Upon our arrival at the Sleepy Bear Dunes climb area in northwest Michigan, it was rather hot and I had no plans of attempting the climb to the top of the dunes. With the 8 week old baby strapped to my chest, we set out with the boys to show them the largest pile of sand they could play in that they might ever see in their lives.

Rather then setting their little toes in the sand and digging in to build sand castles, the boys instantly started exploring the climb. So as the dad of the family, my masculinity inclined me to start the climb with them. Landshark (2) quickly tuckered out and decided to run back to momma. Bug (4) started the climb, but his shoeless toes in the hot sand became a little much, and soon turned back. However, at that point, I decided well lets just see if I can do this.

The climb to the top of the sand dunes became a personal challenge that I had not set out to conquer. While no one was able to tell me exactly how high the dune climb was, I have seen estimates of anywhere from 200-400 feet high. With my eight week old son’s love at my side, and his sleepiness curled into me, I began off on a journey to show him the world.

Within about 15 minutes, we had reached the top of the dunes, with a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. I was proud of my accomplishment and began the decent back to the bottom.

Upon my arrival to the bottom to greet the rest of the my family, I was told Bug ultimately decided to climb up the dunes after me, and made it to the plateau about 75% of the way up. As a father, my heart was warmed to know that my four year old son set out to conquer the dunes all by himself. Mama, or grandma or grandpa, and not even his dad was there to escort him on his journey.

While I did not get to see his accomplishment, I felt an instant sense of pride that overwhelmed me, and meant way more than my own accomplishment.

Has your child ever made you so proud while traveling that it overshadows your own accomplishments?

Save Money, Travel More!

Source: InACents

Planning our trip over the fourth of July holiday was a last minute change as our original plans fell through. Unfortunately, just weeks out, we were forced with trying to find a hotel. Little did I know that Traverse City and the surrounding area is a hot spot for summer travel, let alone the big holiday. Every hotel within a huge radius was completely sold out, or if rooms were available, they were going for $200+/night, and that is for the budget hotels.

With the only available option being a Country Inn & Suites located in Traverse City, we elected to use over 152,000 accumulated points from last year to secure a room. It was painful having to redeem that many points, but I valued the $900 it would have cost us out of pocket more than the points sitting in our account.

It was at that time that Mrs. InACents suggested that we consider camping if we could secure a site with my parents. You tend to notice how much of a huge accomplishment this is when you realize the baby was only going to be 8 weeks during the trip. Not only was this going to be the first time camping with our boys, we were considering doing it with a newborn.

So off I went trying to find a campsite. The problem once again was that every single campground was completely sold out, with the National Park campground being booked all the way out until August. Camping was a slim reality, and at that point we were satisfied that we were able to secure our expensive hotel room to at least make the trip a reality.

Days before we were supposed to leave, I just happen to check the National Park website to check on availability, and it just so happen that one (1) campsite opened up, that included a pad for a trailer as well as a tent pad with electricity. Someone must have cancelled their reservation, and it just happen to align perfectly with what we needed and the dates. I was flabbergasted!

So now instead of redeeming a lot of points to stay in a hotel within Traverse City, the InACents family really was about to step out onto a new adventure, camping, or in our case, glamping. The total cost of camping for four nights over the holiday weekend was only $96 for a site with electrical, plus our vehicle required a $10 park pass, valid for 7 days. A true bargain if I ever saw one.

Platte River Campground

Our site was situated on loop 3, with ample woods on all sides to create a sense of privacy from the surrounding campers. Within a short walk was a beautiful, by camping standards, newer shower and bathroom facility.

After setting up our two room, seven person tent, we outfitted it complete with a deluxe queen air mattress, pack-n-play for the baby, electricity, and fans. See, this family was not necessarily roughing it by any means. Tent camping for us means at least making an effort for a comfortable nights sleep.

While my parents were in their air conditioned trailer, we were cuddling up as a family under the stars.

Of course, no camping adventure would be complete without roasting marshmallows and making camper/hobo pies.

Really, camping at Platte River was a fantastic first experience for this family. While the boys are young, we could easily all fit on the air mattress. We have also been very fortunate that the baby has slept through the night pretty much from the beginning. Also, there was no rain during our visit and the night temperatures were a mild 50-60 degrees.

Every aspect of the trip all kind of fell together and worked itself out perfectly. We proved to ourselves that we could survive camping as a family. My parents were also a tremendous help, especially when it came to making us meals.

Now I know when that camping is a great, viable option in the future, despite the primitive accommodations we must travel with to make us feel like home.

How has your camping experience been with a young family?

Save Money, Travel More!

Source: InACents