There is a time for everything...including an escape :)

So last year for Ben's birthday, I surprised him with a little getaway up North where we went tenting then tubed down a little river. Then we went to Traverse City to pick cherries. One of Ben's favorite things is floating down lazy rivers, so that is why I had planned for that...but last year didn't turn out like I had planned... here's why:

   (Last Years Trip) We arrived at our campsite and as we started setting up, our fellow camper neighbors came over to introduce themselves. They were a very sweet older couple, and they soon began chatting with us concerning why we were here and what not. So I told them, I was taking Ben to the "Platte River" to float. Upon hearing this, they got really excited and told us how they had just got done floating down the "Betsy river" and how it was so much fun, and that they had "the time of their lives". I was a little confused, because I did quite a bit of planning and researching for this trip, and didn't see one thing about the "Betsy River"...But they were so sure about it that they then said, "say, we are going berry picking right over there, why don't you put your tubes in the back of our truck, and we will take you there. That way you can float down to your car, and not have to walk back." Ben and I were taken aback by their sweet and generous hearts, and couldn't say no...So we packed up and headed to the Betsy...Once we arrived, there was not a single person there..(that should have been the first clue) We waved "good-bye" and headed to the bank of the river...I was so nervous, and the first glance in the water I saw a Cray Fish starring at me...then I freaked out and told Ben I didn't want to touch the water, and that I was going to walk back to our car...He calmed me down, and encouraged me into the tube...We had brought with us snacks and drinks to enjoy during this "relaxing" float..BUT to our surprise, 10 seconds into our float, our drinks were spilling out every where, and I didn't even care about where my snacks were...WHY??? Because we were fighting to survive this river! The current was so strong and fast it would take us right into down trees, and gross build-ups..we even had sticks to help us in avoiding theses obstacles...but nothing helped..we were at the mercy of the river. We later read signs stating that the Betsy River was "protected" so that meant no one has ever cleaned it out. There were times I thought my tube would pop, because I would get taken into huge trees, then get stuck on top them...To top it off, once the river slowed down for a few seconds, I felt something bite me, I tried brushing it off but it didn't budge! I looked down to discover a LEACH sucking all the blood out of me!! So I screamed for Ben, (at the moment I thought the leach was the bug that embedded itself into your skin, not knowing that that's a Tick..) and thought I was dying..he "pretended" (I found out later) to try and float over to me to save me...but "couldn't" get to me...So I pulled it off myself. I was SOSOS DONE with being on this river I just about started to cry...it was a nightmare. Ben later admitted to me that he is deathly afraid of leaches, and didn't want to have to touch it...and then he apologized and promised me next time he would take care of it for me...haha. So ya, that was the longest hour and a half of our entire lives! When we got to the end, we spent the ride back discussing what we would say to the sweet old couple awaiting our return...We concluded that we would "laugh" and say, "It sure took us for quite the ride...LOL (but a very fake lol)" because we both knew we would NEVER ride the "Betsy" again!! We did have a laugh later that night when we passed by the "Platte River" and there was TONS of people floating down and having a great time...


So fast forwards a year to this past weekend. We dropped the boys off and both parents houses, and took off Up North for a "take 2". We had such a blast!! This time we headed to the "Trading Post" to hitch a ride to the Platte River (they take you to the start of the river after you drop your car off at the end). We really enjoy the people at the trading post! They are so friendly and helpful!! Once we were at the river, we put our drinks and snacks in our tubes, and started our float. It was beautiful!! We loved every minute of it, and was everything a relaxing river float is suppose to be. The lady at the Trading Post told us to come at 10am, because the crowds wouldn't be there yet. She was right, only a handful of people passed us the whole 2 hour float! It was awesome! So awesome that we went back the next day as well!!
We tented two nights, once at a nearby camp ground, and the last night we stayed at a campground inside the "Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park". We really enjoyed our last camping spot, because you had a small hike up to it, and you were quite a ways from all other campers! It was also on Lake MI, so from where we camped you could take another little hike (about 15 min) down to the lake. On Sunday Ben and I were the only ones on the beach at that spot! That's how we like it :)

The only downside to our trip was that we both did not sleep much. That is why I posted this picture haha...You can tell how tired I look :|
The second night I didn't sleep, because shortly after dusk we heard what sounded to be a bear...yes..sooo I was wide awake at every noise! The campground had "Bear boxes" where you were suppose to store all your food. But we had just finished cooking our dinner over the fire when we heard the "Bear". We still don't know if there was one spotted that night, but I sure lost alot of sleep over it lol.
   Ben and I have already discussed going up there again this summer...but with the kiddos...:)  We had so much fun together, just the two of us! Such a great bonding experience!! I do recommend all married couples with kids to escape at least once a year for a couple of days! This little trip of ours has become a set thing each 2nd weekend in July!