End of Summer Brewcation 2012

I love to "start" and "end" summer with little trips. It can be something short and sweet like visiting family, or camping. There is something about the changing of seasons... it always inspires travel in my bones. This fall we found ourselves coming back to thoughts of breweries, tents, hikes, and lake shores...

We've just returned from taking a long weekend camping trip - after 4 days, 2 campsites and 8 breweries (1 official brew house tour) we had completed my goal of a 2012 "brewcation".

Friday morning started our short roadtrip up to Michigan. We stopped along the way for antique stores and a brewery that had not been part of our original afternoon plan! It was the perfect stop for lunch on our way (thanks flexibility and Mad Anthony Brewing Company)!

We went on this little getaway with two great friends who also have a taste for good brew and beautiful scenery. These interests were what led us to choosing to camp near Lake Michigan.

After crossing into MI we hit up Arcadia Ales, Bell's, and Paw Paw Brewing, before we even landed in our campsite on Friday night. On Saturday we started out with a morning walk on the lake shore, and an awesome breakfast. 

That afternoon we had a ton of fun on the official brewery tour of New Holland Brewing's brew house and shopping at Holland's farmer's market! Our brewery stops that afternoon and evening were: New Holland Brew Pub, HopCat, and Founders. We had two rainy evenings while camping in Michigan, which wasn't the worst thing ever, but it did cut into our campfire time!

We saved Sunday for camping and hiking in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (and a quick taste test of nearby Shoreline Brewery). It was a very lovely national park (which surrounds a state park) and the only night we encountered zero rain! On the way to Indiana we stopped at Luisa's Cafe which was the home of the most lovely little Swedish bakery. Don't even get me started on their cherry jam.

Monday was for traveling back to Ohio, so one more cute bakery stop and we were ready for home!

Can't wait to share more about the breweries and great craft beer we enjoyed (responsibly as we always designate a driver) in Michigan's Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and also Indiana's Auburn and Michigan City!