Most people who aren’t from Michigan don’t know about these dunes nestled on the western shore – I only knew of the secret Silver Lake sand because one summer my parents loaded up our minivan with coolers & lawn chairs & all four of us girls & made the trip north from Ohio. We stayed in a little motel run by the sweetest old couple, traversed the huge, hot dunes by day and swam in the motel’s pool drinking little styrofoam cups of hot chocolate from the lobby by night. It still stands as one of my top two vacation spots (and that’s saying a lot – my mom & dad were wonderful about taking us places each summer, something I appreciate even more now that I’m older).

My parents & two younger sisters made the trip up north a few weeks after we moved in and we visited those same dunes again. It was such a good way to spend Father’s day, there’s nothing Reese & I love more than sharing the places we’ve lived with the people we love. 

I was into making amateur videos on my phone this summer. And now I’m glad I did 🙂

A few weeks later we had tickets to see Passion Pit in Chicago. At this point in the summer we were so tired of driving and airplanes and driving and driving and more driving. So when Reese suggested we take the train, I was all for it. Neither of us had ever ridden on a train before, and considering our love of all things old school & inefficient, we were like two kids running through the coach car to the cafe to sit down for coffee and sticky buns. I’ll never forget the way the light streamed through the trees at 6am.

Even though neither of us felt like making the trip the concert ended up being the complete opposite of what we expected (expectation: huge arena with assigned seats and the band a speck) yet soooo much better (reality: a literal block party with a standing-only crowd & so close we could see sweat).  It was such a fun weekend away & I’m glad we made time for it. That’s something I’ll always encourage other couples to do: make time to do things you both enjoy no matter how crazy your work schedule or family life may be. It’s worth it. Your relationship is worth it.