True Vacation

'I love being on vacation and never knowing what day of the week it is'

In May my wife and I will be celebrating our ten year anniversary.  In all those years, we have never gone on a vacation.  We have gone home for vacations and taken weekend trips here and there, but we have never gone somewhere by ourselves.  It just isn't economical for us.  We don't make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.  So we thought that this year we would take a true vacation to celebrate our tenth year of marriage.

We went to Florida!  Nothing fancy and no plans were made with few exceptions.  We bought tickets to a Tigers Spring Training game.  They lost, unfortunately, but it was still cool to see a game this early in the calendar year.  We also made a plan to spend an afternoon at a beach.  And we went to Coco Beach.  It was overcast and not the greatest day to go, but I did step into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.  The last thing we had concrete plans for was visiting some family. 

Three things we had on our vacation planned.  The rest of the time there were no solid plans.  That is the whole point of a vacation is it not?  To relax.  We stayed up late.  We slept in.  We spent time by the pool.  Drank overpriced mediocre drinks.  All that fun stuff.  It.  Was.  EVERYTHING!  Because it was something we don't do on a regular basis, it felt indulgent.  Maybe in another ten years we will find another place to laze around, but for the near future we will just go home for vacations.  Which is still great.  

Fruitless Travels

I went home last week.  It was nice and relaxing.  The main focus of going home was to get out into the woods for some hunting.  I was able to hunt the previous two years and living so close to home now is starting to become a fall tradition. Which is nice on a couple of levels.  It's nice to get home more than once a year. It's nice to get into the woods.  It's nice to have an opportunity to provide food for the majority of a year.  But that is also the problem, it's an opportunity to provide the food, it's not a guarantee.  

I did not harvest a deer this year after having success the previous two years.  The weather was not the best.  It was cold and windy and rainy the majority of the time I was home.  The winter last year was a harsh one.  The DNR noted that at the end of the hunting season last year.  Pretty much everyone knows that last winter was harsh on the deer population. In fact, there are plenty of people that think it will take a couple of years for the population to recoup.  And many are hoping for a more mild winter to help out the deer population.  I don't know if it will happen or not, I'm just reporting on what I've heard.  

My time in the woods was not without interest or entertainment.  Below is a list of what I saw In the woods:

•rabbit

•squirrel

•partridge

•porcupine

•coyote

•various birds

And I did see one deer.  Just one.  It walked through and did not present a target.  All in all it was disappointing, but every hunter knows that it is not a guarantee that you will get a deer each year.  As the saying goes: if it were easy, it would be called 'killing' and not 'hunting'.  

And there is always next year...

58/120

Rotating Beds

The second to last day of our vacation, my wife and I came to the same realization just about the same time.  We packed, unpacked, and slept in too many beds this vacation.  I use the term 'beds' loosely as there were some nights we were on an air mattress.  So, how many beds you ask?  In the ten days that we were gone, we slept in five different beds.  Why so many?  Let me explain.

We left Minnesota Friday night after work.  Our plan was to drive half way home that night and finish the trip on Saturday morning and afternoon.  It takes about nine to nine and a half hours to drive home if you drive straight through.  We have done that drive numerous times since moving to Minnesota.  It's nice to get home in less than ten hours.  So we drove to Green Bay (the half way point) after work and stayed the night in a hotel.  Bed one.

After we got to Michigan on Saturday, we spent the weekend with my family.  We have started to do family gatherings during the summer.  We use to do a big family party at Christmas time, but with all the grandkids growing up and moving all around the country, it makes it easier to get more people together during the summer time.  My entire immediate family was staying at the cabin.  With my sister and brother having kids, they stay in the cabin and my wife and I stay in the loft above the garage.  Funny thing though.  The bed in the loft is two twin beds.  Yeah....yeah.  My wife and I joked about this song that SNL did a few years ago.  Side note:  can we talk about how hilarious the women of SNL are?  Not only did we joke about that song, we also joked about the episode of 'How I Met Your Mother' where Marshall and Lily go to a bed and breakfast and accidentally book a room with two twin beds and have the best sleep they had in years.  So, bed two.

After the weekend, we drove to our hometown and stayed with my in-laws.  We were going camping for three days starting on Tuesday.  We had to find a bed to stay in Monday night.  We debated back and forth.  Their pop up camper was open because we still needed to pack food and all that.  The other option was to blow up an air mattress and stay in the basement.  We went with option one.  We stayed in the pop up.  Mainly because we didn't want to unpack and pack the air mattress.  So we stayed the night in the camper.  Bed three.

Because the pop up camper is small for five people, we brought a tent so my wife and I stayed there for the camping trip while my parents in-law and brother in-law stayed in the camper.  We brought the air mattress because who wants to sleep on the ground?  Or so I'm told.  We slept on the air mattress for the three days.  Bed four.

Back at home after the camping trip we continued to sleep on the air mattress in the basement in my in-laws house.  No new bed.  The bed count in still at four.

For the last night, we went down to the cabin to see my family one more time.  By this time, my sister and family had moved down to Missouri so there was an open bed in the cabin.  This was our last night of vacation, and needed as much sleep as possible as we were driving back to Minnesota the next day.  A little problem though.  The room we were staying in was so hot that I couldn't sleep.  I got up in the middle of the night and slept on the couch downstairs.  It was much cooler and I got a few hours of sleep.  My brother, sister in-law, and niece were up at around 4:30 to fly back to Seattle, so we were up to say goodbye to them.  We then went back to sleep after they left and got a few more hours of sleep.  That was bed number five.

While it was a very nice vacation and very relaxing, it was extremely choppy because of all the packing and unpacking as we moved from place to place and bed to bed.  Normally when we go home, we stay at either one of the parents' house or split the time between the two families.  So at most we sleep in two beds.  By the time we got back to Minnesota, I felt more tired than when we left.  Maybe it has something to do with all the different beds?  Who knows. 

47/120

Vacation Planning

Tonight, we are heading home for a vacation.  Very exciting stuff.  We'll be able to see family that we haven't seen in quite some time.  There is a family weekend party planned that starts tonight and wraps up on Sunday.  Because that's how we do.  A full weekend.  None of this one day shit.  We go all out.  Three days, three different places. 

As I was planning out what to pack, there are a few things that I am not bringing.  And I feel that these items should always be left at home when vacationing.  The first thing is my watch.  This is the most important thing to leave behind when going on vacation.  Because who wants to keep track of time when you don't need to?  I know I don't.  The other thing I am leaving behind is my razor.  It's one less thing to pack.  It's one less thing that I won't use for the week.  And let's be honest, having a beard helps hide the stubble.


46/120

Time Away

We took our vacation.  It was fantastic.  It was relaxing.  It was just the right amount of time.  Maybe another day would have been good, but three days of not being home was very nice.  The only downside was that my wife had a cold while we were up there.  Weird right?  Summer colds are just...odd.

The weather was outstanding.  I was a bit worried about the weather because most of what we wanted to do was outside.  And what do you do when it rains outside?  You find stuff to do inside.  Usually you look to going to malls and stores, which is not as cool when you live in a metro area and have access to the stores.  We did not do any shopping.  We did spend quite a bit of time outside.  Practically all day on the 5th was spent outdoors, minus drive time.  We went up to a couple of state parks that were half an hour or so north of Duluth.  The drive reminded me so much of driving in the U.P.  We were able to step foot in Lake Superior.  It's cold on the western end just it is on the eastern end.  Proof of being in the lake:

I went up to my ankles.  That was enough.  Like I said, it was cold.  We had a picnic and enjoyed the scenery.  There weren't any black flies or mosquitoes driving us crazy.  Just a few flies here and there.  It was busy because it was a weekend and a holiday weekend at that.   

We spent some time with friends from high school/college.  For all the complaining I do about social media, the only way we were able to see them was because we are all Facebook friends.  It was great to see them, and they were great resources for things to do.  They told us which restaurant to stop at and get pie (The Rustic Inn) on our way up the shore.  And....AND...they hooked us up with a great view for the fireworks.  On top of a building!  Away from the people and congestion. 

I only took a handful of pictures of the fireworks because I wanted to actually watch them with my eyes and not through the screen of my phone. 
I'm sure that if we had spent one more day up there, we would have been able to find some more stuff to do.  But then again, Duluth isn't huge, so two days without having concrete plans was just enough.  We did agree though that if we were to do another trip like this, it would be on a weekend that was not a holiday weekend.  Just dealing with extra traffic on the roads was all we needed to know that we didn't want to do it again.  And we thought about that after we started making plans, but we stuck with it.  And I'm happy we did.  Like I said, it was nice and relaxing and it was a new adventure. 

44/120

Little Victories

We have done it!  Strike up the band, throw confetti, plan a parade!  We have planned a vacation.  Not a vacation to go home, but a vacation to go somewhere we have never been.  We are traveling all the way up to Duluth.  A whole two hours north.  The one big mistake we made was going there during the fourth of July holiday.  We both took the weekend off to go do something.  It's nice to hang around home during the big holidays every once in a while, but the last thing we wanted to do was to do it again. 

We have never traveled anywhere for holiday weekends like this one, so we decided to change it up a little bit this year.  What are we going to do?  No clue.  What is going on up there that weekend?  No clue.  All we know is that we are going to be there.  On a side note, plan your vacations way more than two months in advance.  Especially if it is a holiday weekend.  Hotel options are pretty slim.  Also, prepare to overpay.  But what are you going to do?  Other than go on vacation on a non-holiday weekend. 

I have written about this before, taking vacation.  We have just always gone home to Michigan for vacations.  Off the top of my head, I think we have taken one or two trips that were not to Michigan or not to visit family.  We went down to Dallas for a weekend many years ago for a weekend trip for my birthday with a couple of close friends.  We use to take weekend canoe trips with big groups of people.  But that is really about it.  We visited our brothers in Seattle and Colorado Springs.  So it's not to say we haven't traveled places, we just haven't done so without ulterior motives.  We have no plans yet for this weekend trip.  We do not know what is going on up there that weekend.  We are just going.  And that is a wonderful feeling. 

 
34/120

A Sad Realization

Next Monday, we are taking another vacation home.  We'll be home for eleven stress free days.  This is great because it'll be the second time this year we'll be home.  The best part is that my brother and sister-in-law will be home as well.  Oh, they are also bringing their baby home.  So that's cool.  While it is always great to get home there are a few things I thought of that were a little sad.  Captain Bringdown to the rescue!

The first realization is that this may be the last vacation until next year.  I have the vacation hours at work so that's not the problem.  We could take another trip during the summer, but I also need to work so I get more vacation time.  It doesn't just magically appear.  So we try to space out the vacations to recoup the time off.  The problem is that working in retail means the last three months it is very difficult to get time off.  It's way too busy.  There is a small window in September and October but once you get into November....game over.  Until February.

The other realization is that we haven't ever really taken a vacation.  Yes, going home is a trip to see family and friends and it's time away from work so it qualifies as a vacation, but we have never traveled to different places.  The last place we went was St. Thomas and that was to get married and we had our honeymoon at the same time.  That was six years ago.  The problem is that it is crazy expensive to go places.  Think about going some place for a week.  It doesn't matter if it's Chicago or Baltimore or New York or Las Vegas.  Places outside the country as well.  There are cities in Canada I wouldn't mind visiting.  Seven days of hotel and food bills.  You also have to fly there unless you're close enough to drive.  It would be great to go to different cities and just explore.  See things and play tourist.  Drive the economy in another part of the country. 

And yes, you can take a road trip and see different parts of the country.  But that isn't free either.  You can go camping to save money and bring food to cook and all that stuff and get back to nature, but everyone that goes has to really be into it or else some are happy others are just annoyed.  We've gone camping with friends before and it's a blast, but haven't ever gone by ourselves.  I don't know how that would turn out.  I have no problem going camping to get back to nature.  My wife maybe not so much. 

It takes a lot of cutting back to save money.  And to save money for a vacation on top of that seems like a steep hill to climb.  I feel like you have to have a two or three year plan.  Plan a vacation two or three years into the future and start saving now.  Save a little here, a little there.  Put it into a bank account that you know you won't touch until you are ready to go.  Maybe reap the benefit of accruing some interest.  And where we are right now in our lives, we don't have that.  We don't have that disposable income just laying around.  Money goes to bills and rent and all that fun grown up stuff. 

It's a Me Vacation

I took two days of vacation today and tomorrow.  Incorporate that with my weekend off and my normal day off on Wednesday, I have a five day mini vacation.  I wanted to take a day off to watch Opening Day, something I use to do in college.  I would skip class to watch the Tigers play their first game of the year.  It's the little things in life that make it great.  I figured, why not take another day off while I'm at it?  I'll make these days all about me!  Something I don't do very often.  I do have a real vacation coming up in the middle of April, but I just wanted some time to decompress from work.  And what better way than to do absolutely nothing?

The initial plan was to go to Opening Day, but we opted for game number two instead.  It's a big deal, but not a deal breaker.  I just want to be part of it.  Maybe next year.  So, if I can't be there in person, I might as well enjoy the game at home.  Drinking a few beers in the middle of the afternoon, cheering on the reigning American League Champions.  I wanted the day off to watch baseball.  Then I figured, why not take another day off as well, you know, to recuperate.  The first games of the day are starting around noon.  The Tigers are playing at 3:00 CST

These are days off well deserved.  We were talking about it earlier in March, but I don't think I have taken any vacation since last May (maybe in July too, but I can't remember).  Even if it were in July, that's about nine months.  Too long between vacations.  I don't count the times we were home in November and December.  You can't count funerals as vacation, even if you are home.  Regardless,  I wanted more than a regular weekend off.  I wanted to take a few days off that were all about me.  I wanted to laze around, drink beer, watch movies and sports.  And I have done so thus far.  I have watched at least one full game since Friday.  I don't like basketball, but the college tournament is engrossing.  Just the excitement that the crowd brings is great. 

So these five days are selfish days.  Days that nothing much got done, but something got done.  I was able to relax.  To not be stressed out about work.  To not be worried about anything really.  I wanted nothing more than to lay around, and I have accomplished that.  I just don't know how I'm going to handle the real world again come Thursday.  I didn't choose the slothful life, the slothful life chose me.  Oh wait....

Quiet month

Looking back at the month which is almost done, I haven't been writing too much.  I have been on vacation for the past two weeks which has taken up most of my time, which is great.  It's been relaxing.  I really don't care that there haven't been many writings.

Even if I hadn't gone on vacation, I don't really think I would have a ton to write about.  The government is falling apart, which is cool with me, they need a slap in the face from reality.  They need to get all their shit together and just realize that taxes need to be raised on the upper class to help out the budget.  Even if they don't want to give up their million dollar homes, their coke addictions, and their thousand dollar an hour hookers, they need to think of what is best for the people.  The people that they are suppose to represent.

The greatest news for this month is that we are going to be moving in August!  Moving to a suburb outside of Minneapolis.  Partly for my work, partly so Andrea can find a job.  Bigger city, closer to home, and in weather that we grew up in.  Gone are the winters with two inches of snow, gone are the months of too much heat, gone are the obnoxiously loud and overt Republicans who hate women and the working force.  It's exciting and very stressful.  We have been packing up our apartment for the past few months in the event that this situation happens.  It has, so we are a little ahead of the game, but there is still a little bit to be done down in Wichita.  I start up in Minnesota in a month and once again, it'll be nice to get some place new and start anew.

Anniversary trip

I proposed to A that on our five year anniversary (which is next year) that we take a vacation somewhere.  Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Boston, New York, Chicago, wherever.  I thought that if we started to think of it now, we can start saving now and not have to worry about having to pay for stuff if we do go through with this idea.  Vacations are expensive. 

We haven't really had a vacation since we got married.  We went down to St. Thomas with our families and it was glorious.  When we do leave the state of Kansas, it is always to visit family.  These vacations are always great just because we live so far away from everyone and we only see them about two or three times a year.  However, we haven't taken a trip for ourselves to go to a new city to explore.  I always love going home and seeing our families, but I haven't ever been to Boston or New York.  I want to visit Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  I want to find old Yankee Stadium and take a piss on it (no, not really [or do I?]) or at least flip it off.  I want to get an authentic Chicago deep dish pizza and visit the Friendly Confines, I want to see a politician in a strip club in D.C. taking in the lunch buffet. 

We don't have kids right now (nor do we plan to have any in the near future) and right now is the best time to take these kinds of trips.  All we have to worry about is the cat, and she self sustains.  We have over a year to think about this, and a lot can change in that year.  Moving, jobs, etc.  This will be in the back of my mind for the next year or so until it comes to fulfillment.  

What a sunset

While in Seattle, I took this picture of a sunset.


Granted, you don't see the sun, but it was still freaking awesome. It has been quite some time since I have seen a sunset like this one. Having our cabin on a lake, we watched countless sunsets over Brevort Lake. I feel now that I have taken the sight of these wonderful sunsets for granted because we don't see sights like this down here in Kansas. It's one of those 'you don't know what you got til it's gone' situations.


Just thought I would share that with everyone.

Behind already

In an attempt to continue to write, I am making myself write each day the temperature reaches one hundred degrees or above. It happened yesterday, but I didn't write anything. It's because I'm lazy. I think I've touched on this before, but there are times that I struggle to find something to write about. This is what happens when you get into a little bit of a rut and don't have anything happening right now.

It is a calm before the storm though. This weekend I have to work and if I can get through that, I'll be set because the following weekend, we are taking a float trip (our first for the year) to Missouri with some friends. Then comes the vacation. Seattle for eleven days. I cannot wait. It has been six months since our last vacation (home) and I am really looking forward to some more time away from Kansas.

*Post two of the one hundred degree posts (follow these posts by clicking the tag 'heat')

Vacation recap thus far

I always like to take a little time near the end of our vacations to put up a quick little recap of the important events. The biggest event of all, of course, happened on our flight out. It was my birthday! Not exactly how you want to spend the majority of the day, flying and driving, but in the end it was all worth it. We were up at four in the morning and flying out at six. A quick little layover in Chicago and a forty five minute puddle jump over to Flint and we were on the ground rolling after four hours of travel from Kansas to Michigan (sure as hell beats the twenty four hours it takes to drive it). Hopped in the car with the in-laws and drove for another five hours. It sounds awful having to drive that long, but it gives us time to catch up on everything that is going on, so it is a fair trade off. I got to see my family at the end of it and enjoy a nice birthday dinner followed up by the world famous chocolate chip cheesecake prepared by Mom.

Our nieces and nephew have grown so much in the six months since we were home last. Every time we come home that is always the same response. But it is great to see. The day after my birthday is Zoie's. For whatever reason she didn't want to have the greatest day for a birthday so she settled for second best I suppose. Andrea made her a princess dress for her birthday and she loves it (I'll post a few pictures when we get home). The three years since her birth have flown by. That's what happens when you only see them a few times a year. So we hung out at home for the day and had scrambled eggs for dinner (what the birthday kid wants, the birthday kid gets). She is like her Papa that way, loves her eggs. I got to skate on the ice with Garrett at his hockey practice. One might think that four and five year olds shouldn't be on the ice with sticks and pucks, but on the contrary, it is great for them. They pick up wonderful motor skills and hand eye coordination. Give it a year and a half and he will be skating better than me, which doesn't take much. We also got to watch him take part in a hockey jamboree. An ice rink was broken down into four smaller rinks and they played different teams from the area. It is by no means skilled hockey, but it gives the kids a chance to play the game. It is just like watching kids play soccer in that they all follow the puck, clump up together, fall, and whack away at it. In the end, every player got a participation medal (which was the coolest thing EVER!) and a hat for coming down and playing.

As the weekend rolled around, we headed out to the cabin. We attended the Red Wings Alumni game in St. Ignace of Friday and had a great time. Spent some time with the grandparents afterwards and spent the next day around the cabin. I got to play with the kids outside and pushed and pulled them around on their sled. We got the snowmobile and four wheeler out and putzed around the property for a while. Andrea got the four wheeler stuck in a snow bank, so that was funny. Dad and I took the machines out on the lake and marked some cribs for the summer time fishing. Cribs are designed to encourage a habitat for fish and algae to grow in the lake. They take some timber and bind it together and attach some cinder blocks to them so as the ice melts the cribs break through the ice and sink to the bottom. It is nice to have ice thick enough to run a truck out there if you wanted to mark the area for the upcoming summer.

