So when we were discussing ideas for a summer vacation for this summer we were trying to find someplace where we could spend time out in nature, not spend an arm and a leg, and be in a place that wasn't necessarily super crowded. As much as we love the beaches of North Carolina, we really couldn't afford to go there this year. We tossed around the idea of going to Hersey, Pennsylvania (too crowded this time of year), Hocking Hills, Ohio (I wanted to go out of state), Atlanta, Georgia (too commercialized), among other places. I searched for weeks online for some ideas and places to go that were within driving distance and met our demands.
I came across a cabin for rent by owner in Kingsley, Michigan. It was only 6.5 hours away and was available when we needed it. It boasted that it was in a secluded wooded area with a river that ran through the property. It was also about half an hour from Traverse City which offered restaurants, shopping, etc. We decided to take the plunge. I had several people tell me that they loved Northern Michigan and that we would have a blast. I hoped they were right.
On Sunday morning, June 25, we loaded up our rental SUV and hit the road to Michigan. We stopped for lunch at McDonald's on the way. The kids did great on the drive and were troopers through the drive.
When we arrived in Kingsley, we had a 2 mile drive down a dirt road/path to our cabin. It was truly secluded.
Thankfully, the owners had texted us a picture to show us how to get to the cabin, as our GPS didn't show us the road once it got to dirt and there were 2 turns we had to make.
When we finally got to the cabin, it was just as was described on the VRBO website. It was really cute! And the landscape around the cabin was secluded and wonderful.
After emptying out the SUV, we decided to head back to town to get some groceries and get some pizza for dinner after our day of driving.
We first stopped at a country store that the owners recommended that was about 10 minutes from the cabin. Well, let's just say I was NOT going to pay $6.79 for a box of graham crackers or $7 for a gallon of milk. We stepped back out to the parking lot and searched for the nearest larger grocery store.
I found one about 10 minutes away so we headed there. Their prices were much more reasonable ($1.79 for a box of graham crackers, $2.40 for a gallon of milk, etc.)! We got groceries for the week and then headed to pick up pizza for dinner. One thing I noticed about the town of Kingsley, Michigan was how polite everything seemed, even the speed limit signs...
We took everything back to the cabin and enjoyed the pizza.
We got pizza from A. Papanos Pizza. It was very yummy and a delicious dinner to start off our stay in Michigan.
After dinner, we headed outside to check out the surroundings including the railroad tracks and the path to the river.
After spending time outside, we headed back in to get ready for the evening. We ended our evening by watching "The Lego Batman Movie" before bed and having popcorn.
I realized that evening how dark and how quiet the evenings are in that area. I woke up around 3am to hearing what sounded like a large animal outside, but I wasn't going to go out and investigate. LOL
So that was our first day of our family vacation. We were looking forward to what adventures day 2 and beyond would bring to our family.
We did not watch very much tv at all last week. The cabin that we stayed at did not have TV service. They did have a dvd player so the kids got to watch a dvd each evening. Since we have been home, the kids have been watching cartoons and I have had some baseball on. 
