Hanging out in Michigan

Sorry this post is late. Catching up is getting the best of me.

Our days in Michigan were filled with Rick’s family. We got there on Tuesday night and immediately went to supper with Rick’s mom, Lois, and her husband Dickey. They were wonderful to me the whole time we were there. We just had burgers…we were all so tired from driving we really didn’t care what we ate.

Wednesday morning, we got up. Rick was so excited that there was a Starbucks close. He’s a big coffee guy, and his vacation treat was to be coffee from Starbucks every morning. Normally we don’t do anything like that. We loaded up the cars with Rick’s brother Steve, his wife, Rick and I, and Lois and Dickey. We went to the beach first, but it was the commercialized public beach.

It wasn’t really mine or Rick’s style so we made plans to try to get away by ourselves one day and go to the beach he used to go to as a kid.

Lois wanted to visit the cemetery and put flowers on her parents’ gravesite.

Rick and I drove separately, so he drove us around and showed me his old hangouts, where he went to school, and even his old home. Sadly, his home has been abandoned. We are so confused by that as his dad built the house when Rick was a kid. It actually still looks like it could have been fixed up.

On Wednesday night, we ate awesome pizza at Dimaggio’s Pizza in Coloma, Michigan. Rick fondly remembered this place from his childhood and was happy to know they are still going strong. 26 members of Rick’s family came. They had reserved a party room so we could all have pizza together and visit. Rick hadn’t seen many of the cousins since he left Michigan back in the early 2000s. He had one uncle that he didn’t think he had seen in almost 40 years. It was so fun seeing Rick with his family. I’m so used to seeing him with my family. The change was wonderful. Everyone was SUPER welcoming to me.

Rick’s mom, Lois, is the middle child with an older and younger brother.

Thursday, we hung out with the older brother’s side of the family. They were all fun, and Rick’s Uncle Don, who is 90, is a total hoot. He’s so funny. He has five kids, and they have kids. We hung out with them in the mid-morning and afternoon. Jackie, Rick’s cousin, runs a farm stand with activities for kids…think pumpkin patch in the Fall. We made plans to visit the next day and get some fresh produce. We hit a great time when there were still fresh blueberries, peaches, and the first of the Honey Crisp Apples were in.

Rick and I got away for two hours in the afternoon. We were on family overload (in a good way). We just needed a bit of Rick and Jo time. We ended up getting an appetizer and shooting a couple of games of pool at a bar Rick hung out at when he lived in the area.

Later we went to supper with his Uncle Don and cousins. We went to an Italian place. It was a little more upscale than I’m used to. The food was great!! I had shrimp tortellini. YUM.

Friday was our last full day there. We went and visited Lois’ younger brother and some of his family. He is an awesome woodworker. He made me a beautiful wooden bowl. They also gave us a bottle of Ice Wine from Canada. They were all kind and very welcoming.

Then Rick and I snuck away and went to the beach he hung out at as a kid. Here are my white toes in the sand. Ahh! Check out my white feet. Proof I got out and got some sun this summer.

The wind did a number on my hair. The lake was so relaxing and beautiful. The stairs to the beach were a bit of a challenge for me but I made it. Walking the stairs was so worth the view. It was so fun to see Rick in his element.

I had a blast checking out the people and watching the seagulls…more than that, it was so great to see Rick experiencing something you can easily see he loved.

That afternoon we went to the farm stand and brought home all the goodies. YUM.

The next morning it was time to say good bye to Rick’s mom. She was wonderful to us…

as was her husband Dickey. Dickey didn’t want to get his picture taken so I went to the car, jumped in next to him and told him he was getting his picture taken.

It was all good. Dickey loved me.

It was sad seeing them go. I really wish we were closer so we could be more of a help. Right now, the distance between Iowa and Mississippi makes it hard to be helpful.

We had a great time in Michigan…but our vacation didn’t end there. We jumped in the car and headed to Ohio. I’ll tell more about that in the next blog post.