Diving Deeper into Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Marquette's Little Presque Isle Beach

Looking to dive deeper into Michigan's Upper Peninsula, we spent six summer nights going further west and north than our last tour of the U.P. and were enchanted with what we found -- deep gorges full of stacked brown rock, clear and fast waterfalls, and incredible Lake Superior beaches that ranged from fine sand to round, red pebbles. Here is where our path led us.

Seney National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

After crossing over the Mighty Mac, we had flaky whitefish sandwiches for lunch overlooking Lake Michigan at Bay View Inn and headed to Seney National Wildlife Refuge. We've passed it on numerous trips to the U.P. but never knew exactly how to enjoy the park until a friend tipped us off -- there's a scenic seven-mile drive through the refuge with plenty of chances to get out and walk along small lakes to better see birds. Highlights were over 50 native trumpeter swans, a mother loon and her fuzzy brown baby, a dozen pied-billed grebes and lot of other diving birds. We had binoculars in the car, but they also have them for loan in the welcome center.

While in Seney, we took a detour off the beaten path to a spot that every Hemingway fan has already imagined -- the isolated river he camped and fished upon when just home from WWI that in turn inspired his masterpiece of a short story, "Big Two-Hearted River." Using newspaper articles I'd sourced when preparing slides for a Hemingway lecture, I was able to find the spot, now honored with a "Hemingway Fished Here" marker along the river, about eight miles outside of Seney at the back of the Fox River State Campground. The eight mile side-trip as absolutely worth it for Papa devotees, especially considering August 2019 is the 100th anniversary of Hem's trip that inspired the story.

View of Presque Isle from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain 

We spent our first two nights in Marquette and had plenty of time to hike, swim, and explore the town. We especially loved the vistas from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain; we did the easy hike on the way up and the difficult hike on the way down. Both had lots of stairs, but the difficult hike had some exposed roots that are easy to trip on. We got to the parking lot by 9:30 on a Sunday morning and beat the rush; it was full to the brim when we hiked out and overflowing along the roadside on our way back to town in the early afternoon.

Little Presque Isle Beach

We were lucky enough to meet a local family on top of Sugarloaf who pointed out their favorite spots to swim, and that led us to one of our favorite spots from our entire trip -- the beach at Little Presque Isle. A few miles past Sugarloaf, the beach was long and sandy, the water shallow and warm, and it wasn't very crowded, even for the weekend.

 

While in Marquette, our favorite places to eat in included Blackrocks (paired with takeout from Jean Kay's Pasties), lunch at the charming soda fountain Donckers (with dog friendly seating outside), breakfast sandwiches, lush quiche, and flaky baked goods from Babycakes, and an impromptu picnic from Dia De Los taco truck. We tried to get takeout from Rice Paddy, but the wait was 45 minutes for lunch, so we'll know to call ahead in the future.

Canyon Falls

On our way from Marquette to Ontonogan, we stopped at an unassuming roadside park off US 41 that led us to a breathtaking portion of the North Country Trail, Canyon Falls and Gorge. The deep gorge and large waterfall reminded us of hiking in Ithaca, and we had no idea that geography like this existed in Michigan. This was a trip highlight that we'll happily return to in the future.

 

Bonanza Falls (l) and Silver Falls (r)

As we made our drives, we stopped at waterfalls as much as possible, and at lesser known spots, Silver Falls outside of L'anse and Bonanza Falls near the Porcupine Mountains, we usually had the whole thing to ourselves. Our kids delighted in scampering around the rocks and jumping from one ledge to the next.

 

Lake of the Clouds

For the next portion of our trip we spent three nights in Ontonogon. We used it as a base to explore both the Porcupine Mountains and Keweenaw Peninsula and could have easily doubled our time at both spots.

Manabezho Falls, part of the the Presque Isle Falls hike in the Porcupine Mountains

A quick stop in the Porkies welcome center got us recommended hikes for kids, and our favorites were Presque Isle Falls (where we caught another portion of the North Country Trail), Lake of the Clouds, and Little Carp River. All the hikes were well marked and on nicely tended paths. There aren't restaurants in the park, so we packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed it at a picnic table overlooking Lake Superior. For dinner we had freaking amazing chicken from Curbside Chicken, a simple roadside stand not far from the park entrance. Another night we had cozy comfort food at Syl's, a popular cafe in downtown Ontonogon.

Calumet

We spent a day traveling as far north as possible in the Keweenaw. We let the kids blow off some energy at Chutes and Ladders in Houghton, and had a fantastic whitefish sandwich and chowder lunch in Hancock at Peterson's Fish Market.  From there we lucked upon a new national park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, because of two beautiful old buildings in Calumet that we wanted a closer look at.

