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We woke up in the morning and Clarkie was bad.  Like, really sick.  As was Tate.  And Imogen.  Either Glo and Gordon were going home, or I would take Glo and Clarkie to the emergency room in Hancock.  I decided to take him in. We spent so many hours there only for the ER doctor to have no idea what was wrong.  When I looked on the internet afterwards, it appeared to be hand, foot and mouth disease....which it was.  You know, there are all kinds of jokes amongst doctors that "your internet search doesn't make up for my 12 years of schooling" but in this instance, the internet correctly diagnosed Clark versus two different doctors who didn't. I wish I could write about what happened at the lake and fishing with Hannah and Trevor, but I wasn't there.  I know Trevor spent many months stressing over boats and rentals and other things, but in the end, everyone enjoyed relaxing around a private lake...and caught nothing ;-) Okay, I take that back.  ...

I was excited for Glo and Gordon's day.  I knew Glo had spent extensive time preparing her activities so I knew it would be good. We started out with breakfast at Jamesen's bakery in Copper Harbor.  It's really just an outdoor counter selling coffee and danishes, but golly, everything was so good and fresh, and the views were incredible.  Right on the lake.  And because it was cool and misty, there was a definite vibe. Then the rain started. At this point, something was going on with Clark.  He wasn't sleeping, he had a terrible rash in his groin, and was developing sores under his bottom lip.  Gordon ended up driving to the pharmacy in Calumet to pick up some Motrin for Clarkie while the rest of us headed out. We drove to the trail head for three separate trails (really, I don't know how Glo figured this all out, but it was perfect).  Jacob Falls, Arnold Mine Ruins and Monk Trails Hike.  When we stepped out of our cars, the mosquitos were on us l...

Once again, we used the TripIt app to plan everything, and right at the beginning we assigned who would be responsible for which day.  Mark and Allison ended up with Tuesday. We started with breakfast in Ethan and Rebecca's cabin (it had the biggest kitchen).  It was fun to see that they had brought Quacky Kennedy, the porch goose <3 I could hardly believe how beautiful the beach was.  I think I could've spent the entire day there and knowing now what was soon to happen, I probably should have. Full disclosure: I reached my breaking point. I have spent the majority of my adult life parenting solo.  People ask me what it's like being married to an OB/Gyn (and the crazy hours it demands), and I always tell them the same thing: we never expect John to be at anything, but when he is, it's just the icing on top.  So with that mindset and that life style, I do a lot of things myself.  But I had done enough mentally and emotionally with John being gone for the ...

Ethan has been asking for a family trip to the Upper Peninsula for about ten years now, and we made it happen in 2026! After Hannah's and my trip to Copper Harbor three years ago, I figured it was as good a time as any for our entire family to visit.  It must've been divine inspiration that I found the cabins I did because I don't remember the moment I found them or what research I did into it all (which is usually mountains of web pages and price comparisons).  We spent the week at Fresh Coast Cabins which has an official address of Copper Harbor, MI, but the camp really sits in between Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor along the northern coast of the Keweenaw Peninsula on Lake Superior. I love the cabins.  Each one is different, and they really just sit alone in the forest.  Copper Harbor feels much more like a Sedona situation or even a cruise ship dock--more people there with a "white trash" kind of feel (I probably shouldn't write that but I'm hoping it ...