October vibes

Happy Monday!  The Sunday blog was delayed this weekend due to a day full of travel, but tonight is perfect for writing.  

We started our week with beautiful, unseasonably warm weather, but knowing that it would soon be coming to an end.  The girls had to take advantage of the weather by spending much of the morning outside.  Then we headed to Mason over my lunch for Peaches' appointment with Dr. Jason for some routine bloodwork and her first Liberela shot, which will hopefully help with her arthritis.  Mina got to come along for the ride since we also stopped to get their nails trimmed before the appointment. 

On Tuesday the weather was still beautiful and, once again, the girls spent most of the day outside while I worked.  After work, I headed outside with them to spend some time in the garden.  In addition to picking all of the ripe tomatoes,  I picked the final cucumber of the season and the final green beans and then I pulled all of the bean and cucumber vines and started some of the garden clean-up.  

I ran out of daylight before I was done in the garden Tuesday night, so on my lunch on Wednesday I picked the last of the broccoli and the celery.  I was able to get most of the final garden clean up finished over lunch.

Wednesday evening I headed out to the shelter for our dog walk, but accidentally left my phone at home so I didn't get any pictures. It was a great walk, though.  

I got home after dark, but with a freeze warning for the night I knew I had to quickly pull the remaining herbs.  So I headed out to the garden with a flashlight.  I put the herbs all in pots in the garage so I can deal with them later.  I also pulled the tomato plants and will allow the remaining tomatoes to ripen to use later.  And with that garden season 2025 was done.

Thursday morning we slept in and started the day slowly because we were officially on vacation!  Mina fully embraced the slow start to the day.

After a quiet morning around the house doing some laundry and cleaning, I decided to take advantage of a lovely fall day and get the girls out for a nice peaceful walk at Hawk Island Park. 

The girls were both so happy to be out and we all thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful mid-afternoon walk. 

On the way home from the park, we stopped at the South Lansing Farmer's Market.  Then we headed home to pack and prepare for a little road trip.  

We were up and out the door early on Friday and i was pretty surprised to see a wild turkey in the dead end across the street from my house.  That was a first for us. Then we hit the road to make the drive to Minnesota. 

We didn't make many stops along the way because I knew it was already going to be a long day, but we did make a couple of quick stops for potty breaks and to stretch our legs.  

We finally arrived at our hotel outside of Minneapolis just after 6pm and after unpacking the car, I immediately got the girls out for a short walk. We were pleasantly surprised to find this cute pet store right behind our hotel, so we made a quick visit. Then I fed them dinner before getting them out for one last walk before we settled in for the night.

While I was busy in Minneapolis, my lovely niece Brezlyn was celebrating homecoming.  She was on the homecoming court this year.  I was bummed I couldn't be there to cheer her on and wave at her in the parade, but she sent me pictures and I had to share this one.  I'm so proud of this young lady.

We woke to a beautiful Saturday in Minneapolis and I was excited to get the girls out to explore somewhere new before I had to attend a luncheon celebrating the recent wedding of my friend Megan.  We found the Purgatory Creek Preserve near our hotel and had a really nice walk there.  

 

Then, after our walk, I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the luncheon.  We then made the drive to Spring Lake Preserve which is situated along the Mississippi River.  The girls ate lunch and settled in for a nap in the car while I went to the luncheon. 

Of course, after we ate and things settled down a bit, the girls got invited to join the party.  They got lots of attention and were so good.  I was very proud of them.

And after the party was over, I changed into my hiking clothes and got the girls out for a nice walk at the Preserve. 

It was a beautiful walk and we had such a good time.  We really had a great day in Minneapolis.   It was so great to celebrate a good friend and to be able to spend some time exploring with the girls.  It was really just what we needed.

After a full day of fun, I picked up dinner from the Smashburger right next to the hotel and then we got all settled in to watch the Michigan vs USC game.  Mina and Peaches crashed after dinner and happily snored the evening away.

We were up early again on Sunday and ready for the day of travel ahead.  When we left home on Friday, I was packed and ready for several days of vacation, and while I wasn't 100% sure where we'd end up, I had a few ideas.  

Ultimately, I settled on Copper Harbor, and I was looking forward to the drive through Wisconsin.  While I've been feeling the need to wander and explore some new places, the draw of Copper Harbor was just too strong this time.  I really need some time along the Lake and to see friends. So I packed the car, stopped for gas and caffeine at the Holiday Gas station across the street from the hotel, and we hit the road for the drive North and east.

Once again, we didn't stop much along the way because had a long drive and would lose an hour when we returned to the Eastern time zone.  But I knew we'd get out for a short walk somewhere along the NCT in Wisconsin. 

Lucky for us, we were able to get on the trail really quickly in the town of Mellen.  We had a quick 1.25 miles on the trail and then were quickly back in the car and continuing our journey. 

I was so happy when we reached the lift bridge in Houghton.   So close to the end of our drive!

We finally arrived in Copper Harbor and got checked into our little cabin at 6:30pm.  I quickly unpacked, and then we immediately headed to the Genny to grab some deli goodies for dinner, and then we headed up Brockway Mountain hoping to catch the sunset.

Some clouds and a few sprinkles had moved into town, and I loved seeing this double rainbow over town.  Some pretty strong winds also moved in along with the rain and clouds.  

When we reached the other end of the mountain there were so many people.  I didn't want to stay long, but I did want to get out quickly with the girls.  What I was not expecting was just how strong the wind was.   I honestly felt like it was going to blow me over! I have never felt wind that strong.  It was crazy.

After our quick stop, we got back in the car and headed back to our cabin to settle in for the night. After a lot of driving over the last three days, I was glad to know that we'd be able to relax for a few days before making the drive home.  Mostly I was just happy to be here.  I love this place!

We've got lots of fun coming up over the next few weeks, but right now, I'm most excited just to be here right now.  So here's to a great week of rest and relaxation.