For my entire adult life my weight has fluctuated. I have at most times a 2-3 size range of clothes in my closet. I’ve lost weight and slowly gained in back multiple times. I KNOW what works for me and I know how to keep it off. My problems are lack of will power and motivation, especially in social situations. There are a lot of weekends spent at the tiki bar with sugary mixed drinks and bar food. It’s FUN though and since I didn’t get to have that lifestyle in my 20s I enjoy it now as an empty nester! Going out to eat is also very convenient when you are busy. We were eating out 3 times a week! None of that does anything to increase your overall health. Yes- dancing is fun but it doesn’t burn off as many calories as I am consuming.

It’s easy to think “I’ll start again next week” or “I’ll get back on track at the end of the summer”. Trust me- that doesn’t work. At least not for me. Last summer it became very clear to me that big changes needed to be made. I was spending more time chasing around grandkids and it was hard to keep up with them. I was at the heaviest I had ever been and it was time for a permanent change.

So at the beginning of this year my husband and I decided to make some big changes. He had bariatric surgery last month. That’s his story to tell not mine, but it does mean changes for both of us. It was a big decision that we made together and was about six months in the making. He had the big one, not the sleeve or a band. He is doing well and has seen great results so far. But what does that mean for me?

I have gone back to tried and true calorie counting. 1200-1300 calories a day for now. Once I add in exercise this spring I will add account for that. Most days that means protein shakes/bars for breakfast and lunch and a sensible dinner. Eat less, move more. Simple and it works. We no longer have any snack food in the house. Everything we eat is measured and weighed out. I can tell you the calories/fat/sugar/protein in everything I eat. Our refrigerator and pantry look much different these days.

We are still adjusting to social situations.

-We had friends over to watch a couple of football games and we had only healthy food that I could easily log.

-We were invited to play euchre with friends and we scheduled it between lunch and dinner and asked them to please not make any snacks for us.

-We have been out a few times to watch a local singing competition and we’ve had water, iced tea or diet pop while two hundred people around us are drinking and loud and having a great time. I’m a social drinker and enjoy getting giggly with my friends. I wish I liked beer, there are so many lower calorie options.

-Our son and his fiancé came up for a weekend and I prepared them for what to expect. We have no snacks and probably not much food they usually eat. But they were fine with it and we had eggs, and english muffin and turkey sausage for dinner. 500 calories and we had all we really needed.

-I went to a special event in town at our local theater. The ticket included soft drinks, appetizers and all you can eat popcorn. I did some research ahead of time about the popcorn and I was able to have a small serving with no butter. I didn’t eat any of the food or drink any of the alcohol. I brought a protein bar with me to have for dinner. It was a little hard to look at all that food and see everyone enjoying it but I stuck with it.

I allow myself one “cheat meal” every two weeks. Not a whole day, just a meal where I can have what I want without having to count the calories. It gives me something to look forward to have helps with the cravings. My husband isn’t quite ready to go out to eat at a restaurant yet but when he is we are going to be a lot smarter about it. We can share a meal, make better menu choices, avoid appetizers and desserts. We can also make eating out a special occasion again and not a way of life. Better for our health AND our bank account!

We are going try to plan get togethers with friends that aren’t food based. When you think about it, almost every time we get together with people it’s based around a meal. “Let’s grab lunch ” or “Let’s meet for dinner and….”. Our holidays, celebrations and special occasions are almost always centered around food. My hope is to do more “Let’s meet and go for a walk” or “How about we meet after dinner and …”.

I’ve lost twenty pounds so far. I have about seventy more to go. I’m not on a timeline although I would love to be almost there by the end of the year. I’m not going to beat myself up though. I’m not going to beat myself up. I’m not going to beat myself up. I know there will be months where I barely lose anything. The important thing is that I am making changes that will be long lasting and good for my body. We CAN’T go back to our old lifestyle. Chad’s surgery means permanent changes for both of us. It means hopefully we’ll have more years together, have more energy to chase around those grandkids, have more stamina for all the dancing on the beach and future adventures we take.

So if it seems like you don’t see me around as much, it may just be that I am avoiding tempting situations. Reach out to me and we can go for a walk on the beach or for a hike along the AuSable. Or we can play some games, I love a good board game!

Christmas feels like a lifetime ago!

