adventures.fulfilled | vol. 3, part 1 | Petoskey, MI

Petoskey Michigan. Such a marvelous place! Yet I had no idea it even existed until a few days before we went. You see, it went like this. 

Once upon a time, Daddy really needed a vacation. And since there are 12 of us, it's cheaper these days to rent a house than to get hotel rooms or anything else. And camping for a week with that many people is, to put it frankly, *not* relaxing. So Mama got online and started searching rental houses. Well this was in May or so and by that time most places are completely booked up for the summer. But in June she finally found one house in Boyne City, MI that looked like it'd work well, and though the owners were new to renting and very antsy about renting to a family with 10 kids, they said yes! Mama put the deposit in the mail and we all headed to Ohio to spend 10 days with family. Little did we know that Mrs. Antsy-Owner hadn't received our deposit and was calling our *home* number about it... not reaching us... and getting even more antsy. Eventually to the point that she rented the house to someone else for that week! So we get home from Ohio, listen to all of the voicemails and find out that, four days before we are supposed to leave for Michigan, we don't have a house to go to!

Once again, Mama starts searching up and down vacation rental websites trying to find *something* and  what do you know?! She stumbles upon a house that was previously booked but just got a cancellation for the week we needed!! Right away she called the man up and explained our predicament. Turns out, he and his wife had raised 6 chillens of their own and had no problem with 10 chillens coming to stay in one of their rentals! The house was even better than the one we "lost", in an even better location, and *cheaper* than the first one!! AND they were super gracious and because of the time crunch just let us come and bring the deposit with us. Praise Jesus!! It was *all* HIM! We were so thrilled!

Petoskey was simply wonderful. Very slow paced and relaxing... just what we all needed. 

We were also really close to a few other towns so I've split my posting/pictures up in accordance to that. 

Our first night there-- gorgeous sunset!!

One of the many places with great ice cream. This was decked out retro style!

The view from our house down the street. We were only 6 houses away from the water!! 

Needless to say, we all took walks down there several times a day... typically beginning and ending

our days there. Sitting on the rocks once the sun had completely set and simply listening to the soft crash of the waves as you watched the lights twinkle across the bay was incredible!

Our red rental van could be spotted anywhere;)

Almost everyone!! Just missing Jonathan and Benjamin--

 The rocky beach at the end of our road

 Michael (with the baseball cap) was such an awesome neighbor! He called everyone "friend", became Noah's best buddy and played opera music at night while we all sat on our front porches and read.

 It's all about cherries in Michigan!!!

 Petoskey had some of the best window shopping!! Yes, for the most part everything was ridiculously priced {we're talking boutiques here} but they gave some great inspiration!

{oh and side note: I literally only took a penny with me on this trip. and that penny was accidental. so if it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't have had *even* a penny on this trip! haha As long as I have my mind and camera to capture memories I'm happy... no need for money and material things! (okay. it really helps when you go with your parents and they buy groceries. I probably would have starved if they weren't there. I love good food but I hate spending money on food. problem much?! I think so.)}

We spent some time almost every day at Petoskey State Park beach. It was only 5 miles away so Johann, Benj, Ellyn and I rode our bikes there almost every time.

 Some days were better for just reading and laying in the sun:)

 *squint*!!!

Daddy rented a jetski for all of us one day which was *so.much.FUN*!!!  Between an arm workout from riding the jetski, jogging along the beach and riding our bikes all over Petoskey we kept quite in shape during vacation! I love just having it as part of your lifestyle and it doesn't even feel like you have to push yourself to workout. You just love it and it feels great!

 Best little coffee shop ever!! I captured it around 9 at night so it was pretty cleared out... but if you were there anytime in the morning, you could barely get in the door to get your coffee! It was *the* place to be every morning! Loved stopping in there mid-afternoon when the crowd had wained a bit. The window seat to the right was the best spot to people watch while working on things;) And their Italian Stallion double shot was yummy too. Wish I had snapped a few photos of the inside-- so cool!

 Night time reflections

 ummm yes! definitely on lake time! 

 live music. I wasn't super impressed. I rode by to meet Mama at a shop a block up the street and when

I came back several minutes later he was still singing the same words. He didn't even have an outstanding voice! But the restaurant location was really cool-- perfect ambiance. 

 Looking from downtown Petoskey over Bayfront Park and the Bay

 Petoskey Marina

 Hangin' out on the bay {makes me think of the song, "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"} with Elisabeth, Abigail and Johann one night.

 The baseball field was right on the water!! 

 Another gorgeous marina sunset

 I rode this bike everywhere all week! It was p.e.r.f.e.c.t!! 

 Very last sunset. It was *stunning*

 Ellyn and I woke up really early the day we left to have one last bike ride around Petoskey

 Ignatius Petoskey keeping watch over the bay

And lastly a shot of our house-- we spent the majority of our time (when we were at the house) on the front porch. We'd wake up and individually fix our coffee/tea/breakfast and take it to the porch to start our day before going down to the rocks or on another bike ride. All meals were eaten there-- I don't think we even realized what the dining room was for! haha And then we'd always end our days there.... cradling our mugs of coffee or tea while we read, had Bible time, talked or simply sat there listening to the neighbors opera music. Those times were some of the best because they were pure relaxation:)

Be on the lookout for the next posts about this vacation!