With a cold day of rain in the forecast for Saturday, in an unprecedented move, we made the executive decision to leave our cabin a day early in order to get a head start on the 8-hour drive back to Iowa. Saturday morning we woke up, got ready for the day, cleaned our cabin, loaded up the van, and pointed it towards Iowa.
We said goodbye to our cabin, which served as a solid base for our Michigan exploration, but was not our favorite Airbnb.
Leaving a day early with a newly-secured hotel outside Chicago enabled Brian to plan a few bonus stops along our route home. Our first stop for the day was Dog n Suds, a retro drive-in restaurant “famous” for its root beer and hot dogs. Once a chain of over 600, there are now only 15 locations left. Brian scarfed down a chili cheese dog and a root beer, describing them as “glorious.” For the rest of us, the stop included mere sips of root beer, as we were saving our appetites for one last nostalgic meal at Mr. Quick.
Emmie is always up for posing in a photo…
…or two. This one is under the Dog n Suds menu and ordering station.
The root beer was admittedly good.
Indeed, Mr. Quick was our second stop. The big kids decided to spice up their lives. Instead of ordering burgers and fries, they ordered pancakes and French toast breakfast meals. GeeGee and I stuck to cheeseburgers, though GeeGee tried the side of “seasoned” fries while I added an order of cheese balls for the table to try.
After dual satisfying lunches, Brian dropped us all at a movie theater for a showing of Secret Life of Pets 2 while he went to a local farmers market. Over 6 months have passed since Eilidh’s first failed movie-going attempt. Though she got a little squirmy and loudly declared her desire to reunite with “blue blanky” a few times, she successfully made it through the movie. Given 8 and 9 ratings by Noah and Emmie respectively, and 5 and 6 by GeeGee and myself, we found Pets 2 to be a solid kids movie.
Brian picked up a few bags of Michigan-made beef jerky at the Muskegon Farmer’s Market.
Holland State Park was our next endeavor. After the day took a surprising turn towards nicer weather, we paid 9 bucks for entrance to Holland State Park in Holland, Michigan. Though repeatedly provided with the orders to not get her clothes wet, Emmie ended the field trip wearing soaked clothing. Luckily, with few clothing options remaining, I was able to de-clothe Eilidh before she was entirely wet, and she spent the 30-minute stop running in and out of the water in her pull-up. Noah was the only one who heeded our instructions to stay dry.
Eilidh sported her new Whitecaps sweatshirt.
Subsequent stops included Bowerman Blueberry Farm and Evergreen Lane Creamery. Though too early in the season to pick blueberries, Brian walked away from the touristy little blueberry store with a couple of jars of blueberry jam, blueberry custard in a cone, and 6 blueberry glazed donuts.
The blueberry store felt touristy, the creamery felt more authentic. While they are constructing a small building for visitors, their current setup includes only a small fridge with cheese and samples out on the front porch. After a few taste tests, Brian and I decided on a French herb chèvre and a hard, nutty Ceilo goat cheese. We returned to the car where everyone, even Eilidh, enjoyed some of the soft creamy chèvre on Ritz crackers.
The modest roadside sign for Evergreen Lane Creamery.
After driving through a lot of heavy rain, we made it to the Chicago suburbs and our next stop: White Castle. Though the staff were less than friendly and the restaurant was less than clean, the White Castle burgers met my low expectations. Despite his rating of 8/10, Noah stated “it wasn’t my favorite,” putting into question his entire understanding of the 0-10 rating system. Eilidh, however, seemed to find joy in her small cheeseburger, coming super-close to finishing the entire thing.
The cheesecake on a stick was underwhelming, so we had Cheesecake Factory delivered to our hotel rooms later in the evening.
On arrival at our hotel we hit the pool. GeeGee, who forgot her swimsuit for the trip, was relegated to the side of the pool to take photos. Brian and I were dismayed to learn that all the money we’ve spent on swim lessons has apparently been wasted, as Noah could barely remember how to float after being able to swim the length of the pool last year. Emmie still insists on clinging to whatever adult is nearby. Eilidh was excited to don her new Peppa swimsuit and enjoyed her time at the pool.
