Summer Fun: A New Garden, Hunting for Stones, and an Island Trip

Summer Fun

“What did you do over the summer?”  It is a frequently asked question as kids get ready to head back to school.  

For some of you, this may be a bit early to ask this question, but my kids started school a couple of weeks ago, so I am in a sort of retrospective mood, looking back at our summer fun.

Much of our summer vacation was spent in Michigan.

Now, if you had told me a year ago that I would be headed to Michigan, the next summer, I’d ask you “Why?”

However, that was before my daughter, and her family moved from Arizona to Michigan, which I wrote about in an earlier post.

So, my husband and I found ourselves on an airplane along with our three youngest kids headed to Petoskey, Michigan, which is located “on the tip of the mitt” as Michiganders like to say.

This was to be our kids first trip to Michigan, and they were understandably excited.

Enjoying a tea party.

Our trip was split into two parts: the first in my daughter’s rental house and the second part, in their new home.

‘Welcome Summer’ festival with the local high school’s steel drum band.

Victorian homes line the streets in my daughter’s neighborhood.

While waiting for escrow to close on their new home, we spent time playing games, walking down to the historic downtown area, enjoying local festivals and of course, eating ice-cream at the local parlor.

This is the type of small town, where life moves at a slower pace, and we enjoyed escaping the demands of our busy lives at home.

I kept busy with my daughter’s lone basil plant, moving it into the sun and out of the shade throughout the days, as their rental house was shaded by a lot of trees.  The basil was to be planted in the new home’s garden.

Petoskey is located on Little Traverse Bay, which opens out into Lake Michigan.  It is a popular tourist destination throughout the summer months, and we had fun exploring our daughter’s new town.  

Because they lived on the shore, a few of our days were spent on the beach wading in the water and searching for ‘Petoskey’ stones.

‘Petoskey stones,’ are found along the beaches in this area.  You’ll find them in gift shops throughout all of Michigan.  The stones contain the fossilized remains of ancient coral, who lived over 350 million years ago.

So, we went on our own search for Petoskey stones.  

My son-in-law is the geology professor at the local college in the area and gave me some pointers on how to identify these unique stones from the others.

You see, the fossilized coral isn’t obvious in unpolished rocks until they get wet.  So, we would look for some likely stones and then dip them into the lake to see what we had.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was to search for rocks and I even found a few small Petoskey stones of my own.

Along the shore of the lake were large lilac shrubs and their intoxicating fragrance perfumed the air.  

My daughter had some in her rental house, so we picked some and used them to decorate the dinner table.

Finally, moving day arrived, and not a moment too soon as a new baby was set to arrive five weeks later.

While my daughter and I spent time checking out the inside of their new home, we were equally as excited to look at the outside.  

Bearded iris, peonies, and daisies were the primary plants in the landscape.

More daisies, bearded iris along with hydrangea and purple coneflower.

Part of the front yard.

A weed-filled raised bed – home of the future vegetable garden.

A fire pit, perfect for roasting s’mores.

The view, off to the side of the backyard, looks out onto a farm and its planted fields.

Enormous maple trees mark the end of their property.  How big were they? That tiny spot of pink is my 4-year-old granddaughter.

Stepping into the woods, surrounding their backyard, you can see their white shed.

Lovely forget-me-nots are growing underneath the trees, all part of their property.

It was so fun exploring their new surroundings.

Before moving day, we spent some time in the garden, pulling out unwanted plants and adding new ones, such as this lavender.

The kids all helped.

The one plant that my son-in-law wanted was an apple tree.  So, in went a ‘Red Delicious’ apple tree.  The kids all had a great time helping while learning about how to plant a tree.

The soil around their house was extremely rocky.  A good-sized Petoskey stone was found on their property.  You can see the how different they look when wet.

After a few days of hard work, moving my daughter and her family into their new house, we all decided to take a well-deserved day off and visit Mackinac Island, which is only a short distance away.

I had visited this lovely place two years ago, but it was the first time for everyone else.

I had told the kids that there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island (except for a couple of emergency vehicles), but I don’t think it sunk in until we were greeted by views like these.

Exploring the history and beauty of the island took much of the day.

Smelling the lilacs.

We just happened to arrive during the Lilac Festival and the lilacs lining the streets were in full bloom.

A fairy garden in an old wagon.

A pair of unique planters for succulents.

The gardens in Mackinac Island are truly stunning.

Posing for a picture on the island with the Mackinac Bridge, connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.

Summer Fun: My son-in-law, the geologist, looking at rocks along the shore of the island.

I love visiting this island, and it was so nice sharing it with my family.

As our trip to Michigan was drawing to a close, we visited Mission Point Lighthouse, just outside of Traverse City.

It was a brisk, stormy day, which simply made it more fun.

The kids climbed were able to climb to the top of the lighthouse, before heading to the beach.

As the last day of our vacation arrived, we asked the kids to choose what they wanted to do.

It was unanimous – go to the beach and swim!

We had a fun-filled vacation, exploring a new area while spending time doing activities together as a family.  

**What did you do for summer fun this year?  

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."