Camping at Channel Park

Over Labor Day weekend we camped at Channel Park with Cory's parents and his sister and family. We arrived and set up in the pouring rain, but thankfully that quit in the late afternoon so we could eat outside and head down the road to Lake Michigan to enjoy the waves. The kids had an absolute riot swimming, jumping and playing in the waves together. Matthew wanted no part of the waves so we roamed the deserted beach instead. Friday the weather took a turn, and unfortunately not for the better. With the drop in temps, wind (gusts around 45 mph) and rain here and there the kids played inside trailers most of the day. We did run out to the channel to watch the Lake Express ferry travel from Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan which Joshua loved as he could see all the cars loaded on the ferry as it went by. After much debate about whether to go out to eat or find something that night we stuck it out at the campground and shoved all 11 of us into Paul and Toni's trailer for dinner - which really worked surprisingly well! We did drive down to Lake Michigan just to see the effects the high winds were having on the lake, but then it was back to the trailers for the rest of the evening. We made the best of it by putting on a movie for the kids which they were all for. Joshua and his cousin Allison even got to have a sleepover at Grandma's trailer which made those two kiddos quite giddy! The winds slowly died down over the course of the day Saturday and the sun finally revealed itself so we were able to take lots of walks and have the kids play outside more. There was a lot of dune climbing and running down which we all enjoyed too, even Mazie (Shawn and Erin's new dog who happens to be quite the speedy little creature)! Since Grandpa and Grandma had their boat at the campground Shawn thought the kids should at least enjoy a boat ride if nothing else. We bundled them up in their sweatshirts, jeans and life jackets and they got the royal treatment of being carried to and from the boat by parents. Joshua had fun yet bumpy ride with the wet clothes to prove it! Of course by Sunday the weather cleared just in time for us to pack up and head back home. Even though the weather wasn't ideal we had a fantastic time and made lots of fun memories together! Enjoy the summary of our trip via the video below.

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