I have been on my fair share of overnight flights in my lifetime. Flying to Europe and also coming back on red eyes from the west coast, etc. To me, Europe is the easiest because of how long the flight is. Red eyes suck. Since I just came back from LA on a red eye, I wanted to share with you some tips on surviving an overnight flight.

Drink Lots of Water

Skimping on water can cause a lot of issues including fatigue, headaches and irritated skin. These side affects also don’t help with all the re-circulated air. Try to drink at least 1-2 cups of water for every hour you are in flight. The more you are hydrated, the less of the jet-lagged feeling you’ll have. Yes drinking all this water may have you getting up to go to the bathroom but that comes to my next tip.

Move

Staying seated for long period of times can cause so many health issues like blood clots. It’s so important to get up and move around every couple of hours. Feel free to do a couple of stretches like neck rolls and some calf stresses.

Moisturize

The air in the airplane sucks out all of the moisture in our skin. Go ahead and do a sheet mask and then continue with your skincare routine to prevent your skin from drying completely out.

Sanitize

We already know that the air is circulated, moving around all sorts of germs and bacteria. Bring hand sanitizer, face wipes to take off your makeup. Make sure to wipe down your seat and the tray as you get settled.

Eat Light

Eat as little as possible, but make sure to listen to your body. Go for lighter options like fruits, veggies and some sort of protein. Skip on starches to a minimum. When you arrive, take note to the local time. If it’s late afternoon, try to wait until dinner time eat.

I hope you found these tips helpful. What are some things you do to survive an overnight flight?

With me leaving for Fashion Week today, I thought it was a good time to talk about what not to wear on a plane. I feel like people watching at the airport is just as entertaining as people watching at Walmart. Granted I do not shop at Walmart, and only see the pictures online. Some of the things people wear are very questionable.

What Not To Wear On A Plane

Synthetic Fabrics

Especially on long flights, the temperature can fluctuate constantly. When it comes to synthetic fabrics, they aren’t very breathable. They can also leave you itchy and scratchy. Natural materials such as linen, cotton, silk and even cashmere are very breathable and can help regulate your temperature.

Too Tight, Constricting Clothes

Anything that is tight on you will become even more constricting as you swell during the flight. You want to be able to keep the blood flowing, especially in your legs and if something is tight it could cause blood clots. Wear something that is more loose fitting.

Not Enough Layers

This goes with the synthetic fabrics. You want to make sure you are dressed in layers. So many people don’t dress properly when going on their flight. Crop tops and shorts do not cut it! Airplanes are always cold. You can always take off layers but if you don’t have anything to put on, you’ll freeze your entire flight! If you have to, pack a new outfit to change into in your carry on for when you reach your destination. A cashmere wrap is always a good idea. Audrey Hepburn never traveled without hers.

Lounge Wear

Maybe it’s just me and possibly the French, but lounge wear should be left at home. Baggy sweatpants, and huge sweatshirt, walking around in socks or barefoot (eww) is just no. Don’t do it. People used to get so dressed up for flights and now lots of people are just sloppy. Leggings aren’t even okay, and they go with the constricting clothing!

What to Wear

Remember you want to feel comfortable and chic! Always bring something to cover up in. Find clothes with a bit of room or stretch in them so you can move around. These crop pants from J.Crew are perfect for traveling and they have an elastic waistband and you can’t even tell!! Remember, you can always change when you get to your destination!

BTW, 30 Hours in Traverse City

A couple weeks ago, my friend Marina, younger cousin, Stephanie and I went to Traverse City for one night. We were there for about 30 hours total. This was the first time Marina had ever been to Traverse City (which is blasphemy for someone who grew up in Michigan), so we let her pick everything we did!

For those of you who don’t know anything about Traverse City, I’ll share with you a bit of info! It is located in Northern Michigan on the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. The city is known for its cherries and cherry wine! Traverse City is basically Michigan’s version of Sonoma County. There are so many amazing wineries that you can go to in the area! It’s also a great spot for families as well!

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

We arrived in town around noon on Sunday and went straight to the Commons. The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is situated just outside of the downtown area. Maybe a 5 minute drive. It is basically shops and restaurants in what used to be an insane asylum. From the last time I was there, a lot more stores and restaurants have been added! I remember that they had empty rooms with the bars on the doors like a jail cell. That was years ago though. Most of the stores still have the original doors though! The upper floors have recently been made into residential apartments and condos. I wouldn’t want to live there! I’d be afraid that it’s haunted.

Higher Grounds Trading Company

This coffee shop is situated on the ground of the Commons but not in the actual building. They have no plastic or styrofoam cups. If you want a coffee to go, they give you an actual mug that you can keep or return. You can see to mugs on the wall in the picture below.

