Journey to the Mother State

I thought I would quick let you know how our trip back to the mother state of Michigan went. Here are some of the highlights. Pictures to come later.

Thursday, June 12:

• Drove to MI after I got out of work at 4:30pm. We were lucky, because an hour after we passed through IA parts of I-80 were closed due to flooding.

Friday, June 13

• Went shopping with my mom.
• Went to my cousin's wedding. It was a ton of fun. They had Jones soda with their picture on it for favors and instead of a guest book they had a photo booth.

Saturday, June 14

• Had breakfast with Erin and Melanie. So, good to see some of the mellons.
• Joel and I drove up to Big Star Lake (my favorite place in the world). I'll tell you why in another post someday.
• Got the sailboat and the speed boat into the water.
• Relaxed and had fun with family--my sister's family was the only one not there this weekend.
• Went to Jone's Ice Cream Shop in Baldwin, MI. So good!

Sunday, June 15

• Relaxed at the cottage all day.
• My younger brother and his girlfriend, and my older brother's family left.

Monday, June 16

• Relaxed at the cottage all day.
• My parents' friends arrived at the cottage.

Tuesday, June 17

• Relaxed at the cottage.

Wednesday, June 18

• Went up to Traverse City due to cold weather at the cottage. While there we went to the Pie Company, the Fudge Shop and Mission Point.
• Sailed the sailboat to the boat launch and took it out.

Thursday, June 19

• Left the cottage and headed back to Holland.
• Played mini-golf with Stephanie B. and met her boyfriend Scott when he joined us for ice cream.

Friday, June 20

• Hung out in Holland with family and friends.

Saturday, June 21

• Hung out in Holland with family and friends.
• Hit up some favorite spots (especially favorite now that we don't live there): Russ, JP's Coffee, and downtown.
• Went to see the sunset at the beach with friends. It was extraordinary. I had never seen a sunset and clouds like it and I have seen a lot of sunsets there. There was a storm rolling through and we saw lightning and tons of different colors all over the sky.
• Had a campfire at Joel's parents' house.
• (We did miss Clint and Brandie's wedding this day because it was in IA. We were bummed about that.)

Sunday, June 22 (Joel's birthday!)

• Went to Joel's old church and saw lots of old friends.
• Celebrated Joel's 26th birthday (Happy Birthday Hon!) with a steak dinner at his parents' house. He had wanted to go to the beach, but it was rainy.
• Walked the stairs up and down to go to Laketown Beach--there is a large dune to climb before you get to the beach.
• Joel brought me to the airport and I flew back to Des Moines. The adventure of the airport is in a post below.