Bowling at Biff's

Thursday afternoon found us at Biff's Bowling in Bad Axe with Kendra and her family along with Penny and Dustin. It was a slow day at the alley, which was conducive to bowling with a crowd of kids and enjoying it.

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Pancake Artist

There's something special about spending time at places from your childhood. Memories easily come back to you when you're surrounded by the familiar. Ma and Dan's house is like that. I told Jubal and Nolan, I love that very little has changed through the years. Even though Ma has been gone for 12 years I enjoyed being able share stories and memories with the kids while staying at Grandpa Dan's.
I also enjoyed the more recent tradition of pouring maple syrup over his deliciously crafted pancakes, which should always be, in his words...."smooth as a baby's butt".
























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Low-key Living

Wednesday was free from travel except for a trip to Bad Axe to get a replacement shower head for Grampa Dan. While we were in Ace Hardware, I found the perfect birthday gift for Mom. Nolan spotted Elias Brother's Big Boy and we made that our lunch stop.














Back at Dan's we enjoyed a lengthy visit from Aunt Penny, Uncle Mike and Dustin. Kendra &Co. also arrived for a short time and Atira left with them to get as much visiting time as possible with her cousin Deanndra.



























I wish we lived closer to my Michigan family....







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Under Erie

We awoke Tuesday morning to some pretty messy roads from the snow storm that raged while we peacefully slumbered.

After checking out at 6:30, the first order of business was to fuel up with food. Bob Evan's fit the bill nicely.




Here is some worthwhile travel advice:
If you want immediate service for breakfast, be the first customers, by going out to eat just after the restaurant opens, in inclement weather, in the part of the country that has the most snow this year... Our waitress said their area of the country was the "Snow Belt" and boasted 109" so far this year.

Once we got past the first couple hours of random rotten road clearing, the rest of our trip to the Thumb of Michigan was fairly uneventful, passing through the cities of Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio where we passed the Duck Tape brand duct tape factory. It was a very exciting moment for a car full of Mainers. Ohio's more rural areas were filled with snow, barns and the Davis Besse Nuclear Power Plant.




The last city to endure was Detroit. The massive scale of the Marathon petroleum refinery along the highway impressed Nolan but Atira saw no redeeming qualities. She stated, "I'm sorry, but this is the ugliest city I've ever seen." I couldn't disagree.


























Arriving in the thumb growing up we usually stopped first to see my Grandpa Carder and this trip was the same except there was a minus Grandma Carder and a plus Uncle Bob.
Finally, it was the last leg down Filion Road to Grandpa Dan's and the beginning of a great visit with family.

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February Vacation: First Day

Chills and an achy body accompanied me on the first day of our trip to Michigan. Despite that, it was a great day of travel. Jim actually drove slightly over the speed limit and there were no young ones needing to make bathroom stops every hour and a half. Thanks to technology, Jim and I were able to fill some of the travel time listening to Howie Carr back in Boston.













Our last rest area visit was Angola Travel Plaza which has a walkway over the highway. I knew we needed to be stopping for the night soon when Tell ran the length of it, yelling, "Banana, banana, banana!"
























We made great time, settling in for the night at a Red Oof Inn along the shores of wind-whipped Lake Erie.
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Too Much "Who"?

Although I'm a fan, I'm thinking that perhaps Atira has watched a bit too much "Doctor Who". While reviewing the planet names, she offered, with a straight face, "Gallifrey?"

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Frosty Snow

My blogging during January was merely a blip on the radar so February will easily be an improvement. The older boys had a snow day and I had to make an unexpected trip out into the weather so I made the best of some bad roads by using them to ferry some Frosty's glazed twists home to surprise the kids. Mmmmmm. If only the snow melted as easily as these doughnuts melt in your mouth.





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