Charlevoix

Last Thursday we took a trip up to Northern Michigan for a bit of camping and running. I took way too many pictures. As usual. I have organized them by category into a couple of slide shows. First is "The Beach." We camped at a State Park (Fisherman's State Park) that is right on the shore of Lake Michigan. We spent as much time as possible down at the beach, not only because it was gorgeous but because it didn't have poison ivy growing on every inch of space. The beach was a little rocky, but we didn't mind. There were fossils on almost every rock there! (That's why we are hunched over in so many pictures and why Heather's pants look like they are about to fall off in one). Plus, the rocks without fossils were the perfect size and shape for skipping.

At the Beach:

The campground itself was fine. Nothing spectacular. But the company, food, and beverage made it wonderful. On Saturday night we discovered that we had been sold wet wood, which did not bode well for our planned dinner of fire-roasted hot dogs and S'mores. But Dave persevered (and I mean really persevered--it wasn't easy) and thankfully we didn't starve to death. Friday morning was pretty rainy. Thankfully, Alex and I brought along our "Camping Condominium." We put the awning up to protect the breakfast cooks as much as possible while the rest of us sat inside, playing with toddlers and drinking our coffee. I have to say, given the challenges, Brian and Heather made some mighty delicious breakfast burritos. Saturday brought gorgeous weather, lending itself well to hanging out at the campsite, soaking up sun, grazing on food, and playing with kids.

In Camp:

Oh, and there was a race on Saturday morning. Rachel ran the half-marathon and Heather and I ran the full. Heather blazed through it and came in 2nd place with a 3:09:49!!! For those of you that don't run, that's fast. I really enjoyed this race. So much more than Boston. And it actually felt pretty easy (I mean, except the last few miles). I was 5th overall and 1st in my age group and managed to eke out a new personal record of 3:21:07. Maybe some day I'll break that 3:20 mark. Rachel also got a new personal record and, as usual, she didn't even look like she was trying. Heather got a plaque for her efforts. I got a pint glass. I guess there IS a benefit to being slow!

The Race:

After the race we spent a lot of time hanging around waiting for awards to be handed out. In that time, Rowan and Abby got to play in a little fountain feature. They were in heaven. It took Rowan all of 2 seconds to get soaking wet, while Abby was a little more conservative at around 5 minutes. The trouble with Abby was that she's used to playing naked. It was REALLY hard to get her to keep her pants on...

The Fountain:

After the awards and a little time at the lake, we all celebrated by heading to Short's Brewing Company in Bellaire. They are the ingenious minds behind beers like Strawberry Shortscake, Key Lime Pie, and the PB&J beer. It was deeeeelicious.

All in all, a great trip with great friends.