Here we found the Calumet Visitor's Center, and the kids completed eight park ranger activities so they could get sworn in as junior rangers. This was the best case of a stop we thought would be 15 minutes stretching into 2 hours. They learned about mining and iron ore production in the area and were smitten with their shiny new junior ranger badges.

Jacobs Falls and Jampot

We could have stayed longer in Calumet, but I wanted to make it to Jampot in Eagle Harbor before they sold out of their baked goods I've heard so much about. Let me tell you that they did not disappoint. We left with a box full of strawberry, cherry, peach, and pear jams as well as decedent pb & j brownies and a chocolate cupcake masquerading as a muffin. It’s also the best sort of stop when you aim for jams and sweets and get a bonus waterfall, Jacobs Falls, just down the road from Jampot.

Red pebble roadside beach near Eagle Harbor

We were especially enchanted with Eagle Harbor in the Keweenaw Peninsula and can easily imagine staying there for a week next summer. We stopped at roadside parks to explore the shore of Lake Superior, toured the storybook looking Eagle Harbor lighthouse for an hour or so, drove the bumpy Brockway Mountain Scenic Drive to Copper Harbor, and took the scenic lakeshore drive on our return trip. For dinner we stopped outside of Calumet at The Hut, a quirky mid-century style building that had huge portions and friendly service.

Iron Ore factory ruins at Fayette Historic State Park

To ease our return trip home, we spent our final night in Manistique on the shore of Lake Michigan. On the way there we explored Fayette Historic State Park, an old iron ore factory and town that was a gateway to Michigan for many immigrant families in the mid 1800s. Tall stone building ruins, still standing wooden businesses, and a fantastic rock beach (along a small path to the left of the reconstructed cabin) made this a great stop that was surprisingly dog friendly.

One of the upsides to vacationing with no strict agenda is following signs down a dusty road to a brilliant, golden sunflower maze in the tiny town of Garden, about halfway down the peninsula on the way to Fayette. The maze was free, and stems of flowers were u-pick for $1 each.

 

Kitch-Iti-Kipi looking across the spring and down through the viewing platform into the water below

Our last stop was Kitch-Iti-Kipi, the only repeat stop from our trip to the U.P. two summers ago. A small park with a magnificent spring, this 30 minute stop is worth it every time. I'll never get over the outrageous beauty of this place.

And that's how I felt about so much of our trip to the further reaches of Michigan's Upper Peninsula - I'll never grow tired of the beauty of this place.

For more pictures from our trip, visit Our Moveable Feast on Instagram.

How To Read More with Kids

The other day, I was chatting with some parents about a wildly popular summer reading game in our hometown. With two English teachers for parents, our kids are also big readers, and we happily use the summer to consume as many books as possible. However, some of the other parents mentioned how difficult it was to fit in reading, even when days are more available for it over vacation. It got me thinking about what little changes families can easily make to read more with kids. Here's what works for our family.

Listen to audio books in the car
We listen to stories on errands around town, during car rides to Grandma and Grandpa's house that's 40 minutes away, and on road trips. This summer we've been into the Ramona series, and we're going to bring Harry Potter and other titles by Beverly Cleary on a long road trip we're taking. We find audiobooks for free from two sources -- our local library (our car has a CD player) and digital checkouts from Libby. These are some of our other favorite audio books if you're looking for good titles for elementary-aged kids.

Go on an author binge
When you find a book you like, check out other titles from the same author. Chances are you’ll enjoy the others just as much, and you’ll now have a nice line to follow for several future checkouts. For instance, we’ve been listening to Ramona Quimby books for the last several months, and as we near the end, we’ve branched out to Ralph the Mouse and Dear Mr. Henshaw. Having these titles lined up helps ease the disappointment of ending a series with a beloved character and will hopefully lead to other characters you’ll fall in love with.

Read along with the kids
Whether reading out loud to kids, listening to the same audio book, or having family reading time where everyone reads her/his own book, make reading a social event. Pause and talk about predictions, ask and discuss curious questions, or talk about whatever you're interested in.

Foster a culture of reading
In addition to reading with your kids and modeling that behavior, show your kids that reading is fun, not a punishment. Make bedtime reading the most cozy, wonderful part of your kids' day. Always have a book on you for appointments, lessons, and other times when waiting is required. Participate in summer reading games through your local library and book stores. Fill your home with books. Make frequent trips to your library. Host a kid book club. Ask friends for recommendations and arrange to trade books or give hand-me-down books once a child has outgrown a series. In short, show your kids that reading is a wonderful pleasure to indulge in, not a chore to be checked off a list.

What about you? What do you do to read more with your kids?

Where We Stayed and Played on the Amalfi Coast

We've wanted to go on a big trip when our youngest finished kindergarten, and when researching different options, I was shocked at the cost of four days at Disney World. My immediate reaction was that we could go to Europe for that much money. So we did.

