have wasted too much of our day on this nonsense.

Sock Monkey gets to ride in the basket on the bike

We proceed to ride around and through and up and down and all over the island and have so much fun. The weather is postcard perfect. The whole day could be straight from a magazine or movie. Mackinac Island doesn't allow motorized vehicles--with the exception of fire engine, ambulance, and police car--so everyone bikes or walks or takes a horse carriage. It's charming and the clip clops of the hooves around town lend an old timey feel to the island.

If there's a body of water nearby, I MUST be in it, in one capacity or another!

We shop and sample fudge and shop some more and have a wonderful afternoon. We visit Arch Rock and I dip my toes into the lake and we end up at the Pink Pony for dinner and MORE cocktails. Can I just mention the Mackinac Island Fudge Martini???? Hooooooo Leeeeeee Goodness. The food is amazing, we are sitting outside on a deck overlooking the lake, we are laughing, and it's summer. It's just one of those very good days.

After dinner, we make our fudge purchases--at Murray Hotel Fudge, naturally--and wander a bit more before some of us get chocolate and peanut butter ice cream from Kilwin's. It's truly a day of decadence and I am Here. For. It.

Sock Monkey is a sucker for Murray Hotel Fudge....

We grab the 9:30 ferry back to Mackinac City and crash in a couple of rooms at the Days Inn. It's not the Windermere, but all is well.

By the way, the general manager did end up refunding us for the hotel room and admitted his mistake. He also paid us for the parking at the ferry since we had paid for overnight parking at the ferry lot. We were pretty happy about that, seeing it is the very least he could do.

August 6

The ladies and I are up relatively early--seriously my body has NO idea what time zone I'm in--and off to breakfast. This group is all about food--it's serious business. We like to eat and we like to eat well. We stop by a coffee shop and I get a delicious cinnamon and honey and vanilla latte and Kelly gets one that is honey and lavender and cinnamon and then we head to a place the baristas recommend, Toast A Go Go. After a hearty breakfast, we hit a few shops in Mackinaw City and even see the Mac-a-tron. I kid you not, there is a 30 foot transformer in Mackinaw City.

Then we are on the road again and heading across the Mighty Mac on our way to the Upper Peninsula.

We make our way to Narnia Trail. It's a trail that runs along the lake with a magical fairy tale forest we tromp through. It's called Narnia but I am feeling more like a hobbit as I walk the trail. It's warm out but beautiful and we like the shade we get in the forest.

The sign of a good hike? Thank goodness Lisa packed wipes. Or was it Kelly???????

Oh, and Kelly and I maaay or may not be engaged.

The only part of the hike that I do not like one little bit is when I see not one but TWO snakes!!!! "Why did it have to be snakes?" ***bonus points if you can name the movie***

No rest for the wicked so it's on to Sault Sainte Marie. First stop is Moloney's for lunch and a cold beer. Then it's off to shop the cute downtown area, see some pretty big boats in the locks, and enjoy the beauty of a summer's day. The Hotel Ojibway, where we stay, is in a GREAT location.

August 7

Another beautiful morning, another tasty breakfast! Yum, yum, yum. Before leaving Sault Ste. Marie, we swing by Penny's Kitchen and have a delicious breakfast. We have a big day ahead of us today! We are going to see PUPPPPPPPIESSSSSSSS. The excitement is real.

But first, a stop at an overlook where we see Monocle and Spectacle Lakes and a brief stop at this super cute coffee shop/knickknack store, called Dancing Crane.

One of the absolute BEST things ever is MI Dogs. Omg, puppies!!!! So basically MI Dogs is run by a woman who has competed in sled dog races, such as the Iditarod and other long-distance races. When you arrive at MI Dogs, you start with a brief intro from Laura, who owns and runs the place. She talks all about how she got into sled dog racing and talks training dogs, racing the dogs, and gives a pretty good overviews of what is involved with sled dog racing. When we arrive, the tour hasn't started so one of her assistants brings us puppies and they are impossibly cute and wiggly (mine, Kelli's, Lisa's, Kelly's) or sleepy and cuddly (Tia's) and we just about can't stand it.

Then we get a tour of her property and meet some of her older dogs. The dogs she has are Alaskan huskies and they are SO smart. We learn a little about each dog and how she runs her operation. AND THEN it's puppy time!!! Lisa and I share a sweetie named Mist and she dozes the whole time in our arms and it's the best. Tia and Kelly also share a dog, Dew. Kelli gets her own dog, Brooke, to snuggle and play with. When it's time to go, we want to take all the puppies with us. Spoiler alert, we do not. We say goodbye and off we go.

In addition to Laura's sled dogs, she has a shiba inu puppy that is a pet. Cuteness overload.

Next up--waterfalls. Tahquamenon Falls. First the Upper Falls, then the Lower Falls, where we get to take a dip in the falls. Hilarity ensues.

