Last week we decided to head back up to Gladwin to visit with Scott's parents. We hadn't seen them since the 4th of July weekend and since both that and our camping trip had some challenges (power outages and inclement weather), we were hoping for a smooth and fun weekend! We went up on Wednesday morning and Evan's skimboard that we ordered online arrived that very morning. He was one happy guy to be able to walk in their house and open his new skimboard!
He insisted on heading right down to the beach to try it out! And we also took a pontoon boat ride so that Sean could try out his new magnet fishing set we bought him on Amazon. Both were a challenge, but the boys enjoyed trying.
Pops had to golf on his league that evening so the rest of grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner. When he returned, we did a pontoon boat fishing trip where Sean caught 2 pike and came back in to put the boys to bed. Of course, the adults played cards and Nana tried a new beer...that was 14% AV and kicked her butt! Oops!
On Thursday, Nana was not feeling the best. So, we had a low-key day on the lake doing more skimboarding, sunbathing, and magnet fishing. It was a beautiful day! Dinner was steaks that we brought from Eastern Market of Canton and a baked potato bar with lots of toppings to choose from. Yum!
Sean joined me on my evening deer watch walk where we saw a few, but no bucks. We did a bonfire with s'mores before bed and the adults played some more euchre.
Friday morning we hit the road nice and early to make the hour drive into Grayling to head over to Hartwick Pines State Park. I've heard great things about it and was anxious to walk one of the trails. We picked the Au Sable River Trail that was a 3 mile loop. It was nice and empty and we enjoyed the hike!
We were all hungry and ready for lunch so we drove into town and tried Dead Bear Brewing Co. first, but they had a wait for their covered porch and it was not pet-friendly. So, we went to Paddle Hard and got our names on the waitlist for one of the patio tables. There was the cutest 50's diner next door so I went in and ordered the boys kid's meals and some draft root beer to eat while we waited for our table at Paddle Hard. Unfortunately, their food was ready at the same time our table was, so we had to bring the food with us next door and our waitress wasn't too happy with us. To boot, Shelby (Nana's dog) got sick and vomited under the patio table and it was a bit of a fiasco to clean up. Oops! After lunch and some beer we made our last stop at Rolling Oak Brewery for one quick beer while the kids played on iPads outside.
After getting back to the cottage, we did a boat ride to the "diving spot" to cool off with some snacks. Dinner was grilled chicken salads and wraps and it was another night of cards.
Saturday morning the boys used their scooters around the neighborhood before heading down to the beach for a little bit. Both boys did some kneeboarding around the lake and I was able to bribe them both to try water skiing! Evan went first and went 3 times in a row. He was able to stand up on his feet for a few seconds. Sean went next and tried 3 times in a row with no luck. But, I'm proud of them both for trying!
After lunch we decided to drive into Gladwin to do the riverwalk and to try out a new cider mill that had lots of hard ciders to try from.
The cider was awesome and we ended up buying 2 bottles! It started to look stormy so we stopped at the Dollar General to let the boys both pick out an "I'm proud of you for trying something new" toy before heading back to the house. We got a carryout for dinner from The Hearth that was tasty and we enjoyed our last night of cards.
Sunday morning was another slow, lazy morning. We did our last few water activities for the day before it was time to pack up and head home. Evan tried water skiing again and was able to stand up for a bit so that was an exciting way to end our fun weekend up north!
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