There and back again...

Well, the drive up to Michigan was... interesting.

And long. Don't forget mind-numbingly LONG.

I made a couple of mistakes, the first of which was leaving after 9:30am. Because of the road construction and this delayed start, we wound up in Chicago around 4pm.

On the friday before Independence Day.

Going the direction of all the "Lake" traffic.

On a toll road.

Of doom.

*Shudder*

When I normally take this route, it is because I've timed my visit to Chicago carefully to avoid ugly traffic patterns.

So that put us behind by several hours now, and then my Google map tricked me.
Tricksy Google Maps!

The Big Ol' Dork: Google maps, how do I get to my aunt's house in Coopersville?
Google Maps: That's easy; go through Chicago, skirt the Lake, and head into Grand Rapids.
The Big Ol' Dork: But, wait. I don't remember going through Grand Rapids to get to Coopersville...
Google Maps: Oh, I assure you, this is the correct way.
The Big Ol' Dork: I shall pull your route toward the lake, because this is the route I remember...
Google Maps: FOOLISH WOMAN! THAT WILL TAKE MUCH LONGER!!!
The Big Ol' Dork: o.O
Google Maps: Seriously, dearie, go through Grand Rapids. You like Grand Rapids, don't you? Wouldn't want it to feel LEFT OUT on your trip, would you? Trust ol' Google Maps.

And then two things happened; the first was the thought in my head (and a clever one at that) suggesting that I ought to AVOID Grand Haven, which is a gorgeous tourist attraction town right on the lake with all kinds of great things to do in the summer. After all, won't everyone be trying to get there right when I am also trying to pass through it?

Then there was the less clever losing of the google map instructions, but remembering that they told me to take 196 north.

It was about 11:30 local time when I was in Grand Rapids making the turn to go to Coopersville.
My aunt calls. (I had been dorky enough to try to do this WITHOUT her number. Or address. DORK!!)
I tell her where I am. She is somewhat cranky. I explain. She laughs at me.

Rightly, too.

So it's after midnight local time when we roll up on my poor Aunt, who graciously puts us up for the night.

Stay tuned for the rest of the ADVENTURE!!

As a teaser, and epilogue to this installment: We left after 10am this morning and returned home before 8pm local time. Just as a reference.

There and Back Again part two

I got to visit with my aunt, and my Awesome Grandma S. Grandma S is one of the big attractions for me to go to Michigan at all these days. I got to sit with her for a couple of hours and talk while my road-trip guests slept against each other (adorably) on her couch. She felt bad, but I explained that he had just gotten off a plane from Finland and was having trouble adjusting, and she had done Chicago as a day-trip to get him right before joining me on my crazy adventure.

Grandma S. got a kick out of seeing us and wanted me to try to visit on the way home, since she was moving into a new place.

Then we headed up to The Lake. (The locals call it "The Big Lake". Maps call it Lake Michigan.) My other Grandma, Grandma K. has some property between Silver Lake and The Big Lake up there. We arrived in time to take Grandma and Grandpa out to the local Dairy, for free ice cream and dairy tours! My guests had not seen cows up this close before, so I'm glad that we looked at the calves first. (They're nearly full-grown calves.) This dairy does a whole open house festival thing the Saturday before the 4th of July every year! I shall have to take this into consideration the next time I come up...

Then we took Grandma and Grandpa to the grocery store and watched the fireworks display in Hart. (I kept thinking to myself, "People of Hart! Your symbol should be a stag with horns, NOT a playing-card suit...") Sigh. But the fireworks were great and we went back to their place to crash.

Before that, though, we went to the lake to commune with nature. I had NEVER been to the Big Lake after dark like that before! OMG YOU GUYS!!! Can't even describe it. Fantastic!

Sunday morning we got up, made some breakfast, and stowed away our crap in time to be invaded by my cousin and his family. My cousin has several kids, one grandkid, his fiancee, his in-laws, and some cousins that came with the in-laws. Hokey Smokes! We set up the tent and stowed our things away. Sunday night, my cousins set off big ol' fireworks displays over the Big Lake. (More Big Lake After Dark!! Whoo!)

This morning I broke camp, packed the car and high-tailed it out of there! I did not stick around for breakfast or anything. I was NOT going to be pulling up in front of my house at midnight, no sir!

The trip back was uneventful, except that I took my road-trip guests to Warren Dunes, one of my favorite spots. We did not get into the water, mainly because there was a crapload of people there. (It was INSANE!) But we found postcards (finally) and other fun stuff to buy.

Now I'm home, and sore from sleeping on the cold ground. (Guys, it was in the 80s during the day and chilly at night up there. Neener!)

I am going to curl up with my book and enjoy the 4th in my own style.

Oh. And I have CHERRIES. And ASPARAGUS! I ate the blackberries. Om Nom Nom.