Marina and I both got the Marigold Latte made with oat milk. It’s essentially an orange vanilla bean iced latte. It was delicious. I’m thinking about it right now as I write this! We actually went back on Monday because I wanted to try their Lazy Lavender and Marina wanted to buy a cup. Unfortunately, they were making the lavender syrup when we got there and it wouldn’t have been ready for another 30 minutes.

Downtown

After we left the Commons, we decided to head downtown to walk around and get a late lunch. As we were driving we noticed that the power was out on the traffic lights. It was strange because it was sunny out. We drove around looking for places to eat and park. Parking is free on the weekends FYI!!

We decided to go to Taproot for lunch, but since the power was out, they were only serving drinks but took my name and number for when the power came back on. We walked around for a bit but most stores could only take cash because of the power outage. It eventually did start pouring but luckily we just stayed in a store! When the power came back on, we ran back to Taproot because it was still raining, but luckily not pouring.

Taproot

The first time I ate at Taproot was last year when we were in TC for this Metro Detroit Weddings shoot. I loved that they use local, products and their meat is humanely raised. This restaurant is also perfect for vegans and vegetarians. There are lots of options! They also have a lot of really good hard ciders!!

Last year, I got their noodle bowl which changes daily, but this time I got their grilled cheese. OMG it was delicious! It had apricot preserves, with apples and humanely raised bacon. If you personally know me, I only eat humanely raised meats. So a lot of the times, when I’m out or someplace where they need to know my dietary restrictions, I say vegetarian/pescatarian. If there is an opportunity for me to eat the meat, I will do it!

After lunch, we walked around downtown some more and went into a bunch of really cute shops! And since we are in wine country, we decided to stop into Cherry Republic for some wine tasting!

Cherry Republic

What I love about Cherry Republic is that it’s a very family friendly winery. Besides wine, you can also try some of their delicious pops! My favourite pop is their Cherry Root Beer! They also have samples of food. I probably took too many samples of their dark chocolate covered cherries. Oops! I couldn’t help myself!

You can try up to 5 complimentary wine/pop samples for free. Or you can pay and get full size samples. We opted for the free ones. My favourite has always been their Cherry Moscato. Since my cousin Stephanie is only 16, she sampled their pops and really enjoyed them!

After walking around downtown, we decided to head to our hotel to get some beach time in! By now it is about 4 Pm!

Sugar Beach Resort

I would like to thank Sugar Beach Resort Hotel for our complimentary stay. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

We arrived at our hotel, Sugar Beach Resort Hotel just before 4:30. The Grand Traverse Bay is split up into two bays by Mission Point. Downtown is located on the West Bay and our hotel is on the East Bay. We had a lovely lake view room that had one king and one queen bed! Perfect for families or even a girls trip just like ours! The entire room and hotel definitely has the beach town vibe to it. Don’t you just love the little sea turtle towel on our bed in the picture below! So cute. That takes some talent to make.

I honestly cannot get over our view from our room! I would just go out and sit and just stare at Lake Michigan. Wish I had a view like that to look at every day. The water is just gorgeous! I mean just look at that view!

The Breakfast Room

Even the breakfast room had a gorgeous view! If you saw my stories from my trip, you saw us enjoying our breakfast out on the balcony.

Game Room and Workout Room

As I mentioned before, this hotel is also very family friendly! They have a game room that brought back so many childhood memories. It was empty when I was in there since I’m pretty sure all the kids were out at the beach! It was a gorgeous day after the rain! There is also a workout room! I brought my gym clothes with all the intention to work out, but that didn’t happen!

The Lobby

The Beach

After we had checked in and got situated, we wanted to go and spend some time down at the beach. I love that our hotel as its own private beach!

We settled into some lounge chairs and just relaxed! It was so wonderful! I did go stand in the water for a bit and I was amazed at how warm it was for Lake Michigan! I’m assuming it’s because it’s in a bay and the water is more protected! I love how calm the water was! It was definitely not that calm on the West Bay!

Sugar Beach also offers rentals on parasails, jet skis, paddle boards and boats! If we had more time up in Traverse City, I would’ve loved to have rented a jet ski or boat and maybe even try paddle boarding!! Not sure about parasailing! I’m still a bit nervous about that!

Fun Fact: The hotel is called Sugar Beach because the sand is almost like sugar! One of the employees told me that!

Pool and Hot Tub

Besides, there amazing beach, Sugar Beach Resort has an indoor heated pool and hot tub! Our plan was to go swimming in it after we got back from dinner. But as you read on you’ll see find out that it didn’t end up happening! The pool looks amazing though! I was tempted to jump in with my clothes on after I shot these pictures!

