“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” – Miriam Adeney

Ever since we were kids we went up to Northern Michigan and visited family and stayed on Pickerel Lake. Once we moved to Texas this tradition died out a little bit but was reignited when my older sister and her then boyfriend started going again with my dad. Soon after we jumped into the tradition again and have been going and renting a cabin on Pickerel Lake right down the street from my Uncle’s cabin who is now occupied by my cousin Kim. So for the last 10 or so years we have been renting this same cabin. Fortunately, this summer my dad was able to purchase the cabin and we will continue the tradition of “summering” in Northern Michigan. We found out about the purchase on the 5th of July last year and immediately started making plans to visit in the fall as well.

Over the fourth of July, the cabin is usually filled with tons of friends and family who came into town for the fourth. It is amazing that everyone is able to get away from their busy lives and take some time to enjoy the beautiful weather and sights of Pickerel Lake. Our time up there is typically dedicated to grilling and enjoying about 100 summer shandy’s while we sit by the lake and laugh. We gather at my cousin Kim’s fire pit in the evenings a lot for s’mores and chatter until we can no longer keep our eyes open. The sun sets around 11 pm in the summer so after a full day we collapse into bed with all of our energy drained. The mornings are filled with fishing on the pontoon while some stay back and enjoy the sunrise with coffee. Needless to say, this is the week I look forward to all year long. I hope this is a tradition that continues my whole life. Here are some pics from the week of the fourth.

Here is an overload of pictures. Some from fishing, some sunsets, the Alanson parade, boating, the fourth of July, fire pit nights, and more.

After my dad purchased the cabin, we made immediate plans to come back and visit. We were able to set a trip up for October. It was a short trip but it felt so good to be there in the fall. We helped my dad do some work with the cabin but also managed to have fun too. We went to Beards Brewery in downtown Petoskey and also the Apple Festival over in Charlevoix. It is absolutely beautiful in the fall with all of the colors and the leaves changing.

Thanks for reading! Until the next post! 🙂

“Travel while you’re young and able. Don’t worry about the money, just make it work. Experience is far more valuable than money will ever be.” – David Avocado Wolfe

Sometime last spring my friends and I decided to take a trip somewhere. We settled on Puerto Vallarta and began planning. I’ve been to a lot of places in Mexico and Puerto Vallarta is by far one of my favorites. There is so much culture in this city. We stayed at the Westin near the Marina district. Our hotel was right on the beach but we were right down the street from the Marina so we typically wandered over there for breakfast and to head out on the town at night.

We ate breakfast a few times at this little adorable diner called Mr. Cream Pancakes and Waffle House. It was so yummy and the wait staff was so friendly and welcoming. Not like in America, where you are inconveniencing them by dining there.

The pictures above were from our first morning there but we did visit a few different times. Another restaurant we went to a few times was Pepe’s Tacos in the Marina area but it appears to be closed at this point. It looks like there is one farther south. If you are staying near the other Pepe’s, I would recommend it! We also went to the El Faro lighthouse bar after a full day at the pool and from what I remember it was also pretty legit. The last notable food and beverage place we visited on the trip was the Beer Box. It was a more modern American type bar. They had a great selection of beers and of course and amazing wait staff. Check out some pictures below!

The majority of our time was spent at the pool and beach area. The beaches are very different than the other side of Mexico. The sand is a little more rough and water not quite as blue compared to the Cancun side of Mexico. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED Puerto Vallarta and had an amazing time but the beaches are not the best beaches I’ve been to. Anyways, we had drinks, relaxed, met some cool people, and even got into some volleyball games.

The big adventure we did while visiting was taking a boat over to a private island, Las Caletas where we had an amazing dinner by the water and watched the sunset. After dinner there was a show at an amphitheater in the middle of the rain forest and it was actually pretty amazing. Between dinner and the show, there was a little time to relax and explore the island. The island had a ton of paths that wandered through the rain forest but the best part was the hundreds of hammocks near the shoreline. It was beautiful. The highlight of my trip may have been before we boarded the boat to head to the island we even made friends with a sea lion. The adventure was called Rhythm of the nights and it was a great time overall.

This trip actually took place almost a year ago so I am still in the process of catching up! I cherish these trips so much and I love looking back at pictures and reliving these trips. I hope you enjoyed if you made it through the post and next post coming soon! I promise!