Does anyone else feel like this has been an exceptionally long month? The shopping, fun get togethers and cheerful holiday lights of December has been replaced with never ending meetings and gray skies! This is the time of year when ALL of my volunteer groups have events to plan. So far this month:

• Tawas Point Lighthouse Grand Re-opening planning committee zoom meeting. The Friends of Tawas Point Lighthouse and State Park are planning a big event for May 2nd when the lighthouse reopens to the public after being closed for renovations all of last year. Lighthouse tours, food, local artists, entertainment, etc. 
• Oscoda Rotary‘s Iosco County Family Fun Fair. I’m on the planning committee for this event which brings over 50 service agencies to one location to help local families get the support they may need. This event is on April 20th at Oscoda High School.
• Oscoda Rotary‘s Summer Concert Series. I am the chairperson this year for the summer beach concerts. It’s my job to coordinate the 9 weeks of concerts so there have been a lot of back and forth emails, phone calls and texts. I have 7 of the bands confirmed so far.
• I went to my first Northeast Michigan Board of Realtors lunch and learn and met some of the other agents and people from local title companies that I hadn’t met yet in person. It was nice to put some faces with the names. I hope to be more active in this group as time goes on.
• Witches on the Water. I am helping plan the 4th annual Witches on the Water weekend in Oscoda, which will be October 25 and 26th. I am working with two amazing ladies to help make this event even better than the event we planned together last year. Painting Party, Witches Happy Hour, luncheon, scavenger hunt, Ms. BeWitched pageant and a dance. This will be a lot of fun!
• The Light Up the Bay fireworks committee is working on fundraising for our 4th of July show. We have new tshirts, our summer raffle and are doing a lottery tree during some of the Perchville events.
• The East Tawas Business Association is in charge of the Chilly Cook Off during Perchville. Chad has been helping with the planning of it this year and our office in competing for the first time. Luckily I haven’t had too much to do with this other than running the social media page.
• Tawas Area Chamber of Commerce has it’s first Business After Hours networking event tonight. These are always a good way to mix and mingle with other local business owners and community leaders. You never know where your next opportunity will come from!

On top of all of the meetings we also hosted watch parties for the U of M championship game and two Detroit Lions play off games. I had two real estate closings and oh yeah, my husband had surgery and we were downstate for four days! This crazy busy month has me daydreaming about lazy beach days this summer. Only 114 days until Memorial Day weekend.

“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” —Earl Nightingale

I left my part time job at the Tawas Area Chamber of Commerce last July to devote more time to our own businesses, Sterling Properties and Farmers Insurance in East Tawas.  It felt good getting back into something I enjoyed so much. I am an HGTV addict, love looking at homes and most importantly, love helping people find the RIGHT house for them!

I took the class and test required to get my license back. You forget what a good feeling it is to take classes and pass your chapter quizzes. While the content hasn’t changed much in the twelve years since I first got my license, the WAY we learn sure has! Being a Realtor means belonging to regional and national boards which means lots of fees and continuing educational. I don’t think people realize how much money it costs to be a real estate agent.

When I came aboard at the end of July I knew it would take some time to get things going. We live in an area with small communities and a LOT of real estate agents to choose from. I’m not FROM here so I don’t have the built in connections that other agents do. I was relying on my local volunteer organization connections, my social media presence and my enthusiasm to carry me. The next four months however were nothing but starts and stops. Showings that went nowhere, people changing their mind about buying/selling, being ghosted by what I thought were solid leads. I just couldn’t seem to get anything to stick. There was one particularly rough day that led to tears that had me questioning my decision to get back in this field. That was just about the time my next annual board dues were due. A time when even seasoned agents evaluate the pros and cons of another year in the field.

While visions of working at the Hallmark store or local florist briefly flashed through my mind, I decided to stick it out. It takes time to build your clientele and we were approaching the slow season. I tried not to be too hard on myself. Two weeks later I got a good call and a few weeks after that, another one. While I’m still working on the first deal, the second one closed yesterday! It was my first paycheck since last July and I may have been a little emotional about it. Best of all though, I helped a VERY excited couple but a beautiful home in our community.

It’s not as easy line of work. It may be months before I get another closing. But I am determined to stay positive and stick with it. I need to remember the only one putting pressure on me is ME!

So much to do, so much to see!

Want to plan a fun, long weekend on my side of the state but don’t know where to start? Let me help! While I’ve planned this to be a 3 night trip, the timeline is easily adjustable and would even work for someone who lives in the area. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU CALL AHEAD TO CONFIRM HOURS OF OPERATION/SCHEDULE OF EVENTS AS THEY MAY CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE SEASON. This was intended for the summer months when the days are long but it would be beautiful any time of year. (Suggested events and times would need to be adjusted based on sunrise/sunset times.)