Where We Stayed
Our home base for the whole trip was a beautiful agriturismo in the mountains just outside of Salerno. I didn't know much about the Amalfi region when picking a bed and breakfast, but I was romanced by the pictures of the hazelnut and olive trees, refreshing pool, and a donkey named Serafina.

My gamble paid off, and we were able to easily drive an hour here or 20 minutes there to all the sites we wanted to see. The pool was our favorite place to hang in the afternoons when we were tired from sightseeing, and the expansive property was perfect for games of hide-and-go-seek and catching fireflies after dinner.

The farm was an ideal spot for us to say. It had a variety of animals to visit, and our kids like to do so every day. We were especially enchanted with the two donkeys and the miniature goats. The kitchen served a magnificent daily breakfast and a dinner with many items fresh from the farm garden; it was so good we ended up eating there about half of our nights. After staying there for over a week, our kids felt especially at home on the farm, and we were happy to not change towns every two or three days.

Where We Played

Agriturismo Negri
The pool, pizza and pasta kid's cooking class, and inviting spaces to relax gave our trip the perfect balance of relaxation and adventure. We met a family, who'd also spent 10 days in Italy, on our last flight home, and they talked about the blistering heat in Rome and Pompeii and the exhausting parade of changing towns every two days; it made us feel especially good about our decision to stay where we did.

Most days started with a generous breakfast, a day trip an hour or less away, and lunch out so we landed back at the farm by late afternoon, just in time for a couple hours of rest and pool time before a 7:30 dinner.

Paestum
One of the big reasons we picked Italy was because of our love for history, and Paestum, home to three ancient Greek temples, was even better than we imagined. It was especially exciting to walk on and through the temples of Hera and Neptune. We went there on our first full day, and it was an easy 45 minute drive south of where we stayed. The site was pleasantly uncrowded, and it was one of our very favorite day trips.

On the way to Paestum, we stopped at a buffalo mozzarella farm. We especially enjoyed seeing the buffalo, tasting the mozzarella, and getting the best gelato of the trip.

Herculaneum
Herculaneum was just the right size for us. Near Pompeii but easier to see with kids, the site was fascinating and well-preserved. There were tons of frescos and blackened wooden beams still intact in their one and two story structures. We had originally planned on going to the bigger and more famous Pompeii, but we're glad we heeded the advice of our hosts and picked the smaller and more shaded site of Herculaneum.

Amalfi Coast Cruise
Taking a cabin cruiser on an eight hour trip along the Amalfi Coast was one of our favorite days in Italy. We went swimming in the Mediterranean three times, walked around Amalfi and Positano, had refreshing lunch and drinks on the boat, and got to see the coast from the best vantage point possible. It was dreamy. It was also only double the price of ferry tickets to Capri and completely worth it.

Salerno
The closest big city to where we stayed, and we visited Salerno several times to see their hidden gem of a duomo and the fascinating, historic Miverva's Garden. It was also the port we used for our boat tour and an easy 20 minutes from our b & b.

Sorrento
We spent an afternoon in Sorrento and were happy to stroll, with frozen lemonade in hand, through two pedestrian friendly streets full of tourist shops selling soccer jerseys for my son and twirly dresses for my daughter. We had the good fortune of spotting this Insta-famous landmark across the street from the parking garage, too.

Of course, all of this travel was possible because we had a rental car, one of the most hotly debated topics I saw in my research leading up to the trip. I saw so many bloggers insist on the need for public transportation and hired drivers, and perhaps it's needed in July and August, but we were very comfortable driving throughout the region in June. I ultimately relied on the advice of our 

agriturismo host who smartly told me to get a car because of the distance of the farm to public transportation and it's unreliable nature. The only time we ran into terrible traffic was heading down the coast on a Saturday (which made our Sunday boat trip all the better!). 

Where We Ate

We indulged in our fair share of pasta and pizza while we were in Italy, and some of the best meals were at our agriturismo. We also found some other favorites near the farm, including this pizza spot, a must-have in the birthplace of pizza. We were wowed by this incredible gelato shop and a butcher next door that offered custom burgers (and a nice reprieve from the traditional Italian fare we'd been stuffing ourself with for days).

In Salerno, we had the best panini of our trip at a small wine, cheese, and meat shop we were lucky enough to find for lunch. The owner was an incredible host and fed our kids chilled peach slices from his garden while Mom and Dad sipped limoncello for dessert.

Our vacation was a fantastic mix of adventure and relaxation, and I feel so lucky that we got to make these memories with our kids. Since our return, we've been practicing our homemade pizza, our rattling rolled "r"s, and dreaming of our next opportunity to escape to Italy.

