Ludington 2011

Most people have a favorite place and my favorite place is Ludington MI.  I have been going to Ludington for as long as I can remember.  We used to go every year as a family and spend the time at Aunt Alice's house and the Ludington beach where we could enjoy swimming in Lake MI.  I try to get there every year and this year was no exception.  The only difference was we rented a house on Hamlin Lake, about 8 miles from Lake MI.  Well that and a couple of cool kids came with us as well.

Ann, Alexa, and I loaded up her CRV and headed up to Ludington Friday evening.  We survived the ride, despite all the chattering from Alexa.  It wasn't that bad of a drive.  The biggest problem was finding the house.  It was pitch black with no street lights and very confusing directions.  At one point Alexa said "we're lost in the woods and I want my Mommy and Daddy."  We were lost in the woods.  OK not really in the woods and I guess we weren't really lost because we drove past the house a couple of times just not realizing it.  Once we discovered the house we unpacked, explored, and then waited for Mom, Dad, Amy, and Mason to join us.  Ann was able to lead them in so they didn't have any problems finding the house.  Then it was time to unload the van.  I think we packed enough to last a month instead of only 3 1/2 days.  Lots of bags and food to unload.  Since we didn't get to the house until after 10pm there wasn't much time for anything other than bed.  I got to sleep with Alexa!

Beach house

 Saturday morning began quite early.  I wasn't going to get much sleep sharing a bed with a 4 year old.  We had breakfast and then Ann and I had to do some errands and we met everyone else for lunch at the Ludington City Park.  When we arrived Alexa was already playing in the water and Mason was playing in the sand.  Mason wasn't too keen about the big waves on the Lake so he just played in the sand and ran away from the water.  We decided it was time for lunch so we claimed a picnic table in the shade, where it was kind of chilly, and had our picnic.  After lunch we walked the pier.  It was a gorgeous day, the water was nice, and the walk to the lighthouse was wonderful.  Then it was back to the house for naps.  While everyone else napped Ann, Amy, and I headed to the Ludington State Park to do some hiking.  We found a nice trail around Hamlin Lake and enjoyed the greenery of the woods and the sparkling clear water.  We finished our walk and headed home for dinner and S'mores.  Ann found a recipe for S'mores where you have to preassemble the S'mores and then wrap them in foil and put them on the grill for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.  If you do it right the final product is a fully melted marshmallow and chocolate piece and nice and toasty graham crackers.  Yummy!

The whole gang at the lighthouse

Ann, Amy, and Mason were leaving on Sunday and we wanted to do something different so we headed back to the State Park.  I have never actually been to the Ludington State Park for anything other than the walk we did yesterday.  We would always just park along side the road and walk down the sand dunes to the beach.  We spent the day at the Hamlin Lake beach where the water wasn't so rough so Mason actually went in the water.  He had a good time splashing and running in and out of the water.  He loved the sand too, although we had to try to prevent him from eating too much of it!Although the water was very nice the beach wasn't as nice as the beach at the Ludington City Park, there were lots of rocks and sticks on the beach and I stepped on something and really hurt the arch of my foot; makes walking very difficult and painful.  After the afternoon at the beach it was back to the house for dinner and then back to the Ludington for ice cream at The House of Flavors (best ice cream in the world!) and then to the City Park for a beautiful sunset!  No  nap for Alexa so she went to bed after we returned from watching the sun go down.

Monday was our last day in Ludington, so of course we went back to the beach!  Prior to the heading to the beach Dad and I took Alexa to the park and then to play in the sand and the waves at the beach.  She enjoyed playing in the sand but wanted to change into her bathing suit.  We weren't planning on staying that long since we had to go home for lunch and to pick up Mom so she just got wet in her shorts.  No problem!  Lunch was leftovers so we could clean out the refrigerator and then we went
putt-putting.  I had difficulty walking due to my injury so I didn't play the entire game, but 1/2 of it was fun!  Putt-putting is hard work so we went back to The House of Flavors for ice cream!  Since Alexa was unable to go swimming when we went to the beach earlier we went back and allowed her to change into her bathing suit.  The water was freezing, but she had a good time.  Then it was back for dinner.  We stayed up late tonight so we could make S'mores.  Dad made a fire in the grill and we waited for it to get a little dark then headed outside to make the ooey gooey treats. 

Tuesday was the day to leave and of course we had to drive past the Lake and say good-bye.  Just another family tradition!  I just found out that my parents used to tell us that the road ended and we had to drive by the Lake.  Silly!  The ride home was uneventful.   Alexa slept for most of it!  We stopped at Olive Garden for lunch, one more thing crossed off my list.  We made it back home by 3pm so I could do laundry and put the finishing touches on my packing.

Now today is Wednesday and it's almost time to return to Al Ain.  I will be leaving for the Detroit airport in about an hour.  My flight leaves from Detroit at 5:00pm and I arrive in Chicago at 5:15pm (Chicago time, 6:15 local time).  My flight to Abu Dhabi leaves at 8:30pm and I will land in Abu Dhabi at 7:25pm (11:25am) Thursday 9/1.  I have a taxi picking me up and I hope to be back at Hili by 11:30pm at the latest, sooner would be nice.  I am still not ready to go.  Well I'm packed, but not ready.  I'm pretty sure it will be tough, but once I get there hopefully I'll adjust emotionally.  I don't have much time to recover from jet-lag since I start work on Sunday so hopefully I won't experience too much.  I don't think I had any jet-lag last year, or it could just be that I was excited to be in a new place that I didn't notice.  Who knows.  All I know is that I only have a few days to get back on Abu Dhabi time before I have to go to work.

It's been a great month!  I've had a fabulous time spending time with my family and friends.  I'm so glad that I was able to spend the month in MI and NC. I wish it could have been longer, but it's time to get back to work.

See you in Al Ain!