Be sure to bring: a picnic blanket, water shoes/sandals,

Thursday: Check into your accommodations in either Tawas or Oscoda at 3/4pm. There are many great options to choose from, just keep in mind you really won’t be spending much time there. Once you are settled in go out and explore some local shops before they close for the night. My personal favs: East Tawas- Village Chocolatier, The Local Basket Case, Windjammer, Brew Krew and Ben Franklin. Oscoda- To the Moon and Back, Cathy’s Hallmark. There are a lot of good restaurants to choose from for dinner. After dinner options include:

1- A FREE Summer Concert series band concert @7 at Oscoda Beach Park (bring your blanket). You can walk the pier or beach, or even take a dip in the lake while you listen to one of our popular local bands.

2- An evening movie at the historic Lake Theater in downtown Oscoda.

3- Karaoke with Mad Dog Mac at the Tawas Bay Beach Resort. If you opt for karaoke be sure to check out Bikini’s Beach Bar at the same location. Don’t stay out too late, you’ll be up early the next morning!

Friday: Start out by watching the sunrise over Lake Huron. I KNOW it’s early and you’ll be tempted to sleep in, but get up anyway! Head to Oscoda Beach Park and find a bench along the boardwalk or sit on your blanket on the sand. I suggest getting there about 20 minutes before sunrise (google the time to day before). Now that you’ve seen the sunrise you can go back to your hotel room and get ready for you day.

Pack up your stuff and head to the Red Fork in Greenbush for Breakfast. Try to be there when they open as it’s a popular location.

After a delicious meal you’ll drive north for about a half hour to Sturgeon Point Lighthouse. Spend up to an hour here. The lighthouse is open for tours at certain times of the year as is the old Bailey schoolhouse. The beach here is a treasure for rock collectors. See if you can find a Petoskey stone!

Back to US -23 Heritage Route headed north towards Alpena. If you have kids or dinosaur lovers with you, make a pitstop at Dinosaur Gardens in Ossineke. You can also take a picture with Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox in this town. Just before Alpena you’ll drive through a nature area with the 45th parallel sign. It makes for a cool photo op, just make sure you put on your hazard lights and carefully pull off the side of the road.

Once you hit Alpena I have a few suggestions. Pick one or two to visit today and maybe save one to visit on the way back.

1- The Alpena Marina has a great pier along the harbor. Check out the boats and maybe some muskrats and ducks too.

2- The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center is free to the public and has some great displays. It showcases many Great Lakes ships, wildlife and history of the area. If you have time you can also do a glass bottom boat tour from this location out into Thunder Bay. I would suggest calling for reservations ahead of time.

3- If you like walking trails be sure to visit Duck Park. This unique island within a park has a great walking trail with lots of photo ops and even a covered bridge. You can also rent a kayak at certain times of the year.

It’s got to be close to lunch at this point. I’d suggest either Mango’s (yummy Mexican food in downtown Alpena) or Austin Brothers Beer Co. just a couple miles away.

Back on the road again. Next stop, 40 mile point Lighthouse. This is another lighthouse with tours at certain times and you may even spot the remnants of a shipwreck! (There are a couple of roadside parks/overlooks you can stop at along this section but honestly the views are just ok. The roadside beach just past Roger’s City before you get to 40 mile point lighthouse is my favorite place if you want to stop and snap a pic.)

If you have stuck with my suggestions, you should be in Mackinaw City between 3 and 5 to check into your hotel room. (I don’t have any personal suggestions here, just go with the best deal.) Explore whatever Mackinaw City shops and attractions catch your eye. Be sure to visit the park next to the Mackinac Bridge for some great photos. Walk UNDER the bridge for some cool shots. Dinner suggestion- Rusted Spoke Brewing Co. or Wienerlicious. After dinner drive OVER the bridge and get to Bridge View Park in St. Ignace. It will be on your left side as you go through the toll booths but you will need to be in the RIGHT lane to exit at 344A and make your way over to the park. I have found this to be the best sunset view. The setting sun throws beautiful light on the bridge.

From here you can explore St. Ignace or go back to Mackinaw City. Either way be sure to see the bridge lights once it is fully dark before you head back to your hotel room for the night.

