After five long months of being cooped up at home without a real vacation, it was time for our family of four to head out of town for a break. Like most people, all of our summer plans that involved flying had been canceled due to the pandemic. Given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., we wanted to travel safely and also be mindful of where we were going. We also preferred to find a destination that we could drive to in one day.

Living in Minneapolis, we are rather isolated in terms of where we can drive to under eight hours. We are blessed to have Lake Superior only a few hours away and have spent several fantastic family vacations along Minnesota’s rugged North Shore up in Lutsen, Minnesota, and have also visited Bayfield, Wisconsin, and the Apostle Islands. One place that we had not yet been to was Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on the other side of Lake Superior. We had heard a lot of wonderful things about the U.P. as locals call it so decided on a whim to plan a family trip.  I did a search on Airbnb and found a weekly rental of an entire house in Eagle River along the U.P’s remote Keweenaw Peninsula. We left on Saturday, July 4th in time to celebrate our 20-year wedding anniversary on July 8th. It was going to be a wonderful week of rest, rejuvenation, and priceless family time.

On the hot, sultry night of July 4th, we watched the sun dip below the horizon of an uncharacteristically calm Lake Superior. The water was like glass and the fresh lake air filled my lungs and touched my soul with ease. For just a week, I finally let my weary, stressed-out soul completely relax and break free of the chaos of the last few months living through a global pandemic, uprisings, and endless stress. Life as it was meant to be returned to me for one short week, and for that, I am truly grateful.