As you've guessed from the past couple of days, our final big adventure of the summer consisted of a trip up North to Michigan for our dear friends' wedding. My beloved and I were chosen to be the photographers and the Sugarbean was selected to be the flowergirl. I’d never been to Michigan before, nor had I ever heard of Mackinac (pronounced mack-in-awww) Island until our buddy asked that we watch Somewhere in Time to familiarize ourselves with the location.


To get there, we hopped a plane to Detroit, had about a 45 minute layover, then hopped a smaller jet to Pellston, Michigan, hopped a shuttle to the ferry, took a 20+ minute ferry ride over and then we were there. We flew Delta. While the acronym (doesn’t ever leave the airport) lived up to name for members of the wedding party and folks we met there, for us, we were lucky. We experienced one twelve minute delay that actually worked to our benefit because it allowed us to get a better meal while we waited in Detroit.

Anyway, Pellston, MI airport is a small regional airport nestled amongst the tall trees, I would dare to call it a forest, even. Upon arrival, you immediately see the baggage claim area. so.not.kidding. rawr!


The Sheriff’s office was also located in the airport, too! (nice bass)


We loaded up the shuttle and waited for the rest of the people who were sharing our shuttle van to arrive. While sitting there, we were wired with nervous excitement for the weekend, not to mention, worn out from the travels. And then, not 5 minutes of waiting, I was stung by a deer fly. Nature loves me. I must say, that bite hurt like crazy, became many different shapes/textures, but after 5 days, my arm finally went back to normal.

Anyway, our shuttle took us to the Econolodge in Mackinaw City and wow, it was fancier than any Econolodge I’ve ever seen. They had an indoor waterpark and half of the hotel looked like tiny cabins. The other half were regular hotel rooms, but the insides weren’t drywall, but actual wooden cedar planks that gave them a log cabin feel. We had a lovely stay there. We didn’t get to visit the waterpark because we hung out with our friends at their cottage that evening.

The next morning, we set off to the island. Immediately, we saw the horse carriages and were overwhelmed by the amount of bicycles. You see, on the island, no motorized vehicles are allowed. The only time they were there was during the filming of the aforementioned movie, that’s it. The island is 8 miles around and you get around by walking, bicycling, or horse carriage. Yes, there are quite a few hills in the middle of the island, so you can get a nice workout while walking!






Yes, I even rode a bicycle (without any crashes or injury!).


We stayed at the Lakeview Hotel and upon arrival our bags were there waiting for us. Our room was comfortable and fit our family perfectly! They had an indoor pool, which we were able to enjoy one night. The girls had a ball! I really enjoyed the hot tub!


Our friends were married at the Somewhere in Time Gazebo at the top of the hill near the fort. The scenery was nature just showing off, and the light was divine! Here’s a candid moment caught when the minister told a joke about kissing practice.


We rode the carriage up to the gazebo with the bride, her parents, and the bridesmaids capturing some beautiful moments. hello gorgeous!!


After the wedding, we rode the carriage down with the rest of the bridal party and happened upon this fella on his unicycle. All sorts of folk live on the island, I tell ya! (I even heard several Jamaican accents which had me second guessing where we were for brief nanoseconds.) Disregard the horse bombs in the road. They actually do a decent job of cleaning up the poop.


Their reception was at the Lakeview. We ate there for breakfast every day and dinner two of the three nights (rehearsal dinner and wedding reception). This is food from the rehearsal dinner.



CUPCAKES!!! They were filled with a crème surprise in the center. Delish!


We also indulged on the local pizza for lunch and again for dinner another night. Island Slice was decent and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the island and in need of a pizza fix. It was on the pricier end of pizza, but I expected as much because of where we were. I was in love with their veggie pizza! Regular whole wheat crust, caramelized onions, olives, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, with pesto, marinara, and mozzarella…yum!


No visit to Mackinac Island would be complete without a visit to the fudge shop. After all, you will find one every 50 feet or so when you are in the main shopping part of town. Horror of all horrors, but here’s a secret…I don’t like fudge. aaaaack…the tragedy of it all!



What I do love is coffee. While their espresso machine wasn’t working when we stopped by, their coffee hit the spot. Thank you Lucky Bean!


I went a little bananas over the coffee, it was very nutty in flavor. LOL I crack myself up!


