A long, lovely trip to the Upper Peninsula with my mom and my boys, leaving behind a midwest heat wave in favor of highs in the 70s and stretches of highways filled with beautiful old barns (some with good tidings of great joy), evergreens and endless blue skies.

The first full day of the trip brought a visit to this place. It goes without saying that anything with “honkin” in the name automatically translates into good food. I mean, c’mon. 

Oh, but I forgot to mention how the day started. 

Tanner and I got up at oh-gawd-o’clock to watch the sunrise. We listened to these goofy little red squirrels bicker and gripe while we waited patiently for the first glimmer of light. 

Still. Silent. Stunning.

The sliver of moon gave way to the first glimmer of light.

We saw it, appreciated it, and immediately went back to bed. 

You seriously should have seen this mama duck and her babies (look beyond Tanner in above photo). How they were able to avoid being swept away by the rushing water is beyond me. But those little suckers held their ground.