Updates and a busy year ahead of me

Ok, so as with everyone of my other posts I will start out by saying that I have not updated in a while. Got that out of the way. Since the pre-4th of July post I have been on many adventures, and picked up a new hobby or two and taken some adventurous trips!

So to start out:

4th of July: We took the first, of what is to hopefully become an annual event, hike along the shore from Onekama to Arcadia.

It was a looong nine miles, and we braved a mini rainstorm but the things taken from the trip were well worth it.

The journey started out by finding an infinity shaped clump of seaweed which was a symbol that nature is everything. Further down the beach we came upon a true rarity, the remains of a sturgeon. This was quite possibly one of the coolest thing that I have ever seen in my whole life, due to their near extinction sturgeon sightings are definitely unique. It's a shame that this one was dead.

Nearing the end of our trip we feared that we would only leave with pictures and blisters, however much more was in store. Beneath the Arcadia Bluffs we happened upon two huge Petoskey Stones while searching for golf balls.

-one of the two large Stones we found

Following the Onekama-Arcadia trek I showed Chels the joy of kayaking on several short excursions in Portage Lake. During one of the trips we found ourselves in the middle of a sailboat race. Below are a few shots from our trip.

The fall brought a few hikes and trips home, but nothing too adventurous as I was studying for the LSAT and trying to get things in order for the upcoming year. However we did get the chance to walk around some family property and snap a couple shots of the beautiful fall color before it was blanketed by snow.

Finally with the LSAT behind me we celebrated a wonderful Christmas in the company of our great families. In fact, this could possibly have been the best I have ever had. Chels got me a Wii, which we have made good use of in the cold months, my grandparents got me a handgun and Chels's mom gave me money that I used to fuel our new favorite wintertime hobby; snowshoeing!

Talk about a healthy addiction, if you have never tried this relaxing sport you need to strap a pair of them on and go explore the places that are usually unreachable in the winter. Great investment.

With the passing of winter and spring upon us my brother and I decided to make good use of a decent day during our spring break and take to the Manistee River.

The trip took much longer than originally planned, you see we thought that it was 5-8 miles when in fact it turned out to be more like 22 miles and took about 6 hours. However it was a great trip, the ice cold river was refreshing. Found a few rapalas, fished a while and endured on and off sprinkles.

All in all it was a good trip.

This brings you up to date with the major outings of the past year.

For the future, I will be graduating from FSU in a few weeks, and going to law school in January. At first I was a little put off by the later start, but I now see the time off as much needed, and a chance to breath. Chels and I will also be using the time off to take as many adventures as we can. Some ideas include: Manistee River Trail Hike, as many kayaking trips as possible, multi-day camping in the UP and a trek to the East Coast around D.C. If you have any other ideas for us to try out I am happy to hear of them, preferably in the Northern Michigan area.

That is all for now, hopefully I will post frequently more on here, but time will tell. We also plan on beginning to review products as well under HopeThisWorks Productions, with links for the best places to find gear that we trust.

Take care, and remember that some of the bes adventures are not half way around the world, they are right in your backyard.

-j