Ludington and Manistee

David and I took a lovely weekend getaway to celebrate my 20-year TBI anniversary, as well as both of our May birthdays. We stayed at the adorable Summer’s Inn near downtown Ludington and loved its Japanese style garden, certified wildlife habitat and Monarch Way Station.

We both have strong connections to Lake Michigan and have lived in all the states bordering it. For me, especially, Lake Michigan feels like life itself. I’ve lived within blocks of the Lake for years in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois, and every time we visit wilder portions of Lake Michigan, I feel renewed.

We had some magical animal encounters with Bald Eagle flying right over our car near Orchard Beach State Park in Manistee, and a rare Piping Plover experience at Ludington State Park. Fox showed up in all forms except a physical sighting, but it became obvious Fox Wisdom was in effect due to all the uncanny mentions, photographs and road names. We also did some powerful releasing and intending on the May 19th anniversary of my TBI, and we enjoyed vegan and farm fresh vegetarian wherever we went. All in all a blessed and potent recharge.

I thought I’d share some photos here, all by David except one I took in the Orchard Beach woods. Enjoy the beauty and power of these areas. We entered Ludington State Park through the historic lodge with this amazing hearth:

Mist blurred the lines between air, lake and sand:

and this rarely seen, endangered Piping Plover walked ahead of us for about a half mile:

 

After our beach walk, we moved along to Lost Lake Trail, enchanting in both the grey afternoon or peeking sunshine:

Can you see or feel the faeries in these woods?

There’s one! 😉

The next day, we went to Orchard Beach State Park in Manistee, a blustery day filled with sunshine, steep cliffs, and waves:

We picnicked to lake sounds and views …

… before heading across the street to the enchanted forest:

Below is my one photo. I don’t know why I felt compelled to take this shot from David’s phone, but there’s a birch tree trunk exactly hidden behind the main trunk in the center. Something about that specific alignment of trunks, clouds, sky and leaves drew me in and still does.

On our way home, we stopped at Charles Mears State Park in Pentwater. Love the name! Are there five streams or water sources there? I don’t know, but the name alone intrigued me. We met intense winds and roaring waves, an invigorating and cleansing way to end our getaway:

The fog horn and the lighthouse stood like guardians of the sea — old friends, laughing and arguing about the weather:

It felt like much more than 30 hours away. So grateful to have so much beauty and adventure within a small radius.