Summer Road Trip 2017: Clay Cliffs + Beach Time

Beyond looking generally at this area of Michigan, I hadn't done much research on what we would do day to day.  For a vacation like this, I figure that we will see things along the way that we can explore.  This proved to be true when we kept spotting a sign called the Clay Cliffs Natural Area about 5 minutes from our cabin.  A short drive and an uphill hike brings you to beautiful views of the cliffs (on this side they are clay and not sand like the dunes area) and the lake.  The forest was soft and quiet, while the wind and the waves at the top of the cliffs was strong and violent.  We felt so lucky that the Leelanau Conservancy only recently preserved the lakeshore and created the trails and overlook for everyone to enjoy.

After lunch we headed to another beach to let the boys' play.  This sounds a little crazy to say but this Leland beach reminded me of some of the beaches we came upon in Hawaii!  Check out the photos and you'll see why.  The water color was pure aqua, the surf was huge, and the only other people on the beach were windsurfers. 

After going back to shower and change, we headed out on another adventure to explore Northport and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse at the tippy top of the pinky.  We skipped touring the lighthouse itself as it's not a tall, challenging climb like we're used to.  However, we followed a trail that led right to the lake and another beautiful view of the vast shoreline.  BB and DD never can miss out on a chance to step into water so off they went on the rocky shore.  It felt as though we were straddling the middle of summer and fall right on there on the shore.

We finished the trail and found a recreation area and the boys got to play horseshoes for the first time while C napped in a nearby hammock.