The kids are fun but extremely exhausting to keep up with. I don't know how my sister and brother-in-law do it (props Shel and Al!). As the first part of the vacation wound down, we headed out to Andrea's parents house for the remainder of the trip. It is very relaxing in comparison to the energy we put forth keeping up with three kids. We've done quite a bit of visiting with family members and just overall hanging out. It is exactly what a vacation should be. It is good to go out and do stuff, but it is also great to have those days where you read a book for a while, watch some tv, eat, and then go to bed.

We head down to Detroit to fly back to Kansas tomorrow morning. The days go by quickly when you have nothing to do and the job and 'real life' await you back home. But that is what vacations are all about.



Escaping the real world, if only for a short time.

day in, day out

I am taking a little bit of time out of this relaxing morning to play a little catch up with all of you out there. From my family and friends who frequently read, to my facebook friends who read this as it is imported to that site, to those who find this randomly.

We are prepping for our vacation home. We'll be gone for eleven days. One of our longer trips, but it'll be worth it. It will be a great break from Kansas. We have had snow on and off since December, but I want to see real snow. I know that it has been a little warmer back home and some of the snow has been melting, but I cannot wait. Last year, we spent Valentine's Day on a plane and in a car. Not the most romantic situation. This year we are spending my birthday on a plane and in a car. Not the best way to spend your birthday, a day meant for celebrating and eating cake. mmmmm.....cake.

I have taken over the grocery department at work. It is a lateral move within the store and gives me an opportunity to work in a larger department, so it'll be interesting to say the least. It has been two weeks of training which has flown by. I am looking forward to the challenges that this department brings with it. I will be dealing with vendors on a daily basis, which equates to dealing with spoiled children. They all want everything to go their way, and it is my job to keep them in line.




Who knew that at the age of twenty seven I would have my first baby sitting job.

prep for vacation

We booked some flights home for the middle of February a couple of weeks ago and the time is flying by. It's funny how that seems to happen. You plan and plan and plan and the time before that goes by so slowly, but once tickets are purchased every twenty four hour day seems to last half the time. It is going to be a bit of a longer trip, eleven days. Plans have been made for the most part, hockey games, birthday parties, drinking, ice fishing. The ice fishing is pending, hopefully there is enough ice on the lakes to do so.

In a perfect world, I would plan out what I would bring on vacation to wear but anyone who really knows me just knows I am going to pack the day before. It's kinda my thing, procrastination. I enjoy it. I am not one for planning that far in advanced. On the other hand, how difficult is to pack for a trip you have taken before? Jeans, sweatshirts, tee shirts, socks, underwear, a couple pair of shoes. Not exactly a complex list. Normally I'll write down the number of days and nights that we will be gone which helps. Then I'll start grabbing clothes and putting them into stacks and counting and double counting to make sure I have the right number. That is my system, and I love it. It will probably never change.

32 days

It's funny how when you are a kid, the year goes by so slowly. Three hundred and sixty five (or six) days drag on and on. Maybe because the number just seems so daunting. As you get older, the time starts to pick up. Throughout high school and college, the only time that goes by too quick is during summer or winter breaks. After school, work consumes your life and there are no three month breaks (unless you teach, but even then there is work to be done). Vacations consist of a week or maybe two if you have been working for half your life.

I suppose at the beginning of the year, you can look at a calendar and think of how long twelve months truly is. But then you forget about it as if it were a New Year's resolution. Then lo and behold, it is past the summer and into the fall. Retail stores are getting ready for Christmas all over again and your mind wanders back to the beginning of the year and thinks......




Where the hell did those ten months go?

Vacationing plans

Both sets of parents are planning visits in the month of December. I can't wait. It will be nice to have visitors. My mom and dad are coming down for four or five days in the first part of the month. Andrea's parents are planning on coming down for another Christmas trip. It makes sense for them. Both of their kids are in the area, with their son being in Colorado.

It will be nice to see family again. I haven't seen any of them since this past August. This will also be the closest to being with my parents at Christmas time since 2005. It'll be good, but I fear they will be taken aback by the lack of snow. Although they may enjoy the break from it, but it never feels quite like Christmas time down here because of the lack of snow. Two years ago we had about five inches of snow, which was great. Other than that year, we have had none on Christmas morning. Each year, I hope to wake up to snow on the ground but it doesn't happen.

