High Five for Friday | Link Up

Since it is my last week of official summer vacation, it has just been a chill week. Laying around, going for walks and reading. The calm before the storm if you will.

1.  On Saturday a group of friends and myself went out to celebrate my birthday! We went to a local brewery that I had been wanting to try, EagleMonk Pub and Brewery. Pictured is the sampler that C and I split, to decide what beer we liked best. I had about 4 favorites (out of 8), so that's a definite win in my book! It was a great time, and I super appreciate the people that came to help me celebrate. 

2. It's always a great week when I get to see this old girls smiling face. She was my 16th birthday present, and seeing that I just turned 30...that tells you how old she is. She continues to live at my parents, since it seems evil to yank her from her comfort zone. She has lots of land there, plus her best friend Mojo to snuggle with on cold winter nights. I love her. 

3. I have been going for walks everyday, usually to the library. It's been great to get outside and walk to one of my favorite places ever.

4. I am test driving some cars this week. Unfortunately my car has pooped out. That is not a high five. BUT getting test drive some cars is. I have had my current car...for 12 years. I have never really driven anything else, so this is kind of exciting.

5. We are going to be joining some friends for dinner in Old Town, Lansing. It will be delightful to eat some great food and catch up with people.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, see you back here on Monday!

Pure Michigan Travel | Kayaking in Mt. Pleasant

For my 30th birthday, I wanted to do something that I love to do. I wanted to be outside, near/on the water, with my best friend/fiance celebrating entering the next phase of my life. So, we went kayaking. We had a groupon (we almost always have a groupon #dealsfordays) to Buckley's Mountainside Canoes in lovely Mt. Pleasant, Michigan (home to Central Michigan University). It's about an hour north of where we live, so we made a reservation for right when they opened @ 10 am. 

It was a chilly morning, but beautiful. Big puffy clouds, sun shining bright, the sky was a brilliant blue...pure michigan at it's finest. We got our kayaks without a hitch and we chose to do the 2-3 hour option (about 6.5 miles) figuring we would just take our time and enjoy the scenery. They drove us to our drop-off location, and off we went!

The river we were on is the Chippewa River, and it had a pretty decent current going. For the first 45 minutes or so all we really needed to do was steer, and make sure we didn't get stuck in the shallows. Naturally, we each got stuck in the shallows, but we managed to get out without any major problems. Even though we have had tons of rain this summer, the river was still pretty shallow in some spots.

We saw lots of fish, turtles and even a crane! It was sitting by the river, and we scared it so it flew ahead and hid in the brush. But of course, we were still going in that direction, so as we neared it it flew in front of us again. We played this game for awhile, until finally it gave up and flew off somewhere. It was super awesome, and I wish I had been able to capture a picture of it.

The temperature was perfection, it got a little steamy in the sun, but there was a great breeze and lots of trees. It couldn't have been an easier river to kayak and the entire process of renting and using the groupon was so simple. Buckley's also rents canoes, and stand up paddleboards for various trips. They have a variety of different routes, so if you're not comfortable with your ability they have a shorter route that you could do. They were super easy to work with, and they have so many options for the things.

*Buckley's & Groupon have no idea who I am or that I am singing their praises. All purchases and opinions are my own.