High Five for Friday | link-up

Welcome again to another Friday! I actually did some things this week...\what?!  If you are interested in what they are...continue reading!

1. C and I stopped to get a Vernor's Slurpee, because he had been raving about them and I had not had one yet. He ran into get one, and came back with a mustache straw (yes, it did cost extra). It made the drink just that much more fun. 

2. I ate a delicious Margherita pizza on Sunday night. It was absolutely delicious and while I could only eat a quarter of it, I don't regret it (it was good as leftovers for Monday's lunch as well, win!).

3. Went up to boyne city and the first two days there were absolutely beautiful. We went swimming and hung out on the dock, it was great.

4. We went on a kayaking adventure! It was a tiny bit treacherous, but after a bit I got the hang of it. Although, I do seem to have gotten two rather large bug bits, that may possibly be tick bites according to the PA I saw...it's too soon to tell apparently if it's Lyme Disease, but he gave me an antibiotic anyway since they are HUGE and continuing to grow...this is a low five, for sure.

5. On a dreary up north day, what else to do but get a flight of beer at Short's Brewing Company (blog post next week!) and buy a 3 lb bag of taffy! Sooooo perfect.

Honorable mention -- TACO TRUCK. need I say more?!  

Have a great week and see you back here on Monday for the Weekly Wrap-Up!!

Pure Michigan Travel | Boyne City

So, my best friend (who shall now be known as A), her family has a lake house on Lake Charlevoix up in Boyne City, Michigan. She, knowing that I am kind of lame, invited me to spend a few days up there with her. Now, I have been up there before...but it was early summers. Up North in Michigan doesn't really hit it's stride until around the 4th of July -- so I was excited to get up there in the peak of summertime.

Now, growing up I was a strictly Lake Huron girl. We had a lake house in Oscoda, and even now my grandma stays up in Tawas every summer and I go up there frequently with her (a blog post for a different day). So, once I started to traveling to the west side of the state I was quite surprised by the amount of tourists. But, it is beautiful and I enjoy going over there but Lake Huron and the east side of the state will always have my heart.

Disclaimer over. Boyne City. Some background. It's a town of about 3751 residents (according to the 2012 census). Boyne City sits on Lake Charlevoix, where the Boyne River enters the lake. Boyne City is a great destination for both winter and summer, because they also have Boyne Mountain Resort for skiing and other winter activities. 

We got up there in the late afternoon and immediately changed into our suits and dived in (and by dived in, I mean wade in super slowly for 20 minutes and then dive in). We swam, then we hung out on the deck and then we got dressed for dinner. We ate at Barrel Back Restaurant on nearby Walloon Lake, the sun was just going down and there was a great breeze coming off the lake -- it was great.

The next day we decided to kayak the Boyne River up and into Lake Charlevoix and then back to the house. I have no clue how many miles it was but it only took about 90 minutes. 

It was a kayak adventure that had some obstacles. I got tangled up in one tree, but I got out of that mess scratch free. Once I got a handle on the whole steering around the downed trees/shallow spots and logs -- it was a great trip! 

The current was pretty swift in the river, so you didn't have to paddle too much except for steering. But once we entered the lake, through a rather scary tunnel, it was rough.

You enter into the harbor and it was super choppy. We were bouncing all over the place and having to really work those arm muscles. A has kayaked this route many times and said this was the first time it had ever been that choppy or difficult. Once we got into the open lake, it was smooth and clear kayaking back to the house. 

Naturally, lots of swimming took place after and we got ice cream from Kilwins that night. Key lime pie ice cream is my jam, so good!

The next day was a dreary one, but there is still tons to do. We went shopping, had some beer/wine tastings and went fishing.

It was great to get up north and relax. I love the peace and quiet, along with the slow and relaxed pace of life up there. You can also eat lots of taffy.

Vacation Life | little talbot island state park

While visting family in Jacksonville, Florida -- we were led to Little Talbot Island State Park. We were on the hunt for a clean, family-friendly, fishing-friendly beach and LTISP delivered.

We went on a Monday, and it was pretty much deserted. There were a few people fishing, around 3:00 a few families arrived, but there was so much space you didn't feel cramped or like you were intruding on others beach day. The cost to park the car was $5, and you can buy a season pass. I believe it costs $120/year but it gets you into ALL Florida state parks -- there is a military discount as well. 

We drove down the main road, and you pass the first beach area and keep driving for a little ways. Then you will reach the end of that road and another parking lot -- this is where we went. Now, I'm not going to lie --its a bit of a walk. BUT -- it is SO worth it.

There are more than 5 miles of white, sandy beaches along with a variety of landscapes and animals. They were flying the purple flag when we were there, which means "dangerous marine life", because I guess there is an area quite far out that sharks swim through. We saw nothing dangerous of the sort during the 4+ hours we were there -- including a swim out to the sand bar. Update: we have gone two more times and both time tides were out when we arrived and we saw a lot more wildlife. We saw a bunch starfish, some jellyfish and a GIANT horseshoe crab. 

There are also campsites available. We did not camp, so for more information on that visit this website.

There are also hiking trails, great fishing and surfing. We truly enjoyed our day there and are making plans to go again soon!