Anyway, it was a wonderful adventure. One we will always treasure and made quite an impression on the Sugarbean. As we pulled away on the return ferry, she said, “Goodbye Mackinac Island. I had a great time and I miss you already.” She already has the travel bug, but I don’t blame her. After all, before she was a year, she’d visited both coasts and had been to Las Vegas at 6 weeks.

Congratulations Will & Nicole! We love you dearly and are so very, very blessed by your friendship! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of such a special time!

8 Miles around Mackinac Island

We rented bicycles and rode around the island. Mere days before Don ran it with our buddy. At the time I didn’t know we could have rented a BOB stroller. Had I known that, I totally would have joined them. We were joined by two of our friends who had rented a tandem bicycle! Aren’t they cute?


I had a lovely beach cruiser and hooked up to it was a trailer for the Sugarbaby to ride in. Don had a fancy mountain bike with a weehoo for the Sugarbean. She loved it! She loved pedaling and her own cupholder. Alas, I didn’t get a photo of them because, it’s hard enough for me to bike with both hands on the handlebars, let alone take a photo. Some day! Anyway, here is T hanging out in the back of the trailer.


When we first set off, there was a lovely beach/boardwalk area. There were many wildflowers and geese hanging out on the shore. We had the share the road with carriages, so we had to dodge horse bombs lingering on the street. I was not as successful as the other riders. Our bike mates joked with me wondering if I was drunk because of my wobbliness. Nah, just not a great rider.





We stopped at the Devil’s Kitchen mini cave. We didn’t grab a photo in front of that. Instead, we opted for the photo with Mackinac Bridge behind us.


That skirt I’m wearing is actually a long maxi skirt that I’d tucked into my undies to prevent it from getting caught in the pedals. Upon take off, I’m fairly certain I might have given someone a free show. Luckily, I quickly sorted things out to prevent it from happening again. On this side of the island, the wind was still blowing heavily, so there were actual waves on the shore.


If you do such a trip, maybe wear closed toe shoes, unless you are expert biker. My Roxy flipflops worked, but I would’ve been more comfortable in my Minimus shoes. Don was smart, and so was Mari.


We continued on our journey and stopped at the halfway point to skip rocks, take photos, drink some water, and enjoy the view. At the halfway point is where they have water for purchase and bathrooms. Oh, and absolutely no sandy beaches!





We navigated to the other side of the island where the water was still and it was so quiet. We happened upon Arch Rock and it was quite a site!


After being out around the island for a couple of hours, we returned our bikes and went in search of food. Upon our return, we saw these fantastic kites. The black one looked like a flying Voldemort!


Seconds after getting this photo, someone bumped into me (didn’t even apologize!!) and I lost grip on my new phone (barely a week old) and shattered the glass screen. To say I was beside myself with sadness is an understatement. I know it is just a thing, but it was my brand new thing that I’d been saving my money for months and to have it broken so quickly really, really disappointed me. Especially after I saw the CNET torture test where the phone survived 3 falls! Ugh…I’m able to get it fixed, but for far more than what I want it to be.

Anyway, that was our bike ride! Because I don’t want to leave it on a sour note, here is a lovely and cute photo to make you happy. Sisters skipping along the sidewalk, holding hands, wearing their new shirts. I absolutely love how close these two are!

The Ferry Ride

This deserved a post all on its own because well, it was a calm adventure. The ferry was just across the highway from the hotel, but because of all of our luggage, it was best to drive over. Lucky for us, our buddy was waiting for us and he loaded us up! We were shooting for the 11AM ferry, but didn’t leave the room until 10:58. So we thought the 11:30 ferry would be a go, but after we unloaded, tagged the luggage, and took the cars to the overnight lot, we ended up taking the Noon ferry over. I think a roundtirp ticket for an adult costs $18.


You wait in line to board the ferry. The ferry is two levels, with the 2nd level being exposed to the outside. On that day, odds were that if you were sitting up high, you were going to get wet. There were several bikes parked in the bike area. They also had space for large carts of luggage. Isn’t that sky amazing?


I did the Sugarbean’s hair while we waited. (You will see that sweater in many pictures because that was the only warm garment I packed for her. um, hello, Texas girl! I thought cool weather meant it was going to be in the 90s. LOL! Incidentally, that sweater was acquired last December when I was in Boulder. I popped my head into a Children’s boutique store. It was discounted 75% off regular price and it was still a splurge coming in at just under $60. I’ve already felt like we’ve gotten our money’s worth, though.) She enjoyed the view, but didn’t like the wind. The lei’s were a gift from our cottage visit.


