Up North / Bob's Blog

Iceland was incredible. It's such a beautiful place and Steph and I were thrilled to be able to bring the boys to this remarkable country.

It was a little ironic though. We went to Iceland to visit the Arctic Circle, to climb on glaciers, and to hike snow-capped mountains. But in the end, we spent most of our time doing what we do in northern Michigan: swimming! We dunked ourselves in a few freezing glacial ponds, but mostly, we swam in the most inviting natural thermal rivers, lagoons, and pools.

Here are some of the photos of a great vacation.

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At 5:30am on Friday, May 30, Bob and his two boys put on their coats and headed out the door for school. That day was no ordinary day though - they planned to walk the 8 miles from their home in downtown Glen Arbor to Glen Lake school.

Spring, at last, is making its presence felt in the Republic. The days are noticeably longer and warmer, the snow has almost completely melted, and ice is gradually yielding to open water. Patches of grass are even turning green! There doubtless remain a few snowy days ahead, and we can never forget the risk of frost, but the weather has turned. The long, cold winter of 2014 is finally relenting. Spring is here. Yesterday was mild and gloriously sunny. With so much open water, I wanted to get out on the lake for a short paddle in a canoe. It's a great way to start the day, outside in the fresh, cool air under a gently warming sun, with the glassy water slipping past the canoe's hull. I swung by our offices to enlist some company for my paddle. Only one volunteered: Andrew, our digital marketing guy, is always up for an outing on the water. With the canoes loaded, we headed down to the water on Sleeping Bear Bay. The wind had changed overnight and jammed the bay with small ice bergs.

Thank you to everyone who shared their love stories with us. We had so many wonderful responses that it was impossible to narrow the list down to just 2 winners. Instead, we selected 3 winners and 4 runners-up, all of whom will receive a Cherry Valentine's prize.