Jung Family Vacation in Sawyer, Michigan – Day 1

June 19, 2012

I should say this at the start: my family never, ever goes on vacation. We did a bit in the past, but our vacations always seemed to include a trip out to visit relatives. Or a wedding. Early “vacations” to me were always events that pulled us out of town. I think of my family as one that rarely travelled just to travel together, for the sheer sake of taking a trip.

Which is why it was great that my sister, on a whim, decided to rent a house for a few days in Sawyer, MI and invited my parents, me and Liz up for a few days. No agenda, no relatives to visit, no events to attend… just show up, relax, and hang out.

With attending Warrior Dash and spending Father’s Day in Frankfort, Liz and I had a pretty eventful weekend. We were up late Sunday night packing, and spent a lot of Monday morning getting ready.

Though we hit the road a little later than my sister, we ended up arriving at the house before they did. Stacey texted me the combination to the lock near the door, and Liz and I got a chance to tour the place, before everyone else arrived.

Though the doors make it seem like a garage, this is actually a secondary unit (converted into an additional, fourth room to the house).

This is the view, on walking in. I was happy to say the AC was on full blast and felt awesome. Since we only have a few window units in our place in Chicago, this kind of central air felt like walking into a refrigerator. Shane and my folks would eventually not like it, but for me… I love it super cold.

The front bedroom, where Liz and I ended up staying.

Central bedroom, where my folks ended up staying.

Master bedroom, where Shane and Stacey (and the kids) slept. They brought along a blow-up mattress, and the kids bunked on the floor. Hard to see in this photo, but there’s a chair/area to the right and a private bathroom attached to this bedroom.

Screened in back porch.

Small fire pit. We had plans on roasting marshmallows, but the few nights we were here… it was just too dang hot.

An outdoor shower, which we would end up using after returning from the nearby beaches.

Here’s the interior of the converted garage.

Unfortunately, this room had just a fan (and no AC). So though we had an extra bedroom, it was way too hot for anyone to realistically use.

A random DVD left behind: Chinese Hercules.

I watched maybe 5 minutes of this, before turning it off. The beginning didn’t have any of the awesomeness of the official trailer.

L to R it’s Jasmine, Mom, Dad, and Jahnu.

Dad, doing a group self-portrait.

We fired up the grill outside, and I did a passable job with the turkey burgers. Surprised myself, actually, as I don’t really grill all that much.

Liz made a favorite recipe: Grilled Blueberry Crumble.

But – because the grill outside was pretty caked with use and age, we opted not to grill the desert (and put it in the oven instead). Turned out just as great.

Served over vanilla ice cream, this is a fantastic summer desert.