While my family has been fishing the Betsie River for years, this was only our second time making the trip. It’s quickly become the boys’ favorite tradition.

Last year, we didn’t have much luck with the salmon, but this year was a different story. Ideally, we’d come a bit later in September when the run is stronger, but the school schedule makes that tricky. Thankfully, the weather was on our side this time and it sent some salmon running!

We left Maryland on a Thursday evening, stopping overnight at Fairfield Inn by Marritot in Sandusky, Ohio. The full trip is about 11 hours without traffic, and our plan was to get an early start Friday morning and roll into Benzonia around noon.

Everything was going smoothly until we hit heavy traffic near Lansing, Michigan. It turns out we weren’t the only family on the road that day. The sudden braking caused a chain-reaction accident, and we ended up getting rear-ended… along with about 15 other vehicles. Thankfully, the damage to our car was minimal, but it delayed us by nearly two hours.

The boys didn’t complain too much, though. Running behind schedule meant we made an unscheduled stop for their second fast food meal of the year (we only allow it twice annually)… so they were happy.

We finally arrived to Winding River Campground around 4 p.m. We said our hellos with quick hugs, grabbed a handful of snacks, and went straight into the river. It wasn’t long before dinner was ready…thank goodness, because Donald and I were still running on hotel breakfast and car snacks.

We had a really delicious meal of stuffed shells, caprese salad, and homemade bread. Not too shabby for a campsite dinner! My dad’s girlfriend makes some amazing meals. She had pre-made that one, along with little gift baskets for the boys filled with popcorn snacks, candy, binoculars, and a book of Michigan birds. We certainly appreciate her taking making the boys feel special.

After we stuffed our faces, we got right back to it! Didn’t take long before I got a bite. I hooked a couple fish last year, so I had some idea what I was doing… but I really wanted to land this one.

With a bunch of helpful advice being shouted from the shore, I managed to tire him out and get him in the net. Definitely not solo though… shoutout to our camper neighbor Nick for the assist! He’d just caught his first fish too, so it was a solid little celebration.

Also, every time his grandma yelled “Niki!” I always thought she was talking to me. 😂

I can’t even explain how good it felt to land that fish! Not just because I caught one, but because it happened so early! It seriously made the whole weekend way more enjoyable.

I hooked a few more fish after that, but wasn’t as lucky with landing them. Not gonna lie… that definitely got me a little fired up.

The bonus of catching one early meant that I could step back and give others more of a shot. It gave Charlie and Donald more time to jump in on the good spot and try their luck too. Adrien did some fishing too but for the most part he really enjoyed hunting for Petoskey stones and making leaf boats.

Last year we camped in a tent… nothing new for us… but this year we got to use a camper! Naturally, the boys were so excited about having bunk beds. They immediately turned them into little forts, of course. I was especially thankful for the camper… we all definitely slept better.

My favorite part of this now-annual trip is waking up in Northern Michigan. Stepping outside into that crisp, fall-like air and looking out over the beautiful river was everything. Honestly, my favorite part of any trip is sipping my coffee while taking in whatever view we have … and this one felt extra special.

I love Michigan so much… and Northern Michigan even more. The temps were perfect, the boys were happy, and we were surrounded by family who were just so thankful we were there with them. It felt really, really good.

The day, of course, was packed with more fishing. Which meant we said goodbye to many hooks, sinkers, lines… you name it. Hours were spent fixing the messes we were making. Pretty sure Adrien could just look at a fishing pole and it would tangle! 😅 Big shoutout to everyone for their patience.

Great Grammy treated the boys to ice cream from the truck that rolled through the campground which, as we all know, is a big deal for kids. Especially when they never see an ice cream truck at home. A well deserved treat after all their efforts!

It was a full day. We (and by “we,” I mean my dad 😆) filleted my fish. Lessons were learned… but honestly, the best part was riding on the back of the pickup truck. Nothing beats the joy on the boys faces.

My dad caught a fish that day too, and that really got Charlie fired up. He already knew the fish were in there… he just had to keep trying.

Some of our friends were up in the same area and stopped by to see us. It was just a quick visit, but I’m so glad we got to catch up. We don’t get to see our Michigan friends very often, so even a short hello was nice.

Meanwhile, Charlie was still waist deep in the water, basically refusing to come out until he caught one. And sure enough, while our friends were there, he finally hooked one! He fought hard but these fish are no joke. It takes real strength to keep them on. He did everything he could, but in the end… fishy got away.

He was blown away seeing that fish launch out of the water, so mad! 😂

Funny enough, our friends caught a fish later that night, a little further upstream, and of course we joked that it was Charlie’s fish they caught. Not really, but we’ll say it was!

On our final day we started off the way we always did, with coffee of course! and breakfast in Aunt Theresa and Uncle Matt’s McMansion of an RV. Adrien really loves animals and was so happy to be playing with the dogs!

It was our last chance to get Donald and Charlie a catch. Donald FINALLY hooked one and kept it on for quite a while but somehow it got free.

Benzonia is just about a 10-15 minute drive from Lake Michigan so I asked the boys if they wanted to go have lunch and see the lake. Adrien said yes and Charlie gave it a huge no, he still didn’t have a fish so he wasn’t going to go!

Michigan is just so beautiful! While I’ll always have a soft spot for Lake Huron, Lake Michigan is seriously stunning. Rolling hills of sand on one side, and endless blue water on the other… I really want to bring my family to Sleeping Bear Dunes, but that’s a trip for another time!

We visited the town of Frankfort and definitely had a bit of a struggle finding a place that could seat us right away for lunch. Smalltown charm… with a bit of a wait. 😅

We took a walk down to the lake and out to the Betsie Lighthouse. Adrien got to see the opening where the salmon were coming into the river. You could see the fish so clearly in the water too.

We were all quite hungry after and were able to find a place that could seat us. Turns out it was really good too! We ate at Dinghy’s Resturant & Bar. A nice lakeside vibe. Next time I wouldn’t mind trying Stormcloud Brewing.

I had high hopes that Charlie would pull off some kind of miracle while we were gone but that didn’t quite happen. I also started having mild anxiety about the traffic heading home. Our drive is 11 hours without traffic, and this was Labor Day weekend in northern Michigan. Just the thought of all the trailers, the limited passing zones, and construction filled highways was already stressing me out.

I checked the Marriott Bonvoy app to see which hotels were available, hoping we could at least get a few hours’ head start the next day.

We found a great spot in Brighton, MI…about three hours from Benzonia and decided to book it.

We had one last dinner (saying goodbye is always the worst part), and then hit the road that night. Thankfully, we avoided all the Up North traffic which was a huge relief. Even better, we didn’t hit any traffic the whole way back to Maryland. So glad we made the call to leave early. Plus the boys LOVE hotels but I’ll be honest, I’m pretty done with long road trips for a while. We’re definitely flying next year!

All in all, this year’s fishing trip was absolutely amazing. Our boys don’t have the typical big family setup. No cousins around the corner or big weekend gatherings. Most of the time, it’s just the four of us. And unlike kids who grow up in Michigan and spend weekends up north as a normal part of life, this kind of trip isn’t something they get to do often.

So to have this time surrounded by family, getting tons of attention, learning how to fish, and spending full days outside doing something totally different from our usual routine is really special.

These are the kinds of moments that stick. The kind that break up the everyday and remind us how much joy there is in slowing down and doing something simple, together. And with how fast they’re growing up, it means the world to give them experiences like this while we still can.

Already looking forward to next year because for us this wasn’t just a trip. It was something they’ll remember for a long time.

(Not pictured anywhere: my whole family. Oooops! The one mistake we made)

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram