Elk Rapids

The week after our UP and Alpena adventures, we visited our friends who have a cottage on Elk Lake, near Traverse City. We had an amazing trip, with good weather, great scenery, and wonderful friends.

Going on a boat ride:



Swimming in the middle of the lake:



Swimming back to the house:



A day trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Girls at a Glen Lake overlook:



Dunes everywhere!



We had lunch at this spot, on top of a 450 ft tall dune! Can you see the little itty bitty people at the bottom?



Girls on top of the dune:



Crazy kids going down it a little bit:



Coming back up:



Then we drove to the dune climb:



Exhausted kids at the top of the dune:



Just kidding! They ran up and down the dune over and over!



Just down the road from the dune climb was the abandoned town of Glen Haven, which has been converted to a park/historic district. It also has a lovely beach!



Then we went to Cherry Republic! A famous store/restaurant/winery featuring all things cherry!



They had free face painting:









And a playground with cool metal and wood toys:



We enjoyed several gorgeous sunsets:



That's Jess on the paddle board:



Saturday was a day of tubing and swimming:






And the daddies caught crayfish and a salamander! The kids made habitats for them all.


We also took a boat ride into town for lunch, an art festival, and ice cream.

Sunday was cherry picking day. The sweet cherries were delicious!






Mary's tattoo!



We even picked yellow cherries.



Many thanks to our friends for hosting us again!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone