great lakes trip: petoskey state park

a gloomy drive across the mackinac bridge, a sad girl with a fever in the back seat, and a general sense of worry: this is how i remember our drive to petoskey state park. but the clouds parted, the ibuprofen helped, and we all got cheery when we set up camp.




while ramona crashed in the tent,


james and i hit the beach to hunt for petoskey stones (we found none. that beach has got to be picked over by now.)



topless hot dog roasting. it's all the rage.



that night was full of fitful hot sleep for ramona, but upon awaking in the morning light, it was james who puked in his sleeping bag. considering the fact that we now had two sick children, it was a small miracle that we had even a few minutes of family beach time (again, thanks to ibuprofen).


after beach time, we headed back to the site where ramona napped in the tent, james napped in a ball on david's lap,


and i got a little beach time. that water is carribbean blue.



we squeezed in a round of mini-golf when spirits were higher post-nap,


and the sunset did not disappoint.


despite the sick kids and low-activity of resting when you really want to be be hiking and exploring, petoskey did not disappoint. it is too beautiful to let little things get you down.