Saturday: (if you have an extra day then I’d suggest inserting it here and doing a day trip to Mackinac Island) You don’t have to be up for the sunrise, but you don’t want to sleep in too long. I’d suggest having breakfast and being ready to hit the road by 9:30am.

Colonial Michilimackinac if a historic fort/reenactment of a fur trading village that has daily shows and exhibits. If you enjoy history you will want to spend a couple of hours here. If not then that just gives you more time later on in the day to explore other areas.

Once you are back on US-23 headed South, your next stop will be Ocqueoc Falls. It’s a little off the route but it is worth the detour to see the largest waterfalls in Northern Lower Michigan. You can actually walk out into the water at points and there is a hiking trail. Splash around here for awhile and then head back to US-23 towards Alpena. Before you get to Alpena you will visit the Presque Isle and Old Presque Isle lighthouses. Watch the the signs about 12 miles past Rogers City. Both lighthouses have seasonal tours and are awesome photo locations. You’ll probably spend 30-45 minutes at each location.

After the lighthouses you aren’t far from Alpena. Here you can have lunch and visit the places you weren’t able to see the day before. From Alpena you are going to enjoy the drive back to Oscoda.

Now that you are back in the Oscoda/Tawas area you can check back into the hotel from Thursday night, try someplace new, or if you don’t mind driving at night push on back towards home. If you decide to stick around town, I highly suggest catching the sunset at the Foote Pond Overlook along the AuSable River. Take your blanket, sit on the ledge and take in the views. It’s my favorite place in town to watch the sunset! To get to it you’ll take River Road in downtown Oscoda west and it becomes the River Rd Scenic Byway. This overlook is on the right side of the road a few miles west of Old Orchard Campground/Foote Pond.

If you do opt to stay the night on Saturday and have time before heading home on Sunday, a morning kayaking trip along the AuSable is a great way to end your trip. Oscoda Canoe rental has canoe and kayaks trips available. A Whirlpool drop off back to the store will take around 2.5 hours. Mornings are my favorite time of day for this trip and it would put you back on land just in time to grab lunch before heading home. Hilltop Bar & Grill is just down the road and is a local favorite with simple food and affordable prices.

I hope you enjoy your visit to the Sunrise Side. Again, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU CALL AHEAD TO CONFIRM HOURS OF OPERATION/SCHEDULE OF EVENTS AS THEY MAY CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE SEASON. If you have any questions please comment below or you can send me an email @ shannonebondie@gmail.com.

At what point in our lives do we say “that’s it, I’ve learned all I’m going to”? I hope the answer is NEVER! While taking on a new class, new activities or new hobby may seem intimidating or like it will just take too much effort, I highly encourage you to do it anyway!

If you had asked me a few years ago if I would ever take an online course and take a state test to get a license, I would have laughed at you. But my husband wanted to open an insurance agency and needed me to get licensed to sell life insurance, so I did. That was my first real experience with a fully online course. Sure, I know my way around a computer but to sit there for hours at a time looking at a screen was tough. It’s a challenge to keep your mind from wandering. What am I going to make for dinner? Did I switch around the laundry yet? What a cute squirrel! I learned early on that I needed to take a mental health break every 2-2.5 hours. My idea of studying 8 hours a day to get it all done quickly vanished. My brain just couldn’t handle more than a couple hours at a time of terms like accelerated death benefit rider, annuity certain, variable universal coverage and don’t even get me started on all the stock market indexed policies! But day by day I stuck with it and I found that the shorter chunks worked well for me. I passed the course test and then went on to pass the state test, not an easy test to pass. And I was so proud of myself. It felt like a real accomplishment.

A couple months after that, I auditioned and got a part in a local play. (You can read the post from earlier this spring if you want more information about that.) Talk about learning something new. I can’t even remember the last time I had to do that much memorization. Challenge accepted! I ran my lines (over 170 of them) nearly every day for two months going from the script, to index cards to being off book after four weeks. I was very proud of the fact that I could still learn and memorize so much on top of my part time job, volunteer groups and life in general. Just knowing I was still capable of doing it made all of the time invested worth it.

Just two weeks after the show wrapped, I started another online course. This one is so that I can get relicensed as an real estate agent. I loved being an agent before but had to give it up to get a job with a steady paycheck. I am at a point in my life now when I can get back into it and since we happen to own a real estate company, it just makes sense! Just like with the insurance course, I find I need a break every couple of hours. Now that the weather is nice I’ll go outside and water the plants, catch up with one of the kids, or sometimes get a workout in. I finished the 40 hour course in about 3.5 weeks and then passed the required test. Next up I have to start learning all the new websites and tools that have come along in the real estate world in the last 10 years!

