Magic and wonderment

I just got back from a weekend up north in Ludington. What can I say? The weather was perfect (I mean it - perfect!), I was with great people, the food was divine, and the location was the best. When we'd get in the car to go on one of our adventures, Emily would say, "magic and wonderment, here we come!" And she was right! I went up with Katherine and Emily but my parents, brother, and nephew joined us for a day which was fun.

I love northern Michigan. It might be partly nostalgia that makes me love it so much. I remember going up north with my family every summer as a kid- sometimes several times per summer. We'd go up to Mackinac City and Mackinac Island, Ludington, Traverse City, and other places along the way. The smell of pine needles and suntan lotion are some of my favorite smells because of these trips.

This weekend was full of many of my favorite "up north" things. I suppose you can do these things anywhere, but I usually only do them up north, so for me that's what they are. We kayaked, had (many) campfires, told ghost stories (I told Leo's and it scared my nephew to death!), swam, hiked, and enjoyed the aforementioned gorgeous weather.

I'm sure you don't want to hear all the little details of my weekend, but I'll share one little story with you. While we were out swimming in Lake Michigan and beating up waves (a new "end of summer tradition") Emily noticed a man dancing on the shore. The beach was absolutely packed that day, and this man was breaking. it. down. His moves are unparalleled. I've rarely seen anyone so uninhibited. I almost drowned twice because waves were crashing into me while I was watching him. (But what a way to go.) I'm not saying he was good, in the traditional sense, by the way. In fact, he was...well, he was a free spirit so I won't make fun. He was listening to head phones and took a deep bow at the end of every song. No one clapped; people were either ignoring him or watching with confused looks on their faces. A man in the water near me told me he'd been dancing for over an hour. It was awesome, I'll leave it at that. Katherine took a video and I'm going to try to get her to post it on her blog.

Anyway, the weekend was great and I think that maybe after having had one last fling with summer, I'm ready to let it slip into fall. Or at least, I have no choice. But after this weekend I'm more ready than I was. Summer's been good to me so hopefully fall will be too.