By Holly Sosa
Earlier this month, my family visited Northern Michigan. My father, grandparents, and extended family live in the Great Lakes state and I grew up spending my summers there roasting s’mores, playing in the lakes, catching frogs, and bonding with my family. Michigan is such a huge part of what I feel defines and identifies me, which is why it’s so important for me to share this piece of the world with my husband and children. We spent our two weeks there with countless bonfires, visiting kitschy places like the dinosaur park, and fished some rainbow trout from the hatchery. Northern Michigan has so much to offer families and we took it all in.
Jacob was in his element and eager to get on a mower to help my dad with some of his lawn. He took each of the kids on a turn around the farm. He was in his happy place.
One of our first few days there, we roasted corn right in the husk on the grill. My corn loving Evelyn wasted no time getting in on the action. Sister was free as a bird and loving life. Good food, open grass to run in, she did Michigan right and at the end of the day just plopped down right in the grass and spread out.
A tradition to fish at the hatchery ponds, we took the boys on their first fishing trip. The ponds are filled with trout and catching them is as simple as dipping in your pole with some bait. It took merely seconds for each boy to hook a fish. Aiden caught the biggest one and was beaming with pride at his catch. Collin’s was a decent size too. The hatchery rules are that you keep what you catch, so we limited them at six. The watched the process of killing, gutting, and measuring each fish with zero squirming, which is much more than I can say for myself. We grilled up their catch a day or so later and Aiden ate almost an entire fish by himself. I couldn’t be prouder of our little fishermen!
There is so much more nature to explore in Northern Michigan than in the High Desert, so the boys were fascinated by a caterpillar they saw crawling across the driveway one afternoon.The even pet the fuzzy little passerby.
Dinosaur Gardens, all kitsch. Right up my alley. We were nearly eaten alive by mosquitoes, but it was worth it to explore these dinos in the Michigan forest.
Another tradition: ice cream in Harrisville. Superman ice cream was my flavor of choice as a girl. Evelyn approved.
Traveling from Southern California to Northern Michigan is never an easy task, but it’s made infinitely more hard when traveling with young boys and a toddler girl. Preparation and budgeting is key, which is why Discover It Miles is so convenient for families who are traveling this summer.
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- No annual fee
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- Miles never expire 1
- No foreign transaction fees
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What are your family summer travel plans? Where will you be going? I’d love to hear about your summer vacations in the comments below.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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