But first I am going to take a little time for myself. There are books to read and beaches to lounge on. Summer is short around here and I don’t want to miss it!

In 2005 I took my 9 year old daughter on an audition for a community theater production of Oliver! and our family hasn’t been the same since!

I remember telling her how proud I was of her that she was taking a chance and auditioning. What mattered is that she trying, whether she was cast or not. Well, she did get a part and thus began my life as a community theater mom. I helped with costumes and props, marketing and snacks. Driving her to rehearsals and hanging around at the theater became second nature. My 11 year old daughter, Katie, got involved a couple of shows later and helped with the tech side of things. It wasn’t long before our son auditioned and was cast in his first role as a Cratchit kid in Scrooge and then later as one of the von Trapp kids. I started learning how to be a stage manager and help with the tech stuff. By this time even my husband had gotten involved (more like sucked in if you ask him) and it truly was a family activity. Whether onstage or behind the scenes, we all really enjoying spending that time together and we made some incredible friends. For fifteen years our cycle was auditions, rehearsals, running lines, performances, cast parties and then repeat.

When the kids grew up and we moved north, I wanted to get involved in a new theater group. I was hesitant though because I knew it would be different since it would no longer be a “family” activity. We went to see the local shows to support them and just when I started making friends that were active in the theater and I was ready to get involved, Covid hit and shut it down for 1.5 years.

Last fall I read about an upcoming show the Tawas Bay Players were doing called Always a Bridesmaid. It’s about 4 best friends who grew up together, promising to be in each other’s wedding no matter what. 30 years later, they are still keeping that promise with often hilarious results. It sounded fun and the main characters were around my age. I watched a version another community theater had done and loved the script. So I summoned up every drop of courage I had and auditioned. In 15 years of community theater I had only been ON stage one other time and that was a small part in a Shakespeare in the Park production. That audition was easy and I was surrounded by people I knew. This audition was different. I didn’t know anyone else auditioning or anyone involved with the show. I almost talked myself out of going.

But I went, and I got the part I wanted. Libby Ruth, the hopeless romantic. On the first night of rehearsals I found out she has the most lines in the whole show and I freaked out a little. Then when I found out we were supposed to be off script in just four weeks, I freaked out a lot. But my family was determined to help me and they ran a lot of lines with me both in person and on video calls. Chad ran them almost daily with me and I bet we could throw him in a dress and he could be an understudy for ANY of the roles at this point! With a lot of work, I was off script as requested on time.

Things were going great until the week we started using lights and sound. It suddenly became very real and the nerves kicked in. I had butterflies and found myself getting shaky backstage as I was waiting to go on. I practiced breathing exercises and forced myself to walk through the door into the scene. I told myself “it’s just community theater” and it was no big deal. But the nerves were still there. I should also mention that Chad stepped up to run sound for the shows for us since the person that had lined up backed out. It was nice having him there and it felt a bit like old times. The comradery in the tech booth, actors rushing through costume changes backstage, that feeling at the end of a really well run scene. The “I can’t wait to get my life back yet I know I’ll miss this” feeling. It feels very familiar. And we have met some really nice people. with this theater group.

I have survived the first four shows. Cassie, the daughter who started all this, drove across the state to be here on opening night. Katie, was there on night two along with a great group of friends and family that made the drive from downstate to be here. Our son Jack is coming next weekend. We have four performances left. I may still get nervous in the wings as I wait to go on, but I won’t let it stop me.

Nearly two years in the making and it was worth the wait!

When we moved north full time in 2019, our oldest daughter followed us. I like to tease her that we had to kick her out of the nest, but now she has her own nest on the same branch as ours! That child has been a homebody since birth and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Moving to an area with a population of around 4000 people didn’t make it easy for her to meet people her own age. In this town, many people leave after high school in pursuit of college and/or raising their family, and then they come back to retire. But she DID meet a local boy, and he was a good one. We first met Michael when he came to one of Katie’s Community Band Concerts. I was impressed that not only was he supporting one of her passions but he was also willing to meet her parents after only a couple of weeks. The next week he joined us for karaoke and neither one of them could wipe the grin off their face as they watched each other sing. Their relationship moved fast, a little too fast for our comfort to be truthful, but sometimes your heart just knows when it’s the real thing.

