What life could look like
My mom and I have been talking about a trip to Pictured Rocks for years. Talking about it, but never actually making a plan to go.
Until about a month and a half ago. We pulled out our calendars and picked a weekend that was mostly/could-be free.
That weekend was a couple weeks ago.
Luckily we were able to make a pit stop at NettieBay to break up the 6+ hour drive. We drove up on Thursday night, slept, had breakfast, then journeyed on to Munising. We timed it just right to get tickets for the sunset boat tour, eat ice cream (I got mango carrot sorbet and it was amazing), and line up an hour before the tour started so we could sit on the top level of the catamaran.
The rocks were so beautiful. It’s so incredible to me that we have this in Michigan. Next time I go, I’d love to kayak and go at my own pace to take everything in.
We had a spur-of-the-moment plan of going to Marquette and staying the night, then exploring the area on Saturday. By the third hotel/motel we tried, we were told that it was Northern’s homecoming weekend and there likely wasn’t anything available.
So, shit.
We decided we should probably just go back to NettieBay, but by the time we got back into Munising at 11pm (with another 3 hours ahead) it felt increasingly silly to leave.
I turned the car around in a church parking lot, going back to the motel we just passed. The sign said “yes”. My mom said if it was less than $100, we’d stay.
It was $100.75, with tax. Close enough. The worker had just flipped the sign on 5 minutes prior. We felt like that was kismet.
We slept, then explored the next day. We started with a buffet-style breakfast at Dog Patch, then just started driving. There are a ton of hiking trails around the area, but my mom has a torn meniscus, so a lot of hiking wasn’t in the cards. We did make it to Munising Falls, Miner’s Falls, and Sand Point, as well as a couple roadside lookout points, though.
I decided against bringing the RV for a slew of reasons, but seeing that there were a handful of Class C RVs parked everywhere we went felt comforting. Like if I had my shit together, I could have brought it. It’s a thing that people do. It’s possible. My life could look like this, all the time.
I was sad to come home. We both were. I hopped on Zillow almost as soon as I could, so I guess you could say I want to go back. While I’m not really in the market to buy anything right now, I saved a few places for when I am. I loved the slow pace and the expanse of the forests and Lake Superior. I didn’t take all that many photos or video—my D750 felt cumbersome, and I also just kind of wanted to… enjoy it instead of document.
My resistance to pulling out my camera is something I took note of. If I was by myself, would I have felt differently? Will I wish I documented more in the future?
Who knows.
I’m just… really glad we went.
