Ohio / Michigan 2012

Marco, Lora, and I headed out to spend three days camping with the grandchildren.  Samatha and Kaylyn stayed the night at our house and then went with us and we picked up Braedon when we got there.  Mom and Dad joined us at the Hickory Lakes Campground in West Salem, Ohio.

We enjoyed three days of swimming, hiking, and playing at the play ground.  We had campfires at night and told ghost stories with Smore's in our hands.  We played Mom's slinging ball game and had a great laugh when Mom got her balls hung in a tree.

After we dropped the grandchildren off we headed to Steve's house in Michigan where Deanna and children joined us for some family time.  We set up the campers in the yards and the party started. 

We headed out to Muskegon State Park on Lake Michigan the first day.  We did some hiking on the dunes and then enjoyed the beach.  The dunes had trees growing on them so we enjoyed the shade while hiking.  We got to see some Eagles that were nesting in the dunes.  Practiced our swimming and played some water football.  Deanna and I cannot swim straight if we had too.  We even got to do some wave busting when the ferry went by.  We finished up with a dead battery on the car.  After we got back to the house we celebrated Betty's birthday with chicken and sliders.

The second day we headed to the Muskegon river to do a little canoeing.  We rented five canoes from Wisner in Newaygo, Michigan and did the twelve mile trip.  We got to see lots of wildlife.  There ain't no telling how many snapping turtles we saw.  Marco took this special time to give Adam advise on life.  Adam did him some learning.  After we got back to the house we celebrated Betty's birthday with Kabobs.

The next day we headed back to Muskegon State Park and did some more hiking, kayaking, and then did some sailing on Steve's sailboat.  That was a new experience for all of us.  I was amazed at how little wind you need to sail as we went through the channel.  Lot's of fun.  Aunt Miki caught up with us afterwards as we celebrated Betty's birthday with pizza. 

Saturday Deanna and family left in the morning.  We broke out the cards.  Betty was the usual shark in this adventure, but did manage to give us break every now and then.  Afterwards we celebrated Betty's birthday with homemade soup.

Sunday morning we headed back to Tennessee.  Another great family vacation!  Oh yea, Marco gained five pounds sometime while we were on vacation.

Pictures: