We have returned from our week at the cottage in Shelby, MI. We had great weather for the first five days, though we did get some rain the last two. Our cottage was just a few minutes walk to Lake Michigan and we spent a little time at the beach almost every day.

There were some sleeping issues. For Elena and, in turn, us. We had thunderstorms most nights, and those would scare Elena, so Andrea had to sleep with her for a while on those nights. They even woke me up, so they were loud storms.

Our big discovery were the doughunts at the Cherry Point Farm and Market. We also had those most mornings, along with the little travel size boxes of cereal that Elena and I ate. I used to love those when I went camping, and even though we're not camping, I'm carrying on a tradition.

Also at the Cherry Point Farm was the fish broil, where they boiled whitefish, potatoes, and onions in a big cauldron and we sat around picnic tables. It was B.Y.O.B., or, in our case, wine. And while we waited for our food to be served, we walked through the herb garden, which Elena called a maze.

Ice cream was a regular feature of our day. We ate it in Silver Lake (twice), Pentwater (twice), and New Era. My favorite was the Whippy Dip which had the best soft serve ice cream I've ever had. But the Dairy Store in New Era was also very good, and it came from cows right behind the store.

So to conclude, this year's trip involved much better weather than last year's, lots of ice cream, and lots of swimming.