After our Apostle Islands adventure it was family and friends time! And that started with cruising down to visit our friend Teal’s parents (Tom and Carol) in Hayward, WI.
We had so much fun with them on our visit although it was quick!
A few highlights from hanging out with Tom and Carol were making homemade pizza and visiting Copper Falls State Park for a beautiful afternoon hike. Just checkout the pictures below!
Devil’s Lake State Park
From Hayward we drove to Devil’s Lake State Park outside the Wisconsin Dells and spent one night. The following morning we went on a fun 7 mile trail run up the ridges and around the lake. There are some cool glacial rock features along the lake and it was a fun crisp fall day for running!
If you’re looking for a fun place to camp in the summer, this would be perfect! Although, I bet it gets pretty busy.
Milwaukee
On the road again we set off to visit friends Sue, Jake and daughter Effie for a 4 day visit!
We arrived at their house Friday afternoon and did a quick workout in their driveway before ordering pizza and having a relaxing evening. It seem like we eat a lot of pizza…
The next day we wandered around downtown Milwaukee, which was very cool if you like architecture. We even visited the art museum and grabbed a bite to eat (not pizza) at the Milwaukee Public market.
Our visit with Sue, Jake and Effie was so fun! It was great to spend a few days with them and get to know little Effie.
Chicago
For our next stop we headed to the suburbs of Chicago (a place neither of us had visited before). Where we visited my parents friends Phil and Gail for two nights.
Phil took us swimming at his gym, and they made us a wonderful dinner. They also took us out for our first Italian Beef sandwiches! Freaking delicious!
And fun fact, Phil is who my brother Phil is named after.
The second day there we jumped into downtown Chicago via a lyft and spent the afternoon walking (about fifteen miles) up and down the city streets! On our walk we explored Millennium Park, the Navy Pier and the river walk (which was definitely our favorite part of downtown).
After all that walking we met up with my cousin Adrienne for our first Chicago deep dish experience at Lou Malnati’s. Where we had a delicious salad (yes, the salad was amazing) and polished off an entire large Malnati’s pizza. It was really good!
From there we wandered back to the river walk to watch Art on the Mart, a fun light show projection onto the Mart building.
Then we further explored Chicago, visiting Fulton Market and grabbing a Bombo at Bombobar. If you don’t know what a Bombo is… don’t worry I didn’t either, but if you like sweets… you’ll like this!
It was great spending the evening with Adrienne and catching up!
The next day Gail served us an amazing prime rib lunch before we set off towards Midland.
Midland
On the way we had one stop over night at Van Buren State Park before arriving at my Aunt Trish and Uncle Brad’s home in Midland MI.
We stayed in Midland for four nights and had so much fun!
Not only did we get to see and spend a lot of time with Trish and Brad (aunt and uncle), but we were able to spend a lot of time with my Grandma who I hadn’t seen for a few years, and my cousin Kelly and her family.
It’s always so good to hangout with the Midland crew. We definitely need to do a better job of doing regular family reunions.
Spending time here in Midland with family rounded out a really special few weeks. We were reminded that while seeing things and places is fun and exciting, spending quality time with family and friends is a wonderfully special part of this journey.
To all the family and friends who housed us and fed us, we are so very grateful and feel so blessed to have spent time with you all.
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