Michael quickly became part of our family, almost like he was there from the start. He got along so well with our other boys. Jack, our youngest and Austin, our son in law. While the three of them are all very different, I love the bond they have with each other. Michael’s daughter, Kinsley had just turned three and was impossible to resist. We all fell hard.

When Michael approached us just 6 months later and told us he wanted to marry Katie, we knew it was coming. Unfortunately for him, it was 2020 and his grand idea for a very public proposal were not possible. But together we hatched an alternate plan and at our family Christmas that year, he popped the question.

I should back up a bit to say that our other daughter, Cassie, had gotten married in 2017 so this was not our first family wedding. Cassie and Austin had a beautiful fall wedding on the Detroit Princess Riverboat in downtown Detroit. It was the perfect location for their wedding and it was a wonderful day. But that was before I started this blog and they are pretty private people so I’m not going to go into all the details, that’s their story to tell. My girls were very different brides. Cassie wanted something small, unique and more urban. Katie however, wanted the classic outdoor fall wedding in a country barn venue. Cowboy boots, denim, fall flowers, string lights and a bonfire…the whole package. They found the perfect venue for that at Crooked River Weddings in Gladwin. The wedding took place about 22 months after the proposal which gave Katie time to make sure everything was just like she wanted it.

Cassie and I planned her bridal shower at Fisher Hall in downtown Frankenmuth. As we live 4 hours apart on opposite coasts, we knew neither one of us could really host it. It was a challenge to come up with a suitable place that wouldn’t be too far of a drive for our downstate guests and overall I think it worked out really well. Katie and Michael opted for a joint bachelor/bachelorette party here in East Tawas at the place we go for karaoke and where they had their first date. Their local friends and family were here and it was a very special night.

Once everything was planned our only real concern was the weather. Katie had been looking forward to this for so long and all I wanted in the world at that moment was for the weather to cooperate! Luckily for us, it was a GORGEOUS day. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. My favorite part of the weekend though wasn’t even the wedding itself, but the day before when we were getting everything ready. Looking around and seeing how much our kids love and support each other as adults made this mama’s heart so proud. Jack had a laughing Kinsley on his shoulders and Cassie was helping Katie with centerpieces and Chad and Michael were hauling something in from the truck. I wanted to slow down time in that moment and just enjoy this family time. We finished decorating the barn and ceremony space, collected things around town for Katie, with often hysterical results, and then had the wedding rehearsal and dinner. Later than night at the rental house we were all staying in, we joked around, danced and laughed and it was one of the best family nights we had in a long time.

The wedding of course was beautiful. Austin and Griffin got there just before the ceremony as planned (a long story for another day) and Griffin was adorable in his cowboy boots! Surrounded by our friends and family, it was a very happy, emotional day. We all cried as the bride and groom danced to “Beauty and the Beast” , a dance they had been learning for weeks and wouldn’t tell even tell me about! I cried again as I looked over at the table where my stepdad sat, missing my mom and knowing how much she would have loved this. And again when we took a group photo with my amazing group of friends and thinking about the one who we lost all to soon, and how she would have been crying right along with me. And one more time as Katie and Michael left the barn to their sparkler send off. It meant the world to me to have those people stick around until the end to celebrate this incredible day with us.

Another catch up post from last year.

There are still some places in the USA I want to check off my bucket list. At the top of the list was Key West. I had read about the sunset ceremony they hold EVERY night in Mallory Square and I knew it was something I wanted to experience for myself.

In the spring of 2022 when I suggested Key West I had no idea it would become a twelve day road trip. I thought we would fly into Miami, rent a car, spend a week in the Keys and come home. But Chad thought it would be more fun to drive. While it meant adding on an extra days and more money for gas/hotels, I was game. Especially when we traded in our Acadia for a Bronco. I envisioned warm days with the top down soaking up the Florida sun. That didn’t exactly go the way I thought, but more on that later!

We headed out a few days after our oldest daughter got married. We figured early October was a great time of year to be on the road. We didn’t take I-75 like we usually do. I wanted to take a route less traveled. I knew for sure I wanted to stop in St. Augustine on the way down and the Cincinnati Zoo on the way home. Everything else would be left to chance and we meandered our way through West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia, stopping at every “scenic overlook” we found. Towards the end of the first day, I realized we weren’t far from Point Pleasant, VA home of the Mothman, so naturally we detoured to check it out. THAT is my favorite part of a road trip, stopping at whatever catches your eye. The next day as we hit Florida and the temperature started climbing, so did the humidity! It didn’t take long to realize my desire to drive with the top down was not as great as my need for the AC!

