Each year, Ryan and I brainstorm places we’d like to take our family in the summer. When we started thinking about 2019, I said “Um. What do you think about Michigan’s Upper Peninsula? There are two dear friends I’d love to see – maybe we could turn it into a camping trip.”
And we did. We should have done it long ago.
I offer it here in five segments.
I. Family
No one I’d rather be with in the world,
except to add in the one who is missing. His absence hurt.
I love these people.
II. Destinations
Northern Michigan took me by surprise, when it changed from
the north-Ohio look of flat fields and skies to
pine and poplar, dirt roads, junctions, lakes.
I could see and hear and taste my childhood in Minnesota, and found myself at home
on the long, straight roads heading north.
III. Food
I didn’t take as many pictures as I wish I had.
I entirely missed the fish and chips
as well as the gourmet breakfast cooked by the Loewens.
Mostly, I ate it
and reached for more.
IV. Friends
No one can replace the friend who has lasted since teen years or before.
I met two,
some of the finest women on the planet.
Greatest of joys, to reconnect on couches or over coffee
to find we have changed less than we thought
and to watch our daughters forge friendships of their own.
V. Artistry
Lake Michigan!!???? There’s no place on earth I’d rather vacation… Unless it’s Lake Superior. I can never decide. Lake Michigan is warmer, friendlier, more approachable. Superior is rugged, mysterious… aloof, maybe. But so much loveliness in both.
“…the one who is missing. His absence hurt.” Life mixes pain and beauty in unbearable portions sometimes. Hugs!
I’ve been as far north in Michigan as Mackinac Island. Such a beautiful area! Northern Michigan reminds me so much of NW Ontario.
Mloublogger, my reaction to the UP was exactly like yours.
Fun post, Shari!
Lovely! I’m glad you got to do this. I too dream of going North every single summer. For me, it’s Lake Mattawamkeag in Maine and the farmlands of southern Ontario that call my name.