A trip to Pure Michigan

As my previous post explained, my husband and I went on a 5 day trip (kidless! Thanks to my in-laws! KIDLESS) to Michigan.

We spent our first night at my grandpa's house in Grand Haven. A little pier fishing at sunset was awesome.

The next day we ate breakfast at Morning Star Café which I know from experience is a place to arrive before the crowds. It did not disappoint- stuffed French toast with raspberry sauce and a Southwest burrito (we split both). I dig their décor too.

Later that day we drove to Grand Rapids for my cousin's wedding. Any time our big family gets together we have a ton of fun. The hotel- the Amway Grand Plaza- did not suck either.

Classy bar, classy girl. Ha.

The next morning we headed out of town for northwest Michigan- a tiny town called Empire, right on the lakeshore.

We made a pit stop at the Cherry Hut (PUN INTENDED) in Beulah. I'd been there before as a kid. As much as I love lemons, I also LOVE CHERRIES. I'm normally not a pie girl, but when at the Cherry Hut, you split pie with your husband and you get ice cream on that pie just 'cause.


After settling into our cute little motel, we drove a few minutes to the Dunes trail of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Totally burned off that pie and thensome with climbing the massive dunes. The views were amazing, and if you're never had the experience of running/tumbling down a giant soft sand dune, you are missing out.

The last full day of our trip was spent at Mackinac Island, in between the lower and upper peninsulas. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island- it's either biking, hoofing it by foot, or hoofing it by horse. Such a cute old timey main street.

We toured Fort Mackinac. SEE I LEARNED STUFF while on vacation. From the fort we walked to Arch Rock, and then down below to check out the waterfront. The water is Caribbean clear and beautiful.

We walked around to the other side of the island and paid $10 admission to walk the grounds of the Grand Hotel. Yes, they charge $10 to even be on the property, but honestly it was totally worth it. This hotel is insane. Partly in a fancy pants way, partly in a the-view-alone-is-worth it. And partly in a they-have-super-posh-bathrooms-and-we-hadn't-gone-in-hours way.

We swung by the ice cream shop inside the hotel and got a scoop of Mackinac Island Fudge, natch, totes,  obvs. and parked it on rockers on the massive front porch overlooking the bridge.

Picturesque moment. Ahhhhhh.

Took the 20 minute ferry back to our car and headed up to our final night's stay in Manistique. We swung by a surprisingly high end grocery store just a few yards from our motel and bought a traditional beef, rutabaga, and potato pasty to split, along with some pre-made salads. A pasty is a traditional upper peninsula food. Pronounce it PAH-stee, not pay-stee.

Oh yeah, and we tapped into some of the fudge we had bought earlier.

We ate a basic diner breakfast at Big Boy the next morning and hit the road for the long drive home.

Five days flew by and we packed in so much fun- family time, outdoor time, and time with each other.

(Awwwww)

Road tripping

Last weekend my husband and I took a kid-less road trip to my home state of Michigan.

We have never taken such a long road trip together and though we were in the car a total of 30 hours over the course of five days, we had fun! Honest!

...right honey?

Road tripping as an adult is pretty different than how I used to roll during family trips. Back then Ring Pops, Capri Sun, and The Stupids on our tiny VHS TV was my jam.

With a little prep and planning, road trips can be done with far less sugar and, well, equally good entertainment. Here's how I navigated our trip, AKA, "The Everyday Dietitian's Guide to Road Tripping."

1. Pack yo cooler and snack bag. I chose to make chicken banh mi sandwiches to cut down on meals on the road. You don't have to make a fancy sandwich like this, but keep it protein-filled. Ideally avoid turkey- that tryptophan is not going to help you stay alert.

Chicken Banh Mi- for 2 sandwiches
-2 sandwich rolls or 6" baguettes, top part hollowed out
-2 ~4-5 oz cooked boneless chicken breasts (I just put mine wrapped in foil and baked in the oven)
-2 radishes, thinly sliced
-2 tablespoons mirin
-1 tablespoon white vinegar
-1 carrot, grated
-1 cucumber, thinly sliced the long way
-cilantro sprigs
-1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced the long way
-1 tablespoon sambal oelek (chili garlic paste)

Combine mirin and vinegar in small dish. Add radishes to marinate for a few minutes while you assemble the sandwich.

Spread 1/2 the sambal oelek on the top parts of the bread. Layer cilantro, grated carrot, cucumber, radishes, jalapeno, and chicken. It's a lot of toppings so that's why I like to hollow out the top bread- more room, and it un-carbs it a bit.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Will keep for 24 hours.

2. Bring carbonated unsweetened water. I know it's so cliché of my generation, but club soda and La Croixs are just awesome. The goal is to avoid a sugar high and subsequent crash. If you would like caffeine, try flavored green or black teas. Our goal was to drink at least 48 oz fluids. Stopping for bathroom breaks might seem like a hassle, but don't get dehydrated.

3. Pack low cal and high protein snacks. Again, the temptation here can be to grab chips, candy, etc to graze on, but how are you reeeeeally going to feel an hour after those M&M's wear off? My faves all came from Aldi- individual portion baggies of puffcorn, beef jerky, and these Kind-esque bars that have only 4 grams added sugar. Not pictured- apples (not as fragile as other fruit and still pack good fiber).

4. If you're going to stop at a restaurant, aim for one with reasonable nutrition. Yep, McD's and Subway are the clichés, but we opted to drive 5 minutes deep into a town along the way for a Panera breakfast. It's not like my egg white, turkey sausage, spinach and tomato sandwich is fewer calories than the typical fast food sandwich, but I dug that it was slightly different. Food on a road trip should still be fun and not filled with gloopy globs of cheez stuck to the wrapper. Use an app like MyFitnessPal or check out restaurant websites directly for nutrition stats.

PS I have this Turkish towel from Amazon and I love it- it's lightweight but perfect for chilly AC.


5. Consider getting a meal at a grocery store. In Manistique, Michigan (a verrrrrry small town) we found a fantastic grocery store. They had an awesome salad bar, good selection of pre-made salads, and homemade pasties (more on those in the next post). My husband and I split the pasty and each got a side salad. This was a filling dinner that felt close to what we'd eat at home. No food coma after this meal.

6. For the love of Pete get outta the car for breaks! It is truuuuuuuue that sitting too long- even an hour at a time- is too long for your body. I like actual rest areas along the interstate because they often have playgrounds and picnic tables. Run around a bit. March in place. Do jumping jacks. Do pushups. Do super fun gerbil-y spinny things (Beloit, Illinois, btw).

So yeah, we had fun and managed to not feel like total blobs despite all the hours we logged on the road.

Actual vacation post to follow!