LUDINGTON
July 17th to July 21st
2008
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Thursday
We had a little trouble trying to get packed and on the road. The popup crank stopped working. Dad worked on the crank for an hour, and after a few choice words, we were finally on the road. On our way to Ludington, we stopped to eat dinner at Lickity Split in Rockford. They had good food, good portions, at a good price. I had a rueben, Dad had a breakfast burrioto, Z had chicken fingers, D had a pizza taco, and C had pancakes. We arrived to the campsite rather late and had to set up in the dark.
Friday
We went to Kountry Kubboard for Breakfast then Dad went to White Pines Village to work in the blacksmith shop with Bill. The kids and I went for a swim in Lake Michigan at the campground beach. The lake was just like I remember as a kid. The waves were roaring and we were actually able to body surf them. The girls were a little nervous at first but quickly learned how much fun it was (especially CHK). After our swim we went to explore our campsite. Z went into the woods to collect firewood and made a new friend. D and C went to the campsite playground and twirled around and around on the merry–go– round. They really enjoyed the merry-go-round I never heard them giggle so hard. We went to Big Boy for dinner with Bill. We then went downtown for a stroll at the waterfront boardwalk to watch the S.S. Badger sail out of its dock. Following our stroll, we returned to the campground to watch the sunset at the bluffs. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. The water sparkled with pink and blue colors and the sun was a salmon pink ball in the sky. The girls were so exhausted they had no trouble going to sleep. Z and I decided to walk around the campsite and sit on the bench of the deck that led down to the beach. Z stated that it was nice to get some alone time with his mom.
Saturday
We started our day at Ludington State park. We first visited the Great Lakes Viisitors center. The center had a litter program. If you collected a hundred pieces of trash on the trails you receive and free ice cream cone. Unfortunately, we were able to collect 75 pieces of trash along the Sable River Trail. It is so sad that people don’t respect the beautiful woods of northern Michigan. During our hike back from the Hamlin Dam we saw the cutiest mink. We all started to get hungry so we headed back to the campsite to eat lunch. Daddy decided to take a nap and the kids and I went back to the state park. We didn’t get to stay long because he kids were a tad grouchy. I really wasn’t impressed with the state park’s beach, too many people. On our way back from the beach I stopped downtown to take a picture of some historic Ludington homes for my hubby’s conference presentation. While I was taking a picture, the owner of one of the houses walked out. She turned out to be a wonderful resource and very interesting person. She offered up a lot of information on the homes for Dace to use in his paper. I told her I would bring him back later as I knew he would enjoy meeting her. Back at the camp site we decided on goulash for dinner. Zach’s new friends were setting off fireworks at the beach so we went down to check it out. Zach met a brunette that he took a fancy too. Dakota met another 5 year old and had lots of fun jumping off of the stairs into the sand. We roasted marshmallows on the campfire for dessert. I bought some Rieces bit size peanut butter cups earlier, and I decided it would be really yummy to put it in the center of my marshmallow. WOW… I will be doing that again soon.
Sunday
After two days of damp clothes we decided to take some clothes to the laundry mat. Zach and the girls found more friends at the laundry mat. They had been camping in the state park and were on week two of their visit. For lunch we decided on the “House of Flavors”. They had so many ice creams options to choose from we all decided to eat a light lunch and get ice cream for dessert. Of course, I wouldn’t mind having ice cream for all three meals. After our lunch we thought we would go and feed the mosquitos. Actually, we went on a treasure hunt. I couldn’t leave Ludington without a letterbox. This box was located at Bryant Woods/Cartier Park. During our hike Dakota caught her first frog. She was so proud of herself. Dace caught a garden snake, I saw a few deer, and we all were eaten alive by mosquitos. I guess I still haven’t learned my lesson. NO letterboxing until after September or find better bug spray. I just can’t help myself.
Dace really needed to take more pictures for his presentation, so on the way back to the campsite we stopped downtown and he took more pictures. He was able to meet the owner of the Italianate house. As he was talking to the owner the kids had fun rolling down the steep hill in her front yard. Then, we headed to White Pines Historical Village to visit with Bill. We stopped at the frog pond to look at the huge frogs. We saw two painted turtles sunning themselves. With restaurant recommendations from the house owner, we decided to eat at The Grand. I would have never known this awesome restaurant was downtown without the help of a local. It was a foggy night back at the campsite but Bill entertained us with some campfire songs. I was a little bummed that there was no sunset, but we wanted to go down to the beach for a night walk anyhow. Chey collected some sea shells and wanted to play a game with them. We ended up making a mermaid out of the things she collected.
Monday
We wanted to make the most of our last day of vacation, so went back towards the state park after our lunch at KFC. I really didn’t want to go into the state par,k so we found a spot along side the Sable River. There were many people tubing the river because it came out right onto the lake. This was the perfect spot for us because the girls could play in the river, Zach played in the dunes, and I got to be on Lake Michigan. Next, year it would be fun to float down the river. Dace and the girls made a survior shelter for Barbie on the beach. Dace also had to rescue Barbie from floating down the river into Lake Michigan. It was a cooler day, but none-the-less, we enjoyed the beach.
This concludes our wonderful trip to Ludington. We will definitely be going back to Butterville campground.
Christie K13
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Little D’s 5th Birthday
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I have accepted that by giving birth to a 10lb baby my body will never bounce back the way it used to. Anyway, it was a successful trip. I am going just use one of my old bottoms that will match perfectly. I also got two really cute tops. It worked out better than I could plan.
