MI Vaca Pt.3: Gaylord

As I wrote in my last post, on Wednesday (July 25), we said goodbye to Eric's family and then headed North to Eric's Grandmother's cottage in Gaylord where we met up with my parents.  We were only in Gaylord for a few days, but we did our best to make the most of the time we had...

We arrived in Gaylord in the early evening on Wednesday and met my parents at a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Then we all headed back to the cottage to give my mom and dad the tour and get settled in.  The boys then got to play with Grandma and Papa for a little bit before bed while Eric and I did some grocery shopping for our time there.

The next day we enjoyed a great day on the lake.  Originally it looked like it was going to be a cool, dreary day, but instead the weather surprised us with abundant sunshine!  We shared a lazy morning eating breakfast, playing some games, going for a bike ride, and fishing on the dock.

Avery & Asher hanging out in their cottage room.

Asher fishing on the dock.

Asher enjoying a scenic bike ride with Daddy.

As morning pressed on we were joined by some dear friends of ours that live in the area (the Smith family) and with all of the sunshine we had all four of the boys had a great time playing in the water and sand.  The adults watched the boys play and caught up on life and then we all shared a picnic by the lake.

After the Smiths had left we decided to go for a boat ride over to the State Park to play on the playground and the beach they have there.

Video: Boy Running into the Lake

The ride back to the cottage was too much for our littlest guy.  After fighting to stay awake, he finally gave in and snuggled up with Grandma for a little snooze.

It looks like Grandma has Avery in a headlock, but really she is just helping his head to not flop over while he sleeps. :)

That night we headed to the Blind Squirrel for dinner (which was really good) and then the boys did a little more fishing before heading to bed to rest up for another day ahead.

The next day was much cooler than the day before and it was also our last full day in Gaylord.  Therefore after another lazy morning in the cottage we headed into town to take the Migrin Family traditional trip to Call of Wild.

Avery didn't really want to play the Cootie game, but he had a lot of fun putting them together.

Getting a drink from the cottage pump.

Call of the Wild:

Avery working on his scavenger hunt sheet.

Showing Grandma and Papa the "Cary Bear".

Saying goodbye to Pokey the Bear at the end of our tour.

They found a truck like Gramps'!

After we took the Call of the Wild tour, browsed through all of the gift shop and sampled the fudge, we left in search of lunch.  At first we went to the Alpine Tavern & Eatery, but after waiting for at least a half an hour (when we were told it would be a "little wait") with a very unfriendly host who then told us (after we asked if we could sit at the empty tables nearby with no actual answer) that it would be another 45-60 minute wait, we left (& later gave a terrible Yelp review) in search of another place.  We then ended up at the Iron Pig Smokehouse just around the corner, which had immediate seating and delicious food.

From there we headed back to Call of the Wild to enjoy the outdoor fun that they had to offer.  The boys all went for one round of Go-Karts and then we all played a round of mini-golf together.

Video: Go-Kart Racing

While we were golfing, we made a deal that the loser would buy ice cream.  The losers ended up being both Eric and I (we tied) so we took everyone to Mooney's (another Migrin favorite) and got everyone some dessert.

That night we headed back to the cottage, counting our ice cream as dinner, and snuggled up in the living room to watch Charlotte's Web before bed.

The next morning was Saturday and it was our day to leave Gaylord.  We started the morning out by getting breakfast at the local Big Boy.  Then we headed back to the cottage so that Eric and I could pack, cleanup and do some laundry before leaving while Grandma and Papa kept an eye on the boys playing down by the lake.

Feeding the ducks.

Finally it was time to leave, but before doing so we made sure to get a few family pictures...

One last drink.

When everything was packed up, cleaned up and folded up we said our goodbyes to Grandma and Papa and then said our goodbyes to Grandma Smiley's cottage as we headed on to our final destination before going home: St. Jospeh, Michigan.