Les Cheneaux Views

Hills Point Docking's boathouse from the beach at Hills Point Resort

The Les Cheneaux Islands are one of my favorite spots in Michigan. This group of thirty-six islands just east of the Mackinac Bridge have long been an important place for my family. My dad vacationed there when he was young, then he and my mom took me and my siblings back every summer while we were growing up. Last year, I finally visited again for the first time in years, bringing my own kids along to experience the serenity and slow pace of these islands.

This year, we returned. We relaxed. We reveled in the beauty of our surroundings.

It's not just nostalgia and good times with family that bring me back. The tranquil waters and quiet shores bring peace to my soul and beckon my return.

Cedarville Bay

Blue skies and blue water

My dog keeping watch for ducks

Most of the islands are only accessible by boat, so boathouses act as garages for homes on the islands.

Wooden boathouses

Nice Front Yard!

The mornings are peaceful. I enjoyed morning runs on Hill Island and Island Number Eight and watching the sun slowly rise over the trees and water.

Sunrise over Flowers Bay

The end of Hill Island Road on a morning run

The islands provide some of my favorite sunsets in Michigan, whether I am on shore or on the water. The last sunset of my vacation was bittersweet because it will probably be at least a year before I can see these gorgeous skies again.

The sky at sunset (My 8-year-old daughter took this picture. Had to share)

Sunset reflecting off the water

Sunset on Hill Island

The southern end of the Islands with Lake Huron before us and the sun beginning to set

An Apology Letter to the Great Lakes

Dear Great Lakes, 

I underestimated you.

Lake Superior

I grew up loving the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. I lived in a little beach town in Massachusetts for part of my childhood, and my family spent a lot of time at and in the water. No matter how cold the water was or how huge the waves were, my brother and I loved bodysurfing. The waves could slam us down onto the sand and drag us, and we’d go right back in. I loved everything about the beach: the salty smell, the sound of the waves, and the feel of the sand, the rocks, and floating in the water. I loved exploring and swimming but could also just sit there and let all my senses take it in. I have always been in love with the beach.

So when I moved to Michigan in high school and people said lake beaches were great beaches, I scoffed. A lake can’t be a beach beach, I said. A few years later, I saw the Chicago side of Lake Michigan, and the lake itself was beautiful, with the shiny city skyline perched alongside it. But the beach area I saw—just a stretch of sand and water--was unimpressive. So I still wasn’t convinced. I didn’t doubt that the Great Lakes were gorgeous, but I doubted that lake beaches could have the feel of beach beaches.