Away mission

We just spent a lovely weekend on Beaver Island with Arthur's family. Since we never made it back to Boston (or, more importantly, the Cape) this summer, this was a much-needed quick getaway.


And what really surprised us was how different Beaver Island beaches were from the other Lake Michigan beaches we've seen. If you recall, we'd been experiencing cognitive dissonance about the shores here, because the water is huge and looks like an ocean, not a lake, but the shore is very much lake-style beaches. Very confusing.


But on Beaver Island, it felt almost like the Cape. Close enough to be restorative for the boy who misses the ocean! He described it as a combination of the Maine coast and Cape Cod. Good description.


His dad and I were talking and finally identified what felt off (for me, it was the smell - fresh water does not smell like salt water, so even the air is different). The couple of small details that are not immediately obvious (lack of holes in the sand from crustaceans sleeping below) but are just enough to occasionally remind you it's not an ocean. But it was certainly much more like an ocean beach than anything we'd found out here, and an excellent substitute.


The weather was great. Sunny, not too warm. Not at all humid. Our hostess brought us on a tour of the island. We got to see the old lighthouse, which was a great spot for lunch (fantastic view). And a short hike around Millers Marsh, where we got to see plenty of evidence of the eponymous beavers. (Although no actual beaver sightings, so I had to settle for a postcard photo to send to the niecephews.)


We were staying with Arthur's mom's cousin. There are two adjacent houses, both completely different and completely perfect for the space. Lots of windows, and sun. It was a great opportunity to sleep in, wake up to the sound of waves, and walk outside on the beach. The same things we like to do every summer. It felt comfortable and familiar and relaxing :)

The sunsets were stellar.


On the drive north, we:

1. saw real live hills^TM (okay, real hills compared to the rest of Michigan; more like "cute bumps" compared to New England (or like "crosswalks" in Colorado?)); and
   
2. stopped and picked a metric ton of blueberries both as a hostess gift and to have some in our freezer for the winter.
   

The strangest thing was looking across a body of water large enough to have waves and realizing that there is no tide. So the enormous sand castle that Mike was building didn't wash away overnight. He could keep adding to it each day. It could grow and grow. And the water couldn't do a thing about it. That would be another one of those small details that reminds you it isn't an ocean beach :)


When we were back on the mainland, walking to the car (while Arthur took a detour to buy the "4 out of 5 Great Lakes prefer Michigan" t-shirt), I noticed several leaves had already begun to change color. It's early August! I'm not ready for fall yet!


Anyway, we had a lovely time. I got to catch up on some reading, Arthur got to finally take a break from his internship and relax (there was a hammock, which gets him halfway to relaxed on principle), and we got to wander around on the beach. The company was great, there were evil jigsaw puzzles, and we're feeling so much better. Thank you to our hosts!