We could’ve stayed up in northern Michigan for another month or two, but we had obligations further south which meant that our time “up north” had come to an end. Our first “oblo” was Sam’s friend Nina’s wedding in the Cleveland/Akron metro. However, that drive was quite a bit longer than we were willing to do in a day, so we decided to split it in two and stop over in the Detroit area (Holly, to be precise) for a few days on our way down to Ohio.
Getting down to Holly was a long, boring drive… at least until we got into the vicinity of Detroit. All of a sudden, the roads turned to crap and the other drivers started driving like maniacs, but luckily, we managed to survive those last 30 minutes and made it safely to our destination – the Groveland Oaks County Park.
We were quite impressed with this campground, which just so happened to be managed by one of Sam’s long-time family friends, Julee (pictured below in her Christmas in July getup). Not only was this massive campground well taken care of, but all the amenities were top notch – from the newly installed electrical pedestals, to the squeaky clean bathrooms, to the super cool “yurt island” that the campground rented out for glamping.
Another reason that we wanted to stop by the area was so Sam could join her best friend, Samme, at her wedding dress fitting! (Tune in after the Cleveland blog, when we make our way up to Detroit for Samme’s wedding in a few weeks).
Of course, no stop along our “Social Summer Tour” would be complete without a get-together or two (or three) of some sort. One of these many gatherings was when Samme and Julee, in addition to Sam’s sister, Jessica along with her boyfriend Paul, were all gracious enough to stop by the camper for a nice little cookout one evening during the week. In addition to laughs and smiles, the meal also featured pulled chicken tacos (made in the instant pot, of course) which were followed up by s’mores made with the biggest marshmallows we’ve ever seen (courtesy of Julee)!
After hosting Jess and Paul at our place, they were nice enough to return the favor later that week when we got to see Jess’s new apartment for happy hour before going out for a nice dinner in downtown Royal Oak!
Our last major activity in the area was a trip into nearby Oxford, where Sam and her sisters grew up! I had always heard Sam talk about these places, but it was nice to finally get a visual of all these formative places of her youth – her childhood home, her school, downtown Oxford, and even Frosty Boy, where we stopped to grab some ice cream before making our way back to the trailer!
After a jam-packed five days in the area, we had to get going if we wanted to make it to Cleveland in time for Nina’s wedding. But lucky for you, we’ll have plenty more Detroit-area content in the blog following that one when we retrace our steps and head back this way for Samme and Jeff’s wedding in a couple of weeks!
(What can we say, we just love traveling through dirty, pothole-ridden Toledo that much!)