10 Year Anniversary Getaway

When Micah and I got married 10 years ago we were in college.  I was about to enter my fifth year of school because I was in a 5-year program which included a Master's Degree, and Micah was starting grad school. We were truly broke as we were college students with low paying part-time jobs. We settled on Seattle and the surrounding area for our honeymoon as we could pay for a large part of it with money we received as a gift from Micah's grandmother, and it was an area of the country that we were both interested in yet we hadn't been to before. When planning our honeymoon we agreed that we would go on a larger trip, like Hawaii, another tropical island, or a different country, for our 10 year anniversary. We assumed that we would easily be able to afford that sort of trip in our early 30's, but obviously the thought of having two-year-old triplets in 10 years had not crossed our minds!

Although we would have loved to go someplace a bit more exotic for our anniversary, we were still able to have a great time in Traverse City, Michigan. Northern Michigan is nothing like Albuquerque so it was fun to be someplace different even if it is only three hours from where we grew up, and it was more comfortable for us and my parents knowing that we were only a short drive away if they needed us to come back for any sort of emergency with the kids.

We are so thankful that my parents agreed to watch the kids for two nights as we were truly able to relax and enjoy some much needed time together. It is hard to have much of a conversation when three two-year-olds are constantly demanding our attention, and after the kids are in bed our evenings are often spent doing chores around the house or working (Micah's job is quite demanding right now but we are fortunate that he is able to come home and spend time with the kids before putting in some additional hours from home). We wish we could do this sort of getaway more often, but we were excited to see the kids again after being away for awhile! I agree with Micah's analogy that one's own kids are sort of like a strange drug: sometimes they make you crazy, but at the same time you love them so much that when you are away all you can do is think about them and wish you were with them!

Heading north...the silence in the backseat was amazing!

After a quick stop for lunch, we went to a couple of wineries on Old Mission Peninsula (Peninsula Cellars and Chateau Grand Traverse) and then we drove all of the way north to the lighthouse at the end of the peninsula. The lighthouse itself was overrun with tourists, but the view from the beach was nice.

We then stopped at Two Lads winery as our friends in ABQ had a friend from South Africa visiting them, and his brother works at this winery. The view was amazing.

The view from Two Lads

Comparison pic from our Honeymoon in August 2005...have we changed?

Outside our fourth and final winery, Chateau Chantal

We rented a studio condo through VRBO that was about 15 minutes outside of Traverse City on the East Bay. There was a pool, hot tub, and beach access.

Our room had a great sunset view

One of my only requests for this trip was that I have a mimosa with a late breakfast as this seems like a true luxury to me. It was everything I imagined.

Our breakfast at Patisserie Amie was absolutely wonderful and we split the salmon eggs benedict and french toast. The french toast reminded me of an elephant ear as it was delightfully crispy and it was covered in powdered sugar, in addition to having whipped cream and bananas. I would go back to Traverse City just for this breakfast! 

Our original plan for our only full day away was to lounge by the pool and rent a kayak, but unfortunately the weather wasn't perfect (too cloudy for these New Mexicans) and we decided that having a relaxing day inside would be more enjoyable. In all honesty there were many people in the pool, but this included a million kids and we were trying to avoid kids when possible during our trip. There was quite a wind coming off the bay which meant the water was choppy, so we didn't think a kayak would be much fun. In the past I would have felt like we were wasting time by sitting around our condo, but it actually felt great as this is something we never get to do together at home. We enjoyed the set up of the room with the hightop table attached to the headboard as it meant we could sit next to each other at our computers while enjoying the view of the pool and bay.

Although we were having a lazy day, we did convince ourselves to go on a 30 minute run, which felt appropriate considering that we first met when we were both on the high school cross country team and we got engaged on a run.

The landscape in northern Michigan is extremely different from ABQ. I literally felt like we were running through a tunnel as I'm used to wide vistas.

The weather on the second morning was gorgeous and we briefly considered renting a kayak, but it felt like it would be too rushed since we had to checkout of our room by 11:00. Instead we enjoyed breakfast in downtown Traverse City, and we visited a few of the stores, before driving back to Holland.

Just for fun, another comparison shot from our honeymoon. I really don't see much difference so somehow getting his PhD, working for five years, having triplets, and being married for 10 years didn't age Micah! Maybe the thrill of climbing mountains and pursuing other dreams helps keep him young.

The only true downer during our trip was the HOT car ride home. We borrowed my parents car (for which we are very thankful!), but unfortunately the air conditioning isn't working well and it was a super hot and humid day. We spent some of the time driving down the highway with the windows rolled down, which had us cracking up as it reminded us of the "old days" when we were broke and drove across the country during the summer in a van without air conditioning. Ah, memories.