Properly hungry from our waterfall adventure, we head to the Goat Locker Saloon, where we run into Laura and her workers from MI Dogs.

It's getting late and we still have a bit of a drive ahead of us. Tomorrow we are going to be kayaking and so we are staying in a yurt right on Lake Superior near the kayaking place. It's after dark, around 10 pm, when we arrive at the yurt and it begins to drizzle a little. We haul our bags down the path, through the sand from the car to the yurt and set up our beds and crash out. It's much too dark to get a good idea of the surroundings and we look forward to seeing the lake in the morning. It's started raining and it's cozy inside the yurt and we hear the rain pattering on the dome top.

August 8

We are up early and WOW--the lake is RIGHT THERE! I, being me, take a dip in the lake. It's not as cold as Lake Tahoe--we hear that it's currently around 70 degrees, which is warm for this time of year. I am happy as can be in the lake, until I have to get out and get ready for kayaking. Lisa says I'm crazy for going in the lake, but the water is warmer than the air temperature!

Tia is a little less excited when she wakes to find a dead spider in her pjs. Yech! The Kellies (the young'uns of the group) are FOR SURE more adventuresome than Lisa, Tia, and me. We are resort girls, we decide. We like comfort and decide that being north of 50 brings out the crotchety in us.

We grab food to go from the cutest little cafe, Falling Rock, and it's off to kayak. Falling Rock is the kind of place where locals keep their coffee mugs hanging on the wall for when they come in. I just love places like this!

Pro tip--if you want to kayak in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, go with this company. They take you out by boat--with bathrooms!--and get you close to the highlights of the park. They then load you up and launch from the boat and it's a 5 mile kayak excursion before getting back into the boat for the trip back. The guides are FANTASTIC and so knowledgeable. We have an absolute blast. I don't mean to brag (yes, I do) but Tia and I absolutely kill it in our kayak. We are so in sync and make it look easy. Lisa and Kelly get the hang of it too. And Kelli makes a new friend in Brad, her kayak partner. The scenery is STUNNINGLY beautiful. It rains on and off and first it's a drizzle and later it rains pretty hard, but it doesn't dampen (see what I did there?) our enthusiasm. Kayaking is a true highlight of the trip.

After kayaking, we head back to the yurt and jump in the lake before heading for a late lunch/early dinner at Foggy's in Munising. Meanwhile, Tia and I decide that rather than wait to drive back to Lower Michigan tomorrow and head straight for the airport, we will leave after dinner. I'm too nervous about weather and driving and delays. I need to be at the airport by noon and we would need to leave around 5 am if we are to stay the night. So we say good bye to Kelly, Lisa, and Kelli (who still have 3 1/2 days of UP fun) and drive south to Novi. Not long into the drive we are thinking we made the right decision. It's POURING rain and the driving conditions are not, shall we say, ideal. It's slow going. After we make it back over the Mighty Mac, the skies clear a bit and we roll into Tia's house close to midnight. I have a brief catch up with Tia's daughters before a long, hot shower. Tia's husband, Dave, is out of town visiting with his parents so we get one final night being bedmates.

August 9

Tia and I sleep in and enjoy a lazy morning on her back deck, chatting and enjoying the quiet. Then it's time for me to pack up and head back to the airport. I've sure logged plenty of hours at various airports this summer. Not that I'm complaining. I've had a wonderful time and many adventures. I think I just need to be a bit of a homebody for a bit. And spend time with Mia. I really have missed my girl this summer.

Many, many, many thanks to my gracious and fun-loving travel companions.

Thanks to Lisa for picking me up at the airport. And for housing me when I come to town and letting me tag along to football games. Thanks for being the voice of reason and never taking anything too seriously. Even when your knee hurts, you have a huge smile on your face and are joking around. There's no one I would rather adopt that cute puppy with!!!

Thanks to my UP chauffeur, Tia, my soul mate introvert and bed mate, who drove me all up and down Michigan and never got sick of me. And trust me, she's not that good of an actor so if she got sick of me, I would KNOW it! Over the years we have taken several trips together and, like the wine we drank on our wine country vacation years ago, our trip selves get better with age. I thank my lucky stars I got to know Lisa and Tia 20+ years ago and that we remain close to this day--even though Lisa doesn't have our matching tattoo! ;)

Thanks to my relatively new sisters-in-travel, the Kellies. Kelli is our trip photographer. She happily documents all of our adventures with her trusty selfie stick and never complains that we leave the picture-taking to her. She is game for anything, not much seems to phase her and she always always always sees the bright side of things and is keen to rally the gang. She also is the keeper of the quotes.

And Kelly, our intrepid travel agent, wrangler, cheerleader, motivator. She kept the trip on rails and kept us all moving along and on itinerary. She planned an amazing trip and I'm so thankful for her doing that so all I had to do was show up! And thank you for sharing your beloved UP with us. It means the world.

Until next time, ladies......