We spent 2 nights in St. Augustine and did a hop on/hop off trolley tour, our favorite way to explore a new place. I would definitely go back there again some day. A few people had recommended we check out the Prohibition Kitchen and after we ate there we could definitely see why. The whole Old Town area was very cool. We watched the sunrise over the ocean from our hotel the next morning and then headed down the coast towards the Keys, making a pit stop through Palm Beach to see how the rich and famous live. WOW!

Once we got to Miami I was officially the farthest South in Florida I had been. The traffic was a nightmare but eventually we got through it and found ourselves going through the Everglades and soon, Key Largo. Our condo was in Tavenier in the Upper Keys and our resort had a pool with a bar, a small beach and marina and lots of mangroves. Something we would be very familiar with by the end of the week. We unpacked, made a quick trip to Winn Dixie and our vacation in the Keys was on!

Over the next week we alternated pool days with exploration days. We already know we aren’t going to see everything a destination has to offer and we don’t even want to try. I’ll generally pick out a few places ahead of time I’d like to visit and then we find things once we are there. We spent three of our seven days there doing nothing more than lounging in the pool, enjoying tropical drinks, playing cards and finding new places for dinner.

The other days we went off exploring. We saw the Turtle Hospital (where we, and a couple from Wisconsin, bailed on a slow moving tour because we were melting into pools of sweat. Move it along already people, geez!), Theater of the Sea, Bahia Honda State Park, and spent an entire day in Key West. THAT day was the hottest, most humid day of the week. Even the locals said it was bad. We had to keep going back to the car for AC breaks. While we were there we did another trolley tour, a nighttime ghost tour, ate at the original Sloppy Joes, and of course, saw the sunset ceremony. That was the best part of the day. Hundreds of people watching the sun slip beneath the horizon and then breaking out into applause. There were fun street performers, local artists and even a marriage proposal.

One of the things I was prepared for but took my husband by surprise was the fact that there aren’t many sandy beaches in the Keys. This isn’t a place where you sit under a palm tree, drinking fruity drinks from a nearby tiki hut on a sandy beach that stretches for miles. You’ll find that in the Bahamas or Virgin Islands. Th e Florida Keys are made up of coral, rocks and shells…so soft sand is hard to come by. There are a few places that have created sandy beaches but from what we were told, they require a lot of time and money to maintain so most places just leave it as is. People go to the Keys for fishing, scuba diving, boating and snorkeling. If you want to take long walks along a white sandy beach, you need to stick to the mainland. Even the touted “best beaches” we visited surprised us. They were gorgeous from a distance but not what we are used to. We are so spoiled with our Great Lakes beaches, especially here in Oscoda.

By the end of the week, we were ready to hit the road. Florida is a fun place to visit but we were anxious to head back home. There is no prettier place to be in the fall than Michigan! On the way back we stopped in Cincinnati for two nights so that I could go see the baby hippo, Fritz, at the Cincinnati Zoo. He was absolutely adorable and the zoo is a really nice one. In fact, I’m planning a return trip later this year. I can’t even remember the last time Chad and I spent an entire day at a zoo on our own. It was a gorgeous sunny, 70 degree fall day and we drove away with the windows down, breathing in the fresh air.

So that was our 2022 vacation. Those of you reading this that have been to the Keys probably have lots of gorgeous photos and stories you could share as well. Feel free to share them in the comments. If this is on your future bucket list, I hope this post was helpful.

There’s nothing like being a grandparent!

Our grandson turned three a few weeks ago. THREE! Time flies even faster now than it did when our kids were little! We headed over to the other side of the state to celebrate with balloons, cake and gifts…though really our grandson was more interested in playing with the balloons than any of the gifts he opened. He was born in March 2020, and incredibly difficult time for socialization as we were only a couple of weeks into what turned out to be a global pandemic. But despite the four hour distance between our homes and the need for precautions, we still manage to see each other every 6-8 weeks. It’s not ideal, but our daughter and son in law are very happy in their town, as are we, so this is just the way it is. I remind myself that plenty of people have to take a plane to visit family, so I try to be grateful we see each other as often as we do. And we fully utilize our technology options. We speak almost every day through text, messenger or video call. We’ve been an active part of his life since day one and he has been spending occasional weekends with us since he was five months old. We look forward to those weekends so much and I know our daughter and son in law enjoy having some time to themselves too!