Review of a great week

The important thing about vacations is being able to look back at them remember all the great things about them. No one looks back at the travel time with longing eyes, who the hell wants to remember sitting on a plane or in an airport?

When we landed in Detroit, my brother and his girlfriend picked us up. It was a wonderful start to the trip because we got to see them for the first time since we went out to Seattle last fall. We got to catch up with them and it made the five hour car ride go by quickly. We made it to the cabin in time for dinner that night. The family was there and even though we saw them in June, it felt like it was much longer than that.

We had a bonfire that night, and my sister and brother-in-law came down with their three kids (who seemed to have grown in the course of the month and a half). Extended family members came down for the evening as well. Once again, it was just nice to see everyone.

The next day, we ventured up to the Soo for several days with my wife's family. More visiting ensued, which included a trip to the Antlers. The Antlers restaurant can best be described as PETA's worst nightmare. There are stuffed animals EVERYWHERE! It is great, and the food isn't half bad. We also took a trip out to the woods to go blueberry picking. My memories of picking blueberries are not the best. It always seemed to be sunny, with no clouds, in the middle of July and very very hot. Very uncomfortable. We drove not far from the Soo and just went back in the woods. The results? Buleberry pancakes, muffins, and dumplings. Yes!

The last part of the week we went back to the cabin with my family. It included a day trip on the boat. We took it out and just shut it off and relaxed. It didn't get hot enough to jump in, but the option was there. We had several more campfires, drank several more beers, and made s'mores. It was fun to watch my nephew and niece eat them. They would take a bite, get distracted, and then take another bite about five minutes later. It took them a long time to finish just one. The bonfires went to the wee hours of the morning.

The best part of the vacation? I didn't wear a watch the entire week. Lame, I know, but it is essential for trips not to care about what time it is or needing to be somewhere.

Vacation finale

One thing that I enjoy about smaller airports is that they are not bitches about internet. The Flint airport and the Wichita airport offer free high speed internet. I don't understand the point of charging people to use the internet when you are in a place of business. I know the idea is to make a living by earning money, but come on...

The free internet helps to pass the time for several reasons. I haven't been able to check my email since the fourth. Not to worry, there wasn't anything important in it. I get to do the fun 'I am at such and such an airport waiting for my flight' status on Facebook, because everyone needs to know. It allows me to update my podcasts that are fun and interesting (look up The Memory Palace on itunes) or more serious. And, I get to do this. I do have another post set up for the Cheap Beer Experiment, but I do not have the cord for the pictures that I took of the beer (it was forgotten in my wife's tote bag).

I have quite a long journey ahead of me and partly behind me. We left the cabin this morning about eleven o'clock and arrived at the airport close to three thirty. My brother dropped me off and I got through security quickly (another perk of small airports). I had time to watch the last inning of the Tigers Twins game (good guys won). The early part was the easy part, it was just a car ride. I fly for two hours to Atlanta and then another two hours to Wichita, with only forty five minutes in between flights. I enjoy having an hour or two for a layover. It gives me time to stretch my legs and walk around and people watch. Direct flights are not my friend. We had a direct flight once that was to Detroit. By the end, my legs and back were both screaming in agony because I get crammed into the small seats on the plane. Oh the perils of being over six feet tall.

The vacation rundown is on it's way (more than likely posted tomorrow)

Trip approaching

Our vacation home is coming up quickly. We fly out eight days from today. It will be very nice to get home. The trip I had in June just was not long enough. You can only cram so much into four days.

One thing that I really want to do while we are home is fish. I did not take advantage of the oppertunities to go fishing while I was living in Michigan. We did fish a lot, but it just seems like there were many times when we didn't go out but could have. Or maybe it just seems that way because I have only been fishing once in the past year.

Fishing isn't always about getting the fish. Sometimes it is just about getting out in the lake and just relaxing. Just having a great time. The middle of the lake is just about the most relaxing places I have ever been. I think that it is just the quite with no one else around. No phones, music, sounds of the city. Just silence, or the occasional bird song. And that is okay too. Unless it is foggy and a loon calls out. That is just chilling.