Fourth of July in MI

If you had told me ten years ago that I would travel to Michigan for the Fourth of July I would not have believed you. However, my life has led me down this path and I am grateful for the experiences, new family and friends I have gained. Michigan in the summer, for me, is much more pleasant than the winter. In looking at the kids school calendar earlier this year I was excited to see that we would be able to spend a week in the mitten state. In the past we have gone camping in the UP but this year decided to be trolls and spend most of our time in the Lansing area. This was a good thing as we had a couple of things we wanted to do that we usually don't get a chance to do in the winter or when we travel across the Mackinac Bridge. Gina had planned our week and invited friends and family to join us on our adventures.

SATURDAY JULY, 1

We spent most of the day driving on or first Saturday of vacation. Arriving in Lansing around dinner time. We had a relaxing meal with my Gina's grandmother and aunt at Leo's Lodge. Leo's is the first restaurant Gina ever took me to in Lansing. It is a regular spot and we go almost every time we are in the area. After dinner we made our way to Gina's fathers house, which we would call home while in Lansing, and spent time catching up and eventually going to bed after a long day.

SUNDAY JULY, 2 and MONDAY JULY, 3

We got on the road the next day for another two hours to meet Gina's sister, husband and daughter at their cabin near Grayling. This was the first time either of us had been to the cabin and it was amazing. The cabin is set at the end of a twisty dirt road deep in the woods on the banks of the Au Sable River.

There we spent most of the time outside enjoying each others company and the peace of nature. It was a beautiful setting. Being from hot and humid NC I thoroughly enjoyed the lower temperature and humidity. We spent some time canoeing and kayaking, working against the current only to float back down to the dock in front of the cabin. The next day we were to leave Grayling and return to Lansing. I could have stayed longer, but we had a full itinerary ahead of us. On the way back we were to stop at the skate park in Grayling so that Brendan could skate their park. Unfortunately he left his saketboard in Lansing. Instead, we had lunch at Dawson & Steven's Classic 50's Diner. The diner also doubles as a Coke-a-Cola museum. The milkshakes were the highlight of the diner.

TUESDAY JULY, 4

We spent most of the day at Gina's brother's house in Mason. Before arriving at his house we stopped at the skate park in Mason. Brendan was not impressed with this skate park as it did not suit his preferred style. It was a very short visit. We arrived at the house around 3:00 and there we found tables and chairs set in the lawn under the shade of black walnut trees lining the street. Again, the weather was amazing as the breeze was light and humidity low. Even when I ventured to the full sun I was comfortable. There were friends and family with a lot of young children enjoying the summer afternoon. We had the expected hamburgers and hot dogs as we spent the afternoon on the lawn waiting for the parade and fireworks. Some of us made our way to downtown Mason to witness the parade. 

Returning to the house we moved our chairs and spread blankets on the grass to get a good view across the cornfield to the fireworks about 1.3 miles away. The sun started to set and the young children held sparklers and looked at the glowing sticks with amazement. The sun had set and temperature dropped. I left my jacket behind and was fortunate enough to be able to use my son's jacket as he wore a hooded sweatshirt. A jacket on the 4th is not unusual in Michigan, though it is very different than the way I grew up. We watched the fireworks and, since the sun sets so late there, we all left to return home. 

WEDNESDAY JULY, 5

It started off inconspicuous as we woke late and went to Ranney Park so that Brendan could go skate again. He had skated less than five minutes before one of his wheels fell off. He couldn't find the nut to hold the wheel anywhere. It would not have mattered anyway, since he left his skate tool back at the house. We were close, so we made our way to Revival Skate Shop to get it fixed.

 It turned out that the shop was closed on Wednesday's. It was not turning out to be a good trip on the skateboarding front. Eventually we had to go to another shop, Action Board Sports, where they were gracious and hospitable giving us the nut and actually putting it on for him, though he could have done it himself. I had heard about a special place on the campus of MSU. The Moist Towelette Museum had been feature on an episode of Good Mythical Morning. It is located in the office of John French at the Abrams Planetarium and is only accessible during office hours. Since our summer trips are spent mostly in the UP and the office is closed during our Christmas visits, we had not yet had a chance to experience this one of a kind collection. When we arrived we asked about seeing the collection and were informed that the curator had stepped out briefly. We were then offered to view a show while we waited. We made our way to the domed auditorium where we were shown what amounted to a hype reel for the university. We exited and made our way to the office of the collector and viewed the many moist towelettes on display and conversed with the keeper of the wetnaps. 

We then learned of his office neighbors collection of Pez dispensers and spent a few minutes there. Exiting the small office corridor I noticed a display about the upcoming full solar eclipse. I pointed it out to Gina, who had already spied the display, and this caught the attention of the conservator of the towelettes and we discussed our plans to travel next month to view the eclipse. He offered to show us some information on the dome of the upcoming event in August. It was an amazing trip to the planetarium that lasted much longer than I had expected, only thinking we would see some moist towelettes on a shelf. Before leaving campus we went to the MSU Dairy Store to sample the ice cream. Again, this is something I have not yet experienced for a variety of reasons. Not only did we get ice cream we bought a block of Dagano cheese which we would eat later during our stay in Michigan.

THURSDAY JULY, 6

This day took us on another short day trip to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. It is an aircraft museum that Gina has known about but we have never attempted to go before. We arrived and saw that free guided tours were offered and when asked if we would like a tour I eagerly accepted.

Greg, the docent giving the tour, was from Winston Salem, NC and had apparently stayed in MI since attending MSU. He now spends two days a week at the Air Zoo as a docent. He was a wealth of information and conducted a great tour. He could tell that I was excited as was Gina's father who accompanied us on the trip. He shared the same passion I did for the SR-71 which we were able to get up close to and examine. There were a couple of times he let us behind the ropes. I'm sure he could tell from our reactions and obvious interest that we all respected and appreciated the history presented at this museum. We spent at least three hours with Greg enjoying the displays and knowledge shared.

FRIDAY JULY, 7

This was to be our day in Lansing. Again our itinerary had been planned out. Time with Gina's grandmother and then a visit to American Fifth Spirits for a drink with her sister before dinner with the whole family followed by a show at the planetarium.

American Fifth Spirits is a distillery and tasting room opened by one of Gina's friends from high school (I think) and another of her friends is a bartender and pastry chef that sells small cheesecakes there. We met, had a drink and then got a tour of the distillery. This, like all of the other personal interactions, was amazing. Everyone in Michigan was friendly and welcoming at every turn. Dinner was great at Spartan Hall Of Fame Cafe. We had a room that was able to accommodate the entire family. Some family, with younger children left after dinner and we said our goodbyes. We then rushed to the planetarium to make the 8:00pm show. We eventually retired for the night in preparation for the next day's drive home. 

SATURDAY JULY, 8

Something was taking it's toll on Brendan. He was up and down throughout the night with an upset stomach. Leaving the area at dawn he was still not felling well, but we needed to get on the road. Fortunately, we only had to make two extra stops due to his temporary illness and we made it home ready to relax and recover the next day before resuming our regular lives