Why I Had A Great Time On Our Family Vacation At The Lake 2018
We recently went on a nice vacation with extended family. We rented a house on Camp Lake near Sparta, MI and spent a whole week in West Michigan. After arriving to a cozy little lake house, we spent a couple days enjoying the scenery and atmosphere while just relaxing. We had a great time playing some games and spending time with family that we hadn’t seen in several months! We enjoyed some inflatable kayaks, a paddle boat, a row boat, cornhole set, games for the family (scattegories has been a big hit in our family lately) and more!
Tuesday we decided that we wanted to get out a little and do something. We love trying new food, so we went into nearby Grand Rapids and went to Jamaican Dave’s. After looking online for ethnic food, we came across a good rating for Dave’s so we decided to try it out. It’s a small joint on Division St. so we almost passed it. LOL You can eat there at one of the few tables they have or take the food as carry out. With a menu of roughly ten meals plus sides and drinks, the menu is simple yet authentic. After asking Dave what he recommended, we were told in a thick Jamaican accent that the Curry Goat and Jerk Chicken were ready now, so we ordered one of each.
The meals come with rice, fried plantains, fresh coleslaw and 3 “festival”. The rice is a blend with some beans and a spicy sauce. Be careful, it does have quite a kick. The fried plantains were delicious. The festival were somewhere between fried cornbread and donut holes… slightly sweet, a little dense and just the thing I needed to relieve me of the heat! I am not a fan of spicy food and after about 5 bites, my lips were on fire. We took the rest of my meal “home” for Joel and I just finished the “donuts”. 🙂 Joel really enjoyed the food and even though he likes spicy food, it was still a little hot for him. The flavors were good and we definitely recommend trying Jamaican Dave’s if you like flavor, spice and ethnic food! This isn’t the first time we’ve been to Grand Rapids, so I compiled a list of some fun stuff to do. Check it out here! (post/link coming soon)
After leaving later than expected on Tuesday, we didn’t really get to do much so we planned a day in Holland, MI on Wednesday. The dutch pride is very strong there so it was a perfect place to explore. Joel’s grandfather came over from the Netherlands in 1958 with his wife, so there have been many stories. Hearing about all the places in Holland, MI that are dutch themed or showcase the heritage and history, we knew we had to visit. We went to several places, including the Windmill Island Gardens where they have an authentic Dutch windmill that is still being used for it’s original purpose! We went to another dutch themed attraction where we learned how and why they wore wooden shoes, how delft pottery is made and more! Check out all of our Holland fun in this post.
Thursday it was a little dreary in the morning so we stayed in for a while and played some games with the nieces and nephews. That afternoon, with the whole family, we went to AJ’s Family Fun Center. My mom and I had secretly planned the outing to have some fun with everyone! After looking on their website, we found out that they offer a FUN PARK PASS which offers several activities while saving you $8 per person! Plus, they have specials every day and Thursday’s was a free slice of pizza and drink with the purchase of a FUN PARK PASS. Each person got this deal, so as a family we played several fun arcade games, played miniature golf, rode the go karts twice and had a snack! We were here for several hours and had a great time! I definitely recommend this place (or this type of attraction in another city), but be sure to check out their website to see what type of deals you can take advantage of. 🙂
Joel wanted to rent a jet ski, so we decided Friday was the day. Neither of us had been on a jet ski before and thought that it would be fun. Joel has a motorcycle and we figured it would be like the water version of a bike. 🙂 I like adventurous type things so I was definitely up for it. After looking online, he chose Living Water Adventures and decided to rent a jet ski for two hours. The owner was very friendly and they worked out all the details for Friday, our last day there. After a brief explanation of how to use it, we hopped on and were on our way. Having launched in the public boat launch area, we took off and rode slowly around the lake. We went slowly at first to get used to it, and little by little we went a bit faster. We drove around the lake and by the family, who was in the water at the lake house, a few times. Joel wasn’t too thrilled, but I knew there was more to it… I had been a passenger and really wanted to try driving it. I dropped Joel off at our dock with the family and went off by myself.
I figured this may be the only time that I get to be on a jet ski, so I went faster. I got up to a higher speed and it was definitely more enjoyable. Joel could tell that I was having more fun, so he jumped on the back and I drove again. Even though I’ve never given him a reason to doubt me, as soon as I got to a faster speed he started reciting “The Lord’s Prayer” in a joking manner as though he was in danger from me going fast. LOL I figured if I fell off, it’s water (as opposed to pavement when on the motorcycle) so I could be a little more carefree. He still wasn’t feeling it, so after a few rounds of trying a higher speed by himself, we went back to the dock and he waited for our pick up… but I stayed out on the water. Knowing I didn’t have much time left and that we still had a full tank of gas, I really wanted to take it for a spin. I went to an open area where I could do figure 8s and make waves to have a little fun. That’s definitely where it’s at! If you’ve never been on a jet ski and get the chance to, make sure that you do something besides just long stretches of water. Do figure 8s or small circles, go faster than you think is right, and make it fun! After our time was up, I definitely felt like I would love to do that again! I could see a jet ski in our future 😉
I highly recommend the company that we rented from. Living Water Adventures is a mobile rental company so they brought the jet skis to us on our lake! They bring them to you within a 50 miles radius of Grand Rapids, at no extra charge! So whether you’re at Lake Michigan for one day or you’re renting a lake house for a whole week, they’ll definitely provide a fun experience for you! Next time we might even try the fly boarding. 🙂
Later that day, Elle and I made cookies for the whole family. We made two batches of delicious chocolate chip cookies! She really enjoys baking, so she had been wanting to make cookies for a few days. We learned that if you are short one egg in your cookie recipe, you can use half of a ripe banana (mashed) as a substitute. Everyone loved them! Don’t you just love the goofy face she’s making? She wouldn’t smile for any photo all week long… only crazy faces for her photos!
That evening we had a fun campfire with the family. Roasting hot dogs over a bonfire, playing cornhole, making hobo pies all while overlooking the peaceful, serene lake was a great way to end our vacation!
What’s your favorite thing to do on a relaxing family vacation??