The pool and hot tub are perfect if it’s raining and can’t enjoy the beach. Or if it’s dark out and the beach is closed!

After laying down at the beach for about an hour, we went back up into our room to change for dinner. By the time we left back for downtown, it was about 7pm.

We actually went to 3 restaurants before we decided to walk to North Peak which we passed on our way back from the Commons. The restaurants that we had a gone to had a lot of meat and not a lot of vegetarian options.

North Peak Brewery

I wish I had a picture of North Peak! It’s technically a brewery but they have a restaurant outside. Marina and I shared the special. It was some type of cajun perch, with chili polenta and corn salsa of some sort. OMG it was delicious!! There was so much food! Even with us splitting it, we didn’t even finish it. They were a bit on the pricy side but our food was so worth it!

Actually, as we were walking to North Peak, we had passed a place called Teetotaler. At first we thought it was a tee shirt place but after Marina looked it up, it turns out it is a speakeasy! So after dinner we decided to go!

Teetotaler

Please keep in mind that these pictures were taken on my phone and it was super dark inside so I don’t have the best pictures. Stephanie was actually not allowed in the actual bar, but she was able to stay in the front room which is actually a tea shop!

I cannot remember the name of the drink  ordered but it had hibiscus in it! I do wish I ordered a sweeter drink, but it wasn’t bad. The entire experience was so cool. Stephanie said we have to come back when she s 21 so she can go in!

This is the door to the actual bar!!

Sunrise

We didn’t get to bed until after 11:30 and we missed the sunset the night before, so I decided to get up to watch sunrise! Don’t worry, I went back to sleep afterwards. I had set my alarm for 6:15 for the 6:26 sunrise. I happened to wake up around 6 and I noticed how pretty the sky was so I decided to wake up then! We had slept with our sliding glass door open and it was wonderful!

I loved that I could just sit out on our balcony and watch the sun rise! I was still in my pjs and the air felt wonderful!

Look how gorgeous the sky is! I’m loving all the pinks and purples!

After going back to sleep for a couple more hours, we got up and went to get some breakfast! Their continential breakfast was really nice! I had some fruit and I made myself an egg sandwich out of two hardboiled eggs and an english muffin.

While we were eating out on the balcony, I noticed that they were racking the sand with a John Deer and I thought this was a good time to get some more pictures of the beach when the sand was all nice!

After breakfast, we actually sat in the room for the bit, just enjoying are view before we had to check out! We checked out and then started the day by getting some coffee!

Mundos Roasting & Co.

Mundos Roasting & Co. is located outside of downtown. I absolutely love the location! It’s so bright and airy! I ordered a cinnamon honey iced latte made with oat milk! I’m really liking oat milk!If you’re not sure what to get, the employees are super helpful! It was an employee who told me she really loves the cinnamon honey latte!  I was planning on trying an açai latte but they were all out! Marina got a turmeric latte and I took a sip and it was pretty good! If I ever go back, I might get an iced one!

Since this coffee shop is not downtown, I think it’s a great way to see more of Traverse City! Plus the decor is GOALS!

After getting coffee and Mundos, we headed back downtown to check out the stores that were closed because of the power outage! Today we had to pay for parking but if you have the Park Mobile app, it makes it so much easier!

Pattiserie Amie

As we were driving from Mundos to downtown, we had passed this really cute French restaurant! We talked about going to some treats or even lunch after downtown! We had decided to leave our car parked and walk there! Well we definitely walked way out of our way! I don’t even know how it happened because walking back to the car, it was literally a 5 minute walk while on the way there took at least 20!

Pattiserie Amie is a bakery and cafe serving French food and treats! They are only open for breakfast and lunch and close at 2! We walked in at 1:30 and they almost didn’t serve us!

I ordered the Pan Bagna and as you can see in the picture there is a lot of food! I ate the salad and part of my sandwich and saved the other part for later! It was delicious! The bread was so fresh and the tuna and the provence vegetables on it tasted so good!

I also ordered a coco miel and a lemon macaron! I actually ate part of my coco miel before my sandwich arrived! Oops! Life is short, eat dessert first!

Definitely got to make sure I got back here next time I’m in Traverse City! I haven’t had French food this good since my trip to Paris!

After lunch, we walked back to the car and planned to get more coffee from Higher Ground. But if you remember from what I said above, they were out of lavender syrup and the drink Marina wanted they didn’t have. We decided to stop for coffee on the way to Sleeping Bear Dunes! I’m not even going to talk about the coffee place we stopped at in Glen Arbor because my drink was disgusting and I don’t think the teenagers working even cared!

