The Mini MINI Vacation

As I mentioned at the end of my race recap, the family aborted our mini vacation by Tuesday morning. The weather was turning shitty so that meant our plan to spend the day on the river was probably not going to happen without sucking. So we packed up an split Manistee before we had to pay up for another night in the hotel.

We had some good times while we were there- We hung out on the beach (I got blister between my toes from the sand), we went hiking on the North Country Trail and that rocks! Especially since just about all of it is open to mountain bikes and that has my friend Chris and I thinking of doing something stupid long on it this year if we can work it into our schedules.

Of course I think I got about 51.2 mosquito bites while on the trail, and that was WITH using Off, On, Cutter, Cudder, Sheep Ball Juice and whatever else I could slather on my body that even thought of containing something to keep the blood sucking pests away from me.

We did the Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear and that was cool. Seeing B-Man tear off up the GIANT endless dune sat full sprint while Wifey and I huffed and sweated (I huffed, Wify sweated) our way up was a treat for sure. Even better was that there was more sand to get in my now blood red popped blisters. Joy.

We had some great pizza in one little town. That was yummy. But not before B-Man dumped an entire large lemonade all over the table.

For the record, B-Man asked that I splash him with the water. I wasn't being a Dick Dad.

We stopped at a small beach that had a neat lighthouse. B-Man and Wifey collected cool rocks off the beach. We all got bit hundreds of times from angry black flies.

I drove down Main Street in Manistee the wrong way "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!" he shouted, "I KNOW!" I yelled back, before I ducked down the first available two way to avoid any more haters. Some folks are so uptight.

We ate at Rico's Roadhouse two nights in a row (3rd night for me) where they have THEEEE best hamburgers I have ever tasted in my entire life. Wifey, a former vegetarian, was nearly in an orgasmic state of bliss from Rico and his 1/2 pound burger. Brennan ate chicken fingers and fries, twice.

M-22, the Lake Michigan coastal-ish highway, is filled balls deep with little towns that contain thousands of tourists and annoying pseudo rich people, and everyone inbetween (us?), but it also contains the largest hills, best roads, and the most amount of cyclists not on cross or mountain bikes I have seen in Michigan. It made me actually WANT to ride my road bike. Something I have not done since last fall. September?

I was not unhappy to come home early from this little "vacation." Truth be told, I hate vacations. I never find them relaxing. There's too much thought put into the process of fun and relaxation. The best times I ever have are usually by accident or unplanned. Wifey loves vacations (probably because she has a real job and a sparkling personality). B-Man hated being on vacation except for his time in the sub arctic waters of Lake Michigan or when watching Cartoon Network in the hotel. He of course cried when we told him we were leaving early. Go figure.

On the cool side we saw and did a lot of cool things in just a couple days, but a couple days in fine by me. It was fun watching B-Man frolic in the lake and it was fun seeing the amazing beauty and outdoor opportunities that Michigan offers (on the beach on moment and 20 minutes later in the deep north woods!), it really is amazing. Even better is that this trip was only 2 hours from our front door. Having said that, I am glad to be home and ready to get back to work on XXC, riding my bike and of course taking care of what now looks to be two to three infected toe blisters. F*cking sand. F*cking vacations.


Can't wait for the next vacation. Seriously.

Later.