678 miles, 10 family members, 6 more oysters, 2 great lakes, 2 major cities, 2 states, 2 countries, 1 Province, 1 BIRTHDAY, 1 state park, 1 more city that hosted a Winter Olympics, and we were $321 UNDER budget.
How do you fall in love with the week you just had ~ some of which you can barely remember?! You look back at pictures, talk about the meals you had and the things you did, then write a blog post about it.
We had a crazy awesome time in Chicago for my birthday, but mostly it was crazy awesome because of the people we spent it with. I posted about our activities in Chicago and don’t want to be redundant so if you’d like to read that post you can click here.
You would think after Chicago we’d be full up on our family time, but our cousins Mary Lynne and Gary in Midland, MI said “You have to come stay” ~ so we did.
I hadn’t seen Mary Lynn since the Miller family reunion in Estes Park around 2013. When I told her we were coming through there was no hesitation on her part. Mary always intimidated me as one of the “older” cousins we grew up with in Western Kansas. Her mother was a schoolteacher with my grandmother ~ both of them strong, amazing women. Mary definitely reminds me of those two. Her keen sense of humour backed with insightful observations make her an interesting conversationalist about almost any subject. As a retired chemist for Dow Chemical Gary can hold his own in any conversation. I think I’ve never actually talked to him for very long and it was great to get to know him better. I love the way he shows his love for Mary Lynne by helping with the little things. They make a good pair & I hope they realize how much we enjoyed being with them.
Midland, MI is a beautiful town with an crazy good farmer’s market. Peaches, shishito peppers, fresh tomatoes that I’ve been craving, the best corn on the cob I’ve had this whole summer……so yummy! The Dow Gardens are especially cool as well ~ go if you have the chance.
We were also reminded that some our closest friends have people either still alive or buried in Saginaw or in various towns close by to Midland ~ connections everywhere. (we had the hardest time getting that Simon & Garfunkel song out of our heads……“…..four days to hitchhike from Saginaw, I’ve come to look for America…..” Sorry/not sorry ~ your turn!)
I can’t write this post without writing about how grateful I am to have spent so much time with Kay Luna. Kay is always busy ~ she has two children, 7(?) grandchildren, a busy therapy practice, 18 or more goats, (maybe an exaggeration but not by much), a husband and generally is a strong, capable, caring woman leading a busy life! She took several days away from all of that to come spend time with us and the fam this last week. Thanks Kay Luna ~ it was a deeply felt pleasure to hang out with you for so many days in a row.
The hospitality we’ve received from our friends and family is something that I am both surprised/not surprised by. I genuinely believe most people who know you want to be helpful. Spending large amounts of time with friends and family helps me learn more about them than I can over dinner or busy times at a family reunion. When you eat together, go on walks together, stay in their homes, eat the food they prepare for you, their kindness and generosity in their whole lives is on display, not just the part you’re participating in.
Most people who don’t know you also want to be helpful if they can see a clear way to do it. Strangers consistently offer help when we look lost. Not in a “OMG tourists, get it together.” kind of way, but in that kind “How can I make your experience a good one today?” sort of way. I find it to be touching every time. I am reassured about the goodness in humans almost every day because of these experiences.
We ended the week in Toronto at our friend Nancy’s place ~ another generous gift from another amazing woman. We needed some downtime after the busyness of Chicago and Midland so spending 4 nights in Toronto was just the ticket. More about Toronto next week as most of it happened in Week #9.
Week # 9 Toronto, ON, Montreal, QC and Acadia National Park! I’m 100% sure we’ll have stunning pictures and stories of the road from these most interesting places………..even if its just a lobster dinner or two.
Leave a Reply