Our Favorite Family Films

On Friday night we often get takeout and watch a family movie at home. We usually vote on what to watch, and we gravitate towards films with good narratives, well-developed characters, and something that appeals to both kiddos and parents (Sing and Trolls don't make this cut). Here are our favorite films that we keep coming back to and why we love them.

My Neighbor Totoro

Eight-year-old: "It sings, 'Totoro, Totoro!' And it's by Studio Ghibli!"

Six-year-old: "Because it has beautiful music, no violence, and is all happy! And Totoro's soooo cute!"

Kiki's Delivery Service

Eight-year-old: "Kiki has a cute cat who can talk. There's lot of surprising scenes, especially one with a blimp."

Six-year-old: "She's a witch, and she makes lots of friends, and she can fly on a broomstick! She's super kind, and she actually helps people. That's why it's called 'Kiki's Delivery Service.'"

The Sound of Music

Eight-year-old: "It's long but entertaining. My favorite song is 'So Long Farewell' at the party."

Six-year-old: "She sings beautiful songs, and the kids are nice, but they do tricks on Maria at first."

Mary Poppins

Eight-year-old: "She's kind of funny but strict. There's adventures with magic, too."

Six-year-old: "It's silly when her friend Bert 'Loves to Laugh,' and they laugh so hard, and it's so funny."

How to Train Your Dragon trilogy

Eight-year-old: "I have a lot to say. First, there are so many adventures, and it's full of dragons. Second, if you're a wild child, you'll like it because there's a little bit of fighting."

Six-year-old: "So, at first, what's kind of funny about it is that one of the people in it picks his nose. And this person named Hiccup has a night fury dragon named Toothless. He's so adorable."

Spring Things I'm Into

What am I into now that spring is rolling around and we have less than two months of school (yay!) left? I have a tall stack of books I'm happily making my way through, lots of fun getaways with friends and my family in the works, and a couple other things keeping me out of trouble. Here are some of my favorite things I've been watching, listening to, reading, and doing lately. 

We just binge watched Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and I get why everyone loves Samin's easy laugh and insightful approach to food prep.

I'm absolutely hooked on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast; I listen to it when I'm folding laundry (yay for making my most mundane task interesting!), driving in the car (minus kids), and walking the dog. I love his reflective, humorous conversations with guests, and his Michigan connection is a bonus for sure.

We're really into graphic novels at my house right now: my book club is reading March I for this month and March II and III for June; my second grader loves Dog Man, full color Captain Underpants, and this (kind of gruesome) series about war; my kindergartner is 100% obsessed with the Narwhal and Jelly series. A buddy just shared this podcast from graphic novel expert Scott McCloud, and it's great if you're interested in getting to know the genre.

Finally, I'm so glad my friend Soyeon encouraged me to sign up for a pottery class this spring. It's  three wonderful hours of making, chatting, and being in the company of some awesome people. I've never considered myself a maker of any art, and I love that this class has me seeing myself in a new light.

[Tile images from the inspiring Pewabic Pottery in Detroit.]

A Couple Things We're Into Right Now

When Facebook algorithms changed in mid-October, so did the readership numbers for this blog. Despite fiddling with how I posted blog links, I can't figure a work-around to get my reach back to what it had been in the years leading up to now.

The drastic change got me reassessing my posts, and with a smaller readership, I decided to not feel fixed on weekly posts but rather write when a topic came up that I'm interested in. An inspiring post on Dinner a Love Story got me thinking about some happenings around our house recently, and I'm excited to share them with those beyond my book club.

1. I've been trying to make more meals with protein and veggies to limit carb intake, a necessary step when cooking for a diabetic, and we've loved some of the new recipes. Our favorites were a Greek chicken bowl and shrimp tacos. Both came together quickly and had simple sauces that made all the
difference.

2. Avocado is getting put on everything at our house, especially breakfast sandwiches and salads. I especially like a sprinkle of Trader Joe's everything but the bagel seasoning on avocado or this hearty breakfast on the weekend.

3. I've been purging our basement so we can get boxes off the ground and onto organized shelves. The best part is that after years of procrastination, I've recently taken a dozen tubs of baby clothes to a resale shop. It's a win-win because I got rid of clothes we don't need, and I walk away with money. The cash-in-hand also makes a wonderful motivation for finishing the task, too.

4. RBG has been getting some serious love around my house lately. We read I Dissent with my daughter's Daisy Troop last week as a part of our lesson about being friendly and helpful, and my five-year-old later touted that she was just like RBG when she was playing dress up in my fancy heals. Serious mom win on that anti-princess front. On top of that, we went out with friends Friday night to see the opening of On the Basis of Sex. It's a lovely, honest bio-pic about RBG's start at law school through her first big case, and it made for great post-movie conversation over drinks. It also resulted to a serious crush on Marty Ginsburg. I can't help but swoon for tall, smart, and funny guys (and if you know my charming husband you'll see it's my type).