Hey friends – we’re coming to the end of our summer 2018 adventures, and boy, it has been a busy summer! We traveled so much more than I anticipated, but I wouldn’t trade it at all! Hayden and I love to find new places and experience new things. So, you can only imagine how much fun this summer has been for us. When we got married, we decided that we wanted to visit all of the 50 states together. The rules:

1. We had to visit the state when we were married. (Any trips prior to marriage didn’t count.)
2. We had to stay in the state overnight for it to count. (So, no just driving through and checking it off the list.)
3. We have to find a magnet to keep from our trip.
4. We need to visit at least one new state every year.

As of this point, we’re up to nine! We’ve visited: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arizona, and now, Michigan! We planned this trip to Michigan as our trip for the year, and we unexpectedly were able to visit Arizona last month. So, we added two new states in 2018! There’s still several months left – so who knows what else we can tack on!

For Easter this year, my mother-in-law gave me a fun journal to write down all of our adventures in it. I absolutely LOVE it, and it is the perfect way to remember everything that happens. Plus, the journal provides you with a few prompts. We originally planned to get postcards in each state, but this journal helps to keep everything together. {Here’s a link to the exact journal we have.}

In January, we began planning our trip to Michigan, but it wasn’t until May hit that we really started to prep for this trip. When I say “we,” I really mean Hayden. I wish I could take credit for how well this trip was planned, but it is all Hayden. He has planned our last three trips – activities, restaurants, and all! – he is amazing! Over the course of four days, we went on a sailboat ride, took a ride on a zipline, drank delicious coffee, visited a Lavender Farm, saw beautiful Lake Michigan views, and enjoyed cool temperatures – like 50* in August! We stayed in Boyne City, Michigan. I didn’t realize how far North we were until we were about a half hour from our stop. We traveled all around the Lake Charlevoix area, and our favorite spot was in the city of Charlevoix. I personally LOVED the sailboat ride, and Hayden’s favorite part was the longest stretch on the zipline.

Michigan, you were so good to us! Thanks for being such a calm and relaxing getaway! Now, onto our next state… Where should we go?!

xoxo,