In July, Russell and I were able to take a 3 1/2 week trip to visit my family in Tennessee, his family in Ohio, Steven and Anna in Maryland, and to go camping in Michigan. We went through a total of 10 states and spent each night either with family or in our tent.
Camping in Michigan - our "official" honeymoon :)
We arrived at our campsite in Allegan, Michigan, the evening of my birthday.
Pitching the tent :)
Our cute little tent - supposed to be a 2-man tent, but it's a pretty tight squeeze for 2!
Our campsite was right on Ely Lake! We were grateful for essential oils which kept the mosquitoes from totally eating us up.
We had so much fun cooking on Russell's little gas-powered camp stove. And washing dishes is extra fun in the outdoors, including pumping and heating the dish water. :)
The following day we drove to Lawton, Michigan, where Russell lived from the time he was a year old until he was 6. He has many fond memories of living in this town.
We had a wonderful visit with Russell's cousin, Margaret. At 91, she is still spunky and a lot of fun! We really enjoyed our time with her!
Margaret took us to see the cottage her family owns on Bankson's Lake (cottage is in the background of this picture).
Bankson's Lake
Margaret's husband owned a Model A!
We loved looking at some of the scrapbooks Margaret has put together. They are absolutely amazing, full of newspaper articles, pictures, and letters from long ago.
This is the newspaper office of the Lawton Leader. The two men pictured are Russell's grandfather and great grandfather, long-time owners of the paper.
A Christmas picture of the Lewis family!
L to R: Brian, Mom, Stuart (in lap), Beth, Dad and Rusty ;)
Margaret has acreage which is planted in grapes. The grapes are sold to the Welch's plant in Lawton.
Beautiful grapevines and rolling hills!
That evening Russell treated me to a pasty. I had never heard of such a thing, but they're very common in the Upper Peninsula.
A pasty (pronounced with a short "a" sound) is a pastry filled with potatoes, rutabagas, and meat, usually beef or steak. The one we shared was delicious, and very filling!
Pasties were the food of miners, common because they were hearty and filling and could be kept warm wrapped in paper.
The following day we drove to Grand Rapids and found the house where Daddy lived most of his growing up years!
A park where we stopped to let a rain storm pass.
Russell having a conversation with the geese. :)
"What a cute couple!" ;)
We spent a couple of hours driving around, trying to find a place where we could see Lake Michigan without paying a fee or trespassing on private property. :) Finally, we found a spot! It was very worth it!!!
"When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment." Proverbs 8:29
Enjoying the beauty
A quaint little grocery store where we shopped
Back at the campsite
Ely Lake
We were the only campers on the west side of the lake. We so enjoyed the quiet and privacy ... well, relative privacy! We were visited one night by several raccoons, and the last night we had a guest in the form of a porcupine!!!
The last day in Michigan we spent some more time in Lawton
The house where Russell lived
There is a park in Lawton named after Russell's great grandfather!
We'll always have fond memories of our first camping trip together!