When the ferry arrived, we grabbed seats in the last 2 rows. We parked the stroller right behind it in a secure area. T sat on my lap and MariJul had room to gaze out the window. A very sleepy baby passed out moments after we took off.


He is so gosh darn handsome. Wowsa!


This one cracks me up. Our buddy is so excited because the day after this photo was taken, he was going to be married! His dad, on the other hand, looks less than amused.


She was also so very tired, but kept fighting it. This is how I picture my darling angel.


I learned that if you sit in the back, you hardly feel any “turbulence” (what is the word for when the boat shakes, like an airplane has turbulence? Is it wake? I dunno. pshhh) On our ride back several days later, we sat in the front and whoaaa! What a difference! On both trips, both girls had passed out before we’d arrived.

It was very scenic and lovely. Unless you own a private boat, the only way you can get to the island is by ferry. The journey is quite fast and not at all unsettling to the tummy (if you are prone to becoming seasick).

Cottage Visit in Michigan

When we were up in Michigan, we had the honor to have dinner with our friends at their cottage near Rainy Day lake. We grilled out, ate yummy food, and the girls went on their first pontoon ride. Something that I wasn’t expecting was the incredibly cooler temperatures. I’d planned for the Sugarbean, but had forgotten to pack a sweater for the Sugarbaby (awww). She is very hot natured, so she hardly noticed anyway.

These are the photos from that adventure…

We left Mackinaw City and headed out on 75 towards…well, I really don’t know which direction, to be honest. I’d popped a Benadryl to ward off any allergic reactions to my deer fly bite that I became quite a bit woozy. I did snap this picture on our drive out there mere moments before I passed out. Isn’t it lovely? It was so cool and clean smelling!

Dining al fresco


Exploring their backyard, we found this jungle gym. Our little acrobats had to play on the rings!



We were ready for the pontoon ride! They were incredibly excited about the boat ride!



The sunset rivaled those West Texas sunsets…gorgeous!

For an added treat, our gracious host insisted that the girls try their hand at driving the boat. Tesla was excited to turn right.


The Sugarbean was beside herself with excitement at being the Captain!


We capped off the evening with a generous slice of freshly made apple pie with a healthy dollop of Cool Whip. It was oh-so-very good! (clearly because there isn’t much remaining on my plate when I snapped this photo!)


And I must mention that I had 3 cups of coffee (Dunkin Donuts home brew for the win!)to stay awake from that tiny Benadryl. It still wasn’t enough to keep me awake on the hour and a half drive back in to town. Before I fell asleep, though, I did notice the bright stars in the sky and saw a lone falling star. I knew it was going to be a magical weekend!

August Challenges

Hello, hello! It is August 1 and some are headed off to their first day of school and others are enjoying their last few weeks of summer break. I’m trying to embrace a type of normal and establish a routine. We are still a bit caddywonky after our summer travels, so I’ve set forth some challenges for myself that may help aid us in that direction.

1. Different Hairstyles each day for the Sugarbean

Because of the lice issue, Mari and I have gotten into a nightly routine of “doing” her hair. For the month of August, I have decided to try a different style with her hair each day. She’s now at an age where she will sit completely still so I can do her hair. This has become a part of our night-time routine and I think it helps to relax her before bed. I’m posting the pics on Instagram if you’d like to follow along.

2. Run at least 20 miles

This one SHOULD be easy enough to accomplish, but I had to put it in here because this Texas heat is making it tough to want to go out and log miles. After a visit with Brother, though, I’ve decided I needed to up the ante on my Training for Life m’fer #t4l. Do y’all set fitness goals?

3. Go on 4 dates with my husband

Lucky for us, Restaurant Week is coming up. I’ve also booked us a sassy getaway for forty-eight uninterrupted hours! That in and of itself will probably account for all 4, but still. This Summer of Love has taught me the importance of connection in our relationship and staying connected despite the chaos. Do y’all do anything to keep things fresh or are you happy with the way things are? I’d love to hear some of your creative ideas!

4. Finish a sewing project

I’ve totally and completely neglected my craftiness. Well that’s no more. I need a bag. A very specific bag. I also need another long maxi skirt (who couldn’t use another skirt) and I have the material for it. This won’t take any time, it’s just a matter of cutting and straight stitches and making the time for it, right? Keep me accountable, folks. Quit stalking me and ask me how my sewing is coming along!

What are you up to in August?