In the midst of all our early school year craziness, we had a nice 3 day Labor Day weekend. No school. No middle school cross country. No theater activities. Zach was going to be out of town for most of the weekend, so I asked the kids what they wanted to do. Adelie answered, "Go to the beach with the Hostetlers."
So we did!
My initial search for Air Bnbs or hotels near the beach in Michigan proved less than fruitful. (I guess most people don't wait until the week before to plan their Labor Day trip.) Luckily, we knew someone who had a vacation cabin near Lake Michigan that they weren't using for the weekend.
It was small, but really cute and walking distance to a private beach. It was perfect for our little week-end getaway.
We left right after school on Friday, and I drove up with my 3 kids and the Hostetler girls. We stopped for a quick car dinner and got up to the cabin right around bedtime.
The weather for the week-end was warm and perfect for the beach. We were the first group to make it down to the beach on Saturday morning and spent our entire day at the beach.
The kids played and played and played in the water. When they got cold, they played and played and played in the sand. Briggs was more of a sand guy while the girls spent way more time in the water.
I was more of a read-my-book-under-the-umbrella kinda gal.
Stella and Oliva's mom and big sister met us at the beach in the late afternoon. We had taco salad for dinner, got them settled in, and then headed back to the beach for the sunset.
It was a perfect Michigan sunset.
After breakfast and a run, we headed back to the beach the next morning. We were again the first group there.
We spent the entire day enjoying the sand and the surf.
The friends we were renting the beach house from have another house across the street where their daughter (a high school acquaintance) and her family were staying. Briggs had the best time playing with their 4th grader, Emeri. They spent so much time together digging and exploring and playing on the beach. This gigantic hole, which also included steps, a seat, and a water slide, was the culmination of a few hours of their hard work.
After another full beach day, we loaded up, cleaned the cabin, and headed for home.
Our dinner stop at Culver's revealed sun-drenched, beach-tired kids. I'm so glad we decided to go back on Sunday night rather than Monday morning as Briggs got sick with a stomach virus just a few short hours after we were home...that lasted for 4 LONG days.
Adelie had a great idea for this quick little beach vacation with friends. We had perfect weather, a great little place to stay, and a fun few days with friends. I'm so glad it worked out and am already thinking about a repeat for next year!
