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.

High Five for Friday | Link up

Happy Friday! Yesterday was my 30th birthday! I don't feel 30, I usually still feel like I should be 23, but apparently that is not the case. Just ask me that after a night of staying out past 11 pm, 30 feels 30 the next morning fo 'sho.

1. We officially have unpacked all the boxes we will be unpacking. We have put some that are not needed in this smaller space down in our storage area in the basement. But pictures and clocks are hung, Sparty is on the wall, so it's officially home! 

2. Did some work on some wedding stuff. December is going to be here so fast, our wedding is obviously kind of winter-esque hence the snowflakes. It's crazy to be thinking about snowflakes in August, but here we are.

3. I enjoy cooking, especially soups! It was kind of a dark and stormy day in Michigan on Tuesday so I cooked up some Taco Soup! So good and filling!

4. My mom and I went to have a meeting with the bakery that is going to do the cupcakes for the wedding in December. Samples are the bomb, even though we had an idea of what we wanted. Luckily, we don't have to finalize until the beginning of December  because we want to try the fall/winter flavors when they come out in September! So excited to have another vendor finalized! 

5. On my actual birthday, C and I went kayaking up in Mt. Pleasant on the Chippewa River (a blog post on this in the coming weeks). It was a great 6.5 mile trip, that took us just under 2 hours. It was beautiful, and I wish we were able to kayak like 3 times a week. 

Some of the lovely and peaceful views on the river.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!