The Old North State

Or the one shaped like a hand where things are pronounced funny and you tell people your location by holding your hand up. Bag is bahg. Macinac (island or bridge or ice cream) is macinaw. The UP, well, it stands for the Upper Peninsula. This is funnily enough the chosen vacation spot for the Arnold family. My dad grew up in Ohio, so it was a meager 8-hour trip every summer for him. Then my parents moved to NC, where they raised their kids and made the epic 18-hour drive in a blue Astro conversion van for a two-week vacation in Michigan every summer. I've only missed coming to Michigan in the summer twice in my life: the summer of Governor's School and my honeymoon. Brent and I had decided that we wouldn't come up this summer, for multiple reasons. Then, my dad sweet-talked me into riding up with him and back with my sister. I couldn't resist, so I rearranged my schedule and drove overnight last Friday. Somehow the trip only takes 14-15 hours now, but it's still a haul. If you've never come, plan it as your next vacation. I'd love to help. It's worth the drive.

My Favorites:

#5 - Cherries. I know the Teet has Washington cherries on sale right now and when I thought I wasn't coming up here I bought some. But Michigan cherries (and all other fruits, really) are phenomenal.



#4 - Lake Michigan. Our family's house is not on Lake Michigan; it's on a small lake. But we go to see the sunset (and take a myriad of pictures) each year at Lake Michigan. Being from the east coast, it's especially nice to see the sunset over water. And the Great Lakes are indeed great. Somehow, without a tide, they still have waves rolling in all the time. It feels like the ocean.

#3 - The Wet Burrito. We go to a local joint here called Ruthie's. They have killer ice cream and a wet burrito that's unlike anything in the world.

#2 - Speaking of ice cream, we make it our job up here to eat as much of that as we can. I don't know what people in Michigan do in the winter, but they consume some ice cream in the summer.

#1 - Being on our lake. I love to ski. I love to swim. I love to lie by the lake. Today it's about 75 degrees, if not cooler. I'm sitting in a sweatshirt and I've been cold, like the beach in the spring, all day.

This year has been exceptionally cold. Normally, we're only in our sweatshirts at night while by the campfire or playing games, but this year I didn't bring enough warm clothes. Right now I'm wearing my dad's Petosky sweatshirt. It's refreshingly amazing. It's been so windy that I haven't gotten my dad up for early morning skiing, which is unusual. That's normally my thing: skiing in freezing cold water by 8:00 am to get the glassy lake and going to the very end of the dock in the morning to read. One year I slept on the dock, but that's another story.

I love it here. And I'm convinced you would, too.