The girls got up and left around 6:00am to start driving home.  The rest of us went back to sleep for a little while.  After spending some time debating where we wanted to go on our way home, since we still have a week left, we decided that we would go ahead and drive to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan anyway.  There wasn’t as much time to do what we really wanted to do in Michigan, but we decided that driving through and making a few stops would be worth it. 

We drove northeast through Wisconsin towards Green Bay seeing lots of large scale corn farming.  We even saw an ethanol manufacturing facility.  Once we made it to Green Bay, we followed the western coast of the bay towards Michigan. 

I kept looking at the map trying to determine where to go next.  When I realized that we really weren’t that far from the northern coast of the upper peninsula of Michigan and Lake Superior, we decided that would be our goal for today.  We finished our drive up to Marquette, Michigan, and found a campground to crash in. 

These drives through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have all been so beautiful and full of trees.  Each of them has called out to my heart as a serene place to homestead and raise a family.  I’ve loved all of the small towns, each with their own unique character.  I see so many signs about certain places only being open May through October and wonder what the winters must be like there for so many businesses to shut down for so many months.

I’ve realized for a long time that my personality often leans to the explorer side.  I love to go explore places that I haven’t seen before.  Taking a quick drive through the peninsulas of Michigan or the Northwoods of Minnesota only whets my curiosity.  I’m constantly drawn to want to drive down this or that little road.  I want to find the places that only locals know about or where this road goes.  In my own little dream world, I want to come live in some of these places, if only for a few months.  I want to learn about the herbs, flowers, and trees that grow in the area.  Even more, I want to collect some of those herbs that don’t grow near me and learn how to preserve and use them.

Maybe one day I’ll get an opportunity to take a deeper dive into some of these places that are so different from South Carolina, if it is God’s will for me.  God has put me in South Carolina for the past 40 years and has filled my soul with exploring and adventures of many different kinds.  I’ve been very blessed throughout my life.  Even the trials have been blessings in many different ways.  I am so grateful for these past two months exploring with and spending time with my family.

Rebecca