Tim's Visit

So after much prompting and prodding we finally got my brother Tim to come for a visit. His transportation of choice was the bus so after a 48 (yes 48) hour bus ride he finally arrived in Lansing!

First item on the agenda was to give the babies some love since he hasn't seen them in 4 years and they've put on between 50-100 pounds since then :)
Then after a much needed nap he and I took a bike ride to show him around town. We unfortunately got stuck in a HUGE sudden downpour so were stuck under an overpass for 15 minutes or so but then back on our way. I took him through downtown and then on the river trail through the woods which he thought was pretty cool.

That evening we took him to our favorite sushi place. It was his first time with sushi and surprisingly he loved it!

The next day we took Tim out to the dog beach. It was a beautiful day and although he didn't even touch the water, the other 4 of us sure did!
We ♥ Lake Michigan!

We even met another Airedale which NEVER happens! This pretty lady is named Maggie :) It was funny, when her owner saw Norris she said "man, and I thought my airedale was the biggest I'd ever seen" Yup, that's our boy :)

This was Norris' first trip back since his knee surgery and he tuckered out earlier so we hooked him up with a sweet set up that included a beach umbrella and fan...yup he's spoiled all right.

And given the fact that Baby didn't attack any other dogs we consider it a successful trip :)

Another highlight of Tim's visit was our camping/kayaking trip. We stayed at the DH Day Campground in the Sleeping Bear Dune area. It's considered a "rustic" site by Michigan standards but was perfect for us cuz it reminded us more of home. (side note: I don't know about you but I don't need a swimming pool and fancy shower with electrical hookup when I go camping)
Anyway, after we set up camp we took Tim on the Pyramid Point hike that we did last year.
The view from the top is phenominal!



The next day was our river day! Tim is a quiet guy and has very limited interests but one of them is kayaking so he was our resident expert.
We kayaked the Lower Platte River. It was a great choice for first timers like myself; the water was crystal clear, warm, slow moving, and only 2-3 feet deep.


Ryan and I stayed together while Tim cruised ahead then once in awhile would come back to find us.

At one point the river dumps into a lake where we took a break.
The part where it dumps you is just as shallow as the river and you can walk quite a distance and it looks like you're walking on water before it has a steep drop off.


I really enjoyed the experience and it was cool to see schools of fish and even a few turtles as we traveled down the river.

The Platte River actually goes right into Lake Michigan (can't take the kayaks though) so after we returned the boats we spent some time playing at the beach
(except for Tim who hung out on the shore and was clothed head to toe in black and promised he wasn't roasting).
The last part of the river was crazy warm so of course very popular with the kids...and me :)

Sadly we had to head home the next day. We took Tim to another favorite of ours, Cancun Mexican Grill and of course a Michigan tradition, Steak n Shake! Can you tell we tried our best to put weight on the boy?!

The next day my little Timmy had to leave :(
We were so glad to have him and love him very much and hope he will come back soon!