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Sleeping Bear Dunes is technically not Traverse City, but when you think of Traverse City, you think of the dunes. It is actually the Glen Arbor/Empire/Glen Haven area.

The legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes is about a mother bear and her two cubs from Wisconsin trying to get away from a forest fire and ending up swimming in Lake Michigan. They swam for hows and the cubs started to lag. The mom made it to shore and laid down on the hill to watch her cubs. The cubs became too tired and drowned with the shore insight. The Manitou Islands were then created where the cubs drowned and then the dune created is the mother bear. The story is so sad!

I’ve been to the dunes many times and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to Lake Michigan! I might have when I was younger but I honestly can’t remember. We arrived at the National Park around 5 PM( the time we actually wanted to get on the road to head home.) The admittance fee is $20 for your car. But it is good for 7 days and can be used at all the national parks.

I started to climb up the dunes in my tennis shoes, but let me tell you, going barefoot is so much easier! Climbing up the first stretch takes about 10 minutes! It’s a lot steeper than it looks. We walked, I mean climbed the dunes for over an hour. Marina just wanted to be able to see Lake Michigan, not actually go to it! It’s about 3 dunes until you can actually see the lake at all, but let me tell you, you are still no where near it! We did climb the 4th dune to see if the view as any better. It might be a little bit, but if you’re not planning on going to the lake, it’s probably not worth it.

We had climbed the dunes for about an hour and it was finally time to head the 4 hours back home! Even though it was a short trip, it still was an amazing time!

Whelp, this is probably the longest blog post I’ve ever written! I really hope you enjoyed it! Thank you again to Sugar Beach Resort Hotel for hosting us!

Have you ever been to Traverse City? If not, do you now want to go?

BTW, Drummond and Les Cheneaux Islands and Road Trip Essentials

Road trips are the epitome of summer. Theres just something about throwing everything in the car and going on an adventure. Even though the destination is where you are going, doesn’t mean the journey has to be boring. It could be epic. Here are some road trip essentials to make your journey one of the best parts!

Comfy Outfit

We all want to be wearing a cute outfit incase come photo ops come up, but you also want to be comfy for sitting in the car for hours on end. And accessories can easily be thrown on! Opt for flowy pants/skirts or a pair of boyfriend jeans with a tee.

Playlist

No road trip is complete without an amazing playlist. Songs that are perfect for summer and you can all sing along to. And that can keep you awake at night!

A Plan

Road trips can be spontaneous but you still need an idea of where you are going and what you are going to do. Look at all the restaurants, hotels and attractions along the way. Also bring a map because you never know when you won’t have cell service.

Snacks

You never know when you’ll be able to stop for food so having snacks is a must! If you are trying to eat healthy, you can cut up fruit and vegetables and keep it in a cooler. There are also protein bars, nuts and other things you can bring.

Entertainment

Sometimes music isn’t enough and you need to keep yourselves entertained. Audiobooks and podcasts are great. You can also play the license plate game or other car games we used to play growing up.

Beauty Essentials

A shower may not always be an option, so dry shampoo, facials mists and perfume will help you get through the long days on the road. If you want, you can even do a sheet mask while in the car since it doesn’t make a mess and your face will feel refreshed afterwards!

What are your road trip essentials?

BTW, Drummond and Les Cheneaux Islands

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Over the 4th of July holiday week, my family and I, including all 3 dogs, went up to the Upper Pennisula (UP) to visit Drummond and Les Cheneaux Islands. I had actually never heard of the Les Cheneaux up until recently. Jodie happened to see a billboard while driving and looked them up and sent me a link saying we should go. Then I happened to see a billboard while driving as well.

While we were up there, my dad wanted to go to Drummond Island as well since he’s never been. It’s about a 20 minute drive east from Cedarville to De Tour where you get the ferry.

Drummond Island

Drummond Island is located in Lake Huron. You take a ferry over like Mackinac Island. Unlike Mackinac Island, you can take your car over (No cars are allowed on Mackinac Island). The ferry is also a lot cheaper than Mackinac. The 4 of us and the car was $10 roundtrip! Fun Fact: The founder on Domino’s has a house on the Island. It is also the second largest fresh water island in the United States.

There are 13 ecosystems on the island as well, including 6 forests, 5 swamps/marshes, inland lakes, rivers and cobble beaches. Drummond Island also has alvars which happens to be the largest remaining high quality alvars in North America. I don’t have any pictures of the the alvars but it was pretty cool.

