Oh America the beautiful....How I love thee!
Well, It just seems fitting that this Fourth of July weekend found us celebrating many milestones!
We headed up North for a weekend road trip to take my son to camp for 2 weeks.
His first time away from the family ever, besides overnights with friends of course. So this was his own little personal independence day.....being liberated from us, to live in the woods in a cabin with buddies for 2 weeks, doing what kids should do in the summer, having FUN, learning new things, boating, fishing, swimming, crafts.....oh the memories!
I myself grew up going to camp every summer, and oh how I LOVED IT!!! but mine was only to a local day camp on Silver lake..I never had the nerve to leave my family, I was too shy, and afraid to leave the nest. in retrospect I wish I would have done things differently, the missed opportunities that I had..... I actually had a scholarship to Interlochen .....a prestigious music camp, (I played the flute) but I turned it DOWN!!! so I am so proud of my son wanting to leave and go for that long...happy that he doesn't have the curse that I had, I know he will have a ball, but oh how I miss him. I never thought it would feel this lonely without him, but it does.
Anyways!! We spent 3 days up north, spending time in little lakeside towns enjoying the sites and sounds of Northern Michigan.
it's so gorgeous up there. the trees and hilly landscapes, the little road side stands selling cherry pies and homegrown tomatoes. I love it. pure Americana at it's finest.
we stopped in a town called Harbor Springs, we ended up driving in right as the town was preparing for the start of a parade. the whole street was lined with lovely homes and people with wicker chairs on porches, some had little vintage chairs or patriotic seats lined up on the streets. it was fresh out of a postcard. it was so perfect.
The wonderful thing about this weekend is that it's also our anniversary. So not only did we celebrate the milestone of my son leaving, we also celebrated our 17 year anniversary! can't believe we've been married that long, but it's TRUE!
(cheers to us) :)
It was nice to spend time driving all over. we took a trip over the Mackinac bridge (which used to be one of the longest suspension bridges in the world) I conquered my fear of going over it! I am NOT a fan of heights. I can't help but remember the story of the woman who was blown off the bridge in her car years ago, so just THINKING about going over that bridge flips me out, but we did it, and I was surprisingly CALM! (despite the wind warnings too) yikes.
we spent time collecting heart shaped rocks with my boy, and had pizza and played shuffleboard.
dropping him off at camp the next day..you have to wait in a long line to get in....but it was worth the wait!
I was completely impressed with how cool the camp was.
exactly like I hoped it would look like, old school, vintage and so picturesque!
The Lodge filled with history, names of campers that have roamed the grounds before dating back to the 1920's.
old fieldstone, and porches over looking the lake. the little rows of cabins on a bluff overlooking the water...pure heaven.
We said our goodbyes, and I held it together until I got in the car where I burst into tears.
so hard to leave my boy.....especially when he's 4 hours away from me.
Thankfully my friend Kamala's house is close by and we were able to spend 2 days with her hanging out on her dock lounging in the sun and soaking up the wonderful views of the lake.
it helped take my mind off things and enjoy the beauty of this fantastic country and state that I live in.
I hope you too had a wonderful Fourth of July and a great Jump start to the summer....my mind is refreshed....ready to immerse myself in Art for the next two weeks with my Girl, we BOTH have lots of Art to work on for the Art fair coming up......and THAT should keep us busy and having fun for awhile!
:)
XOXOXOXO