As I was finalizing grades and cleaning up my classroom, my husband texted me that we were going to Ludington for the weekend to stay at our friend’s cottage. Our friend was all, “Hey, my cottage is open this weekend. Wanna stay at it?” And we were all, “We’re on our way!” I chronicled some of our stay on Instagram, but it deserves its own post. If you’ve been to the Michigan shoreline (especially in the summer), you know that it just can’t be beat. In my shark-fearing husband’s words, “It has all the beauty of the ocean without the death wish of being eaten by a shark.”
It was too beautiful to put all the pictures into one post, so I’ll break it up for ya. Today, we’ll tour the exterior. ‘Cause let’s face it–that’s the meat and potatoes of the place. I gasped when we pulled up. You can’t see in the picture, but the lake is viewable from here. The blue exterior? The orange door? I was sold.
And here’s the back. Windows everywhere. If it were up to me, windows would replace the back of every house. Just can’t have enough of them. And yes–we totally used that hammock. Loved it.
The view from the deck was just amazing. We had coffee on the loungers, and we talked about what a perfect start to our summer this truly was.
The fenced in platform on the left is actually where the house was when our friend bought it. It was on the verge of falling into the lake, so he moved it back. The power of erosion, eh? It was the perfect amount of space for the kids to run around and for them to practice baseball.
And then there’s this. We watched a gorgeous sunset, and we saw a cool storm come in. It’s like mother nature was saying, “Hey! Let me show you what I can do!” during our stay.
Of course, being up on a bluff had it’s disadvantages–256 of them to be exact.
It was quite a treck going up and down the stairs, but we limited our excursions to a couple a day. It wasn’t very hot yet, so we didn’t feel the need to jump in the ice-cold water just yet.
Skipping rocks and exploring the shoreline was our pastime.
And fires. We love a good summer fire. We had one on the bluff and one on the beach.
Quite the view, eh? 
I could go on and on (my photo library certainly says so!), but just know that it was a wonderful time with my family. If you haven’t visited the area, I highly recommend it! Next up? The inside of the cottage! I’ll be back.
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Looks like a great time. We lives in Algoma WI, 1 mile from the lake, that water never warmed up. Next week celebrating the in-laws 50th. Staying in a cabin on the WI river. They say we can tube but really I feel that the ice just melted.
We go to Lake Michigan two weeks out of the summer every summer. Can.not.wait to get there. I have to wait until the end of July this year. Not soon enough! So true, Lake Michigan in summer cannot be beat! It’s absolutely stunning. Look forward to the indoor shots.
Gorgeous! I absolutely love that area. Can’t wait to see pics of the inside! 🙂
Love Lake Michigan! There are so many great, quaint little areas to explore too!
Wow, what a spectacular view. Love it. Great pictures. Hugs, Marty
Looks like a beautiful place! Breathtaking!
Wow! What a dream! I live in Ohio and I have never been to the Michigan shoreline. It looks amazing! I think we might have to take a vacation up north!
WOW! We certainly can’t beat that here in TX. It’s already in the upper 90s and the water temp is probably at least in the mid 80s. I’d love to get up north sometime in the near future to experience what y’all have. We’ll just be going to Houston to see our son this weekend, then on to Galveston for Father’s Day. Houston is only about 3 hrs away from Austin where we live.
Beautiful. Isn’t Ludington where you can take a ferry over from Wisconsin?
I want to live there. 🙂
Me too! Until December. 🙂
breathtaking! Beyond that, I’m speechless 😉
I’m in NC and grew up going to beaches here. BUT – I visited one of the great lakes for the first time two years ago during a trip to Milwaukee. We were there in June and it.was.amazing! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! My hubby is from Wisconsin so we did lots of exploring of different parts of the lake. We’re going back for a week soon and I can’t wait! Fell in love with Chicago too! Your friend’s cottage is to die for and it’s so sweet of her to offer it to you.
I happen to live in Ludington, and it’s a beautiful place, and very busy right now, Macker weekend, last week was the Lakestride. We live close to the state park, another beautiful place to see.
You’re a lucky lady, Linda! Such a beautiful area. I know all about Macker, so I can imagine how busy it is right now. Hope it slows down for you soon! Thanks for stopping by!
Those pictures are making me homesick! We rented a cottage in Ludington about 10 years ago.
There were Adirondack chairs on the deck above the stairs that led down to the beach. I’d sit out there in the morning with a cup of tea and watch the Badger sail in to Ludington. My favorite vacation ever.
We’ve been thinking of traveling to one of the beaches in Michigan. Was the water warm enough to swim?
Oh my word….this place looks like heaven….that would be my ideal Summer , but living in the UK it’s not really going to happen anytime soon….Thanks for sharing.x
I don’t know, Janette. Living in the UK sounds pretty darn awesome to me!!
Love it! How lucky you are to have friends that have such a beautiful cottage on the lake and invited you to stay there. I live in the Chicago suburbs and have also been to Michigan lots of times, so I’m very familar with Lake Michigan. 🙂
Gorgeous and not far from our home here in Pentwater. Heaven on earth.
Your pictures are beautiful! I am from Michigan and northern MI is so beautiful. I just started my own blog and have really enjoyed reading your blog.
Chris, that is stunning!! I actually wondering if that was our old house that has been redone. We lived on lakeshore drive on the bluff. My parents had to move the house back when we were young and it looks just like it! We sold it to consumers when we moved to the middle of the state and it went to pieces. Glad u had a good time either way, lake michigan is the best! If that is the house..what a coincidence! Love your blog!
Wouldn’t that be weird? The only thing I know is that our friend moved it back a couple of years ago. Maybe it’s been moved back more than once? Not sure, but small world indeed!