All of these pictures above are from a bay that the dogs and I (Only Reika and Reidar, not Bridgette) went swimming in. Granted Reidar went swimming the most out of the 3 of us. I just went to about my thighs/hips. The water was so warm for a Great Lake. Look how crystal clear the water is!!

When you go to Drummond Island, you will be doing a lot of driving. Everything is so spread out. I think we actually spent most of the time in the car. Jodie was also sick so I think that had something to do with it. The signs aren’t very good, so you really need to pay attention. We spent about an hour trying find Glen Cove to go swimming before we gave up and came back to this beach.

Parts of the island are private property so even though you may see roads that lead to a location on a map does not mean you will actually be able to see the location when you get there.

I would love to go back in the fall and stay at one of the many resorts on the island!

Food

We only had one meal there at Pins. I got a delicious Perch Po Boy. How could I not get fresh fish while I’m up north. It was so good. They also had homemade chips.

We also stopped for coffee at I think is the only place that has it, and our frozen drinks were disgusting. I thought it tasted old. Reidar happened to spill mine and I’m glad I didn’t have to finish it. There is also an ice cream place and it wasn’t very good. Maybe I’ve been spoiled with high quality ice cream and custard my entire life!

Les Cheneaux Islands

The Les Cheneaux Islands are 36 islands nestled off the coast of the UP 18 miles east of Mackinac Island. The islands are close together that they create calm channels and bays unlike the rest of Lake Huron. Most of the islands are uninhabited, but there summer home on some of them. Some are also year round home too but not very many.

The only way to get to these islands are by private boats or kayaks. 2 of the islands are actually connected to the mainland and you can drive to, Hills Island and Island No. 8. I really like Island No. 8.

Where to Stay

The Les Cheneaux tourist website is so helpful when it comes to places to stay in Cedarville (On the mainland). You have so many options to choose from whether it’s a hotel, cottage, camping, etc. They also have a pet friendly key which was very handy for us! By the time we booked, we didn’t have very many options to choose from and that allowed 3 dogs.

But we stayed at the Islands Inn Motel. It’s basically in downtown Cedarville and 2 blocks from the water. It was a very simple, basic place and the owners are very nice.

Places to Eat

Snows Bar and Grille

The place we ate at on the first night! My original plan was to get fish but when I saw they had a bison burger made from local, grass-fed bison I got it. Jodie got a veggie burger that was homemade and delicious.

Ang-Gio’s

We went here for the salad bar for dinner after a late lunch at Pins on Drummond Island. I was the only one just to get the salad bar but it was good. The bites of pasta I had from my sister’s and mom’s plates were good too!

Cattails Cove

Not a lot of vegetarian options but they can make salads vegetarian. The fried pickles were delicious. And they had bluegills, which I got! I haven’t had bluegills in ages since my DziaDzia stopped fishing and that was years before he died too! They were so good!!

Les Cheneaux Coffee Roasters

I wish I had known about this place sooner. Our kayaking tour guide, Stephanie, told us about this place, so we didn’t go until the last day. We tried to go after kayaking but they had just closed. I got an iced mocha made with almond milk. It was delicious.

Kayaking

Like I said above, the only way to view the islands is by kayak or private boats. There is a boat tour thats $100 an hour per person. My dad did try to call but they never called back but we ended up kayaking which we wanted to do anyways.

Woods and Water Ecotours

We opted for the full day instead of the half day which includes lunch and is only 2 hours longer than the half day. Plus for the full day you do get to get out of the boat and walk around on one of the islands. There also isn’t much of a difference in price between the half and full day. My dad paid, but I think he said it’s about $100 per person.

Our tour guide, Stephanie, was super nice and very informative. Her family happens to own a cottage on Marquette Island (The biggest of the islands). Our tour basically took us across one of the channels to Duck Bay where we got off on Marquette Island to walk around and eat lunch. We the then got back in your Kayaks and headed down one of the channels where we could look at the houses.

I really wish I took pictures while kayaking but my camera was in a dry bag in one of the compartments. If Reika wasn’t in the kayak with me, I would’ve kept it in the kayak with me.

One of the islands, Dollar Island, is big enough for literally just one house. It is very eclectic looking. Lucky for you my mom pulled out her phone and took pictures of the house!

If you do ever happen to go to Les Cheneaux Islands, I highly recommend you go kayaking to see all the different islands plus it was fun!

The Les Cheneaux Islands are definitely a hidden gem in Michigan and I would love to go back. I think owning or renting a house on one of the islands would be amazing as well!

Have you ever been to Drummond or Les Cheneaux Islands?

BTW, Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Don’t forget that I am a brand ambassador for ETA Travel and I have $250 for you to redeem for a travel!!