We also have a six year old granddaughter. She first came into our life about 3.5 years ago when her dad started dating our oldest daughter, Katie. Anyone that has met her can tell you that her smile is infectious and you can’t help but fall in love with her when you meet her. She “officially” became part of our family last fall when Katie and Michael got married, more on that in a future post. They live here in Oscoda but have shared custody so our visits aren’t as frequent as I would like with her either. I’m hoping when she is older we can do some video calls with her between visits.

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of spending time in the summers with my grandparents. They would take me blueberry picking and deer spotting. I’d help my grandpa in his garden and he taught me to play solitaire. My grandma would paint my nails, teach me how to play the organ and we’d watch her “stories”. Sometimes we’d even go up to their cabin up north and occasionally my cousins would be there too. That’s when the real fun happened! My husband also has a lot of great memories with his Grandpa, whom he called Gramps. In fact, that is what inspired us to tell the kids we’d like to go by “Gram and Gramps”.

One of the things I told our kids before they even had kids of their own, was that I hoped to have them stay with us for two weeks every summer so I could give my grandkids the same kind of memories I have, except maybe the organ-which I can no longer play! My idea was to bring ALL of the grandkids together so that they could have that time with us and their cousins, and we could make those special summer memories with them. Luckily my kids were all on board with this plan so I didn’t have to resort to begging! I have visions of exploring the AuSable River overlooks, days at the beach, mini golf, fishing, hiking in the Huron National Forest, picnics by the lake, etc. We are starting this summer and I can’t wait, though many of those visions will have to wait a few years! We may switch to two weeks at a time when they are older, but for now we are separating the weeks to one at the beginning and one at the end of the summer. “Gram” & “Gramps” may be younger grandparents, but we are exhausted at the end of a long weekend with a toddler, let alone two weeks in a row!

I love my kids with all my heart and am thankful for them every day, though there were some questionable teenage days, but it’s true what they say. The best part of being a parent is becoming a grandparent!

There are so many great places still to explore in our state!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my state. I am a born and raised Michigan girl through and through! Sure, I enjoy visiting other states and tropical locations from time to time, but I am also still discovering parts of our own state I hadn’t been to before. So a couple times a year I like to grab my husband, Chad, or some friends and go on weekend a road trip!

Last summer, I was planning a weekend getaway with two couples from about 3 hours downstate of us. Often times they come up this way, because let’s face it-Northern Michigan is awesome, but this time to keep things fair, I was looking for someplace more in the middle. Typically we meet up in Frankenmuth, but I really wanted someplace new for this weekend. After a couple hours of research I came up with Marine City, located south of Port Huron on the St. Clair River. While it was actually a 3.5 hour drive from our part of the state, it seemed like it would be worth it.

We set off on a Friday morning in the Bronco, top down, and music blasting with classic rock songs we couldn’t help but sing along to. We took the scenic route which led us through the backroads and farm country of the Thumb area. We couldn’t have asked for better Michigan summer weather, mid-upper 70s and sunny.

We arrived at check in time. Another thing people that know me understand is that I will leave my house at 2am if that is what it takes to arrive AT check in time. I am getting my money’s worth, darn it! I definitely recommend The Inn on Water Street. The room was large and had a nice balcony overlooking the park across the street and the river beyond. We sat on the balcony, enjoying the warm breeze, and watching the freighters go by until the other couples got there. One of the things I really loved about the location of our hotel is that it is on the main strip in town, so you don’t have to take your car anywhere if you don’t want to. There are plenty of cool shops, restaurants and waterfront parks in walking distance. My favorites were Marine City Fish Company for dinner and Gord’s Bar that features a new rooftop bar for after dinner drinks. For shopping I’d suggest not missing The Mariner or MC Marketplace, both are on the main strip.

When we weren’t exploring town with our friends, my husband and I spent most of our time sitting in the shade by the water just enjoying being outside and watching the activity on the river. After a fun two days with our friends, Chad and I decided to take the long way home and take the coast the whole way. I had a couple more lighthouses to cross off my list! It ended up taking about 7 hours with stops and photo opps. We enjoyed a beautiful drive through Port Huron, Port Sanilac, Port Austin, Caseville, etc before finishing our fun weekend with a waterfront dinner at the Real Seafood Company in Bay City.

I haven’t planned our home state getaway yet for this summer so if you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments.