Well tomorrow marks my first day at the fair with the Healthy Pet Surgical Suite, and therefore tonight marks my last night of vacation (I am therefore spending it with TV and a large Slurpee). As sad as it is to meet the end of a very stress-free month, I am excited to embrace the carnival life! Besides, I certainly squeezed enough fun into June to last all summer!
To start things off right, Logan and I loaded up his car (and made some excellent 80's CD's) and made our way to the Windy City to visit Brad and Jeff in their adorable little city apartment. As was the story of the summer, the mini-vacation was jam-packed with activity! First, we saw the Tigers play the White Sox on the South Side and listened to Sam share a bit of Chicago city history with us on the drive past the old projects just outside the park. Did you know that Chicago is called the Windy City for two reasons (1- It's windy. 2 - It has a history of political coruption)? And if you really want a history lesson, I recommend reading about the Chicago Flag on Wikipedia. The Tigers ended up winning the game (much to our delight!) and after we answered a bunch of questions about why Detroit hadn't demolished Tiger Stadium yet, we bid farewell to the White Sox fans around us and left with smiles on our faces. I specifically told one gentlemen (who was awfully down on Detroit) that we Detroiters would always have our sports - the Red Wings had just clinched a playoff finals berth to back up my statement.
After returning to Michigan, we spent the better part of most days enjoying the great outdoors. We killed an afternoon in the Beal Botanical Gardens at MSU, and acted as nourishment for the mosquitoes of Bald Mountain Park on a nine-mile hike.
Toward the end of June, both our families had planned and invited us to join them on a family vacation. So of course we joined them! First we went up to Tawas on Lake Huron with Logan's family where we stayed in a cozy little cottage right on the beach. The highlight of the trip had to be the flight of Logan's most prized possession - the box kite he had been working on for almost two years! We had to wait a couple of days for a good wind (somehow we found the only two days of the year when the shoreline wasn't even the slightest bit breezy), but the wait was worth it in the end. The kite took off like it knew it belonged up among the clouds looking down on us. It didn't even fight the wind at all; and it looked like it was merely floating rather than flying (like a hot air balloon rather an airplane). My favorite memory from our time in Tawas was the HUGE grin on Logan's face when he knew that everyone on the beach was stiff-necked from staring up at the kite he built with his own two hands.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we met up with my family at my parent's cottage neslted near the top of the lower peninsula, and celebrated the Fourth of July. We spent the day at the beach swimming out to the center of the lake and diving from the "big raft". We even joined in some of the Beach Bash games . . . and I ended up covered in eggs after mistakingly entering the egg toss. Fortunately, I was on a beach and quickly ran straight into the water to rinse off the yellow yolk dripping down my shoulder. We played baseball in the street, tried our luck fishing on HorseHead Lake, rode along the bumpy dirt rodes on a horse-drawn hay ride, and even found time to put together a farm-scene puzzle.
So despite the fact that I began this entry in Chicago, I feel as though I started highlighting the beauty of Michigan as I blabbered along, and I ended up sounding like one of those "Pure Michigan" commercials. Maybe they should hire me? - I could do a great job! Well I think now its time for me to finish this Slurpee and get ready for the rest of my summer in the Great Lakes State!
To start things off right, Logan and I loaded up his car (and made some excellent 80's CD's) and made our way to the Windy City to visit Brad and Jeff in their adorable little city apartment. As was the story of the summer, the mini-vacation was jam-packed with activity! First, we saw the Tigers play the White Sox on the South Side and listened to Sam share a bit of Chicago city history with us on the drive past the old projects just outside the park. Did you know that Chicago is called the Windy City for two reasons (1- It's windy. 2 - It has a history of political coruption)? And if you really want a history lesson, I recommend reading about the Chicago Flag on Wikipedia. The Tigers ended up winning the game (much to our delight!) and after we answered a bunch of questions about why Detroit hadn't demolished Tiger Stadium yet, we bid farewell to the White Sox fans around us and left with smiles on our faces. I specifically told one gentlemen (who was awfully down on Detroit) that we Detroiters would always have our sports - the Red Wings had just clinched a playoff finals berth to back up my statement.
After returning to Michigan, we spent the better part of most days enjoying the great outdoors. We killed an afternoon in the Beal Botanical Gardens at MSU, and acted as nourishment for the mosquitoes of Bald Mountain Park on a nine-mile hike.
Toward the end of June, both our families had planned and invited us to join them on a family vacation. So of course we joined them! First we went up to Tawas on Lake Huron with Logan's family where we stayed in a cozy little cottage right on the beach. The highlight of the trip had to be the flight of Logan's most prized possession - the box kite he had been working on for almost two years! We had to wait a couple of days for a good wind (somehow we found the only two days of the year when the shoreline wasn't even the slightest bit breezy), but the wait was worth it in the end. The kite took off like it knew it belonged up among the clouds looking down on us. It didn't even fight the wind at all; and it looked like it was merely floating rather than flying (like a hot air balloon rather an airplane). My favorite memory from our time in Tawas was the HUGE grin on Logan's face when he knew that everyone on the beach was stiff-necked from staring up at the kite he built with his own two hands.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we met up with my family at my parent's cottage neslted near the top of the lower peninsula, and celebrated the Fourth of July. We spent the day at the beach swimming out to the center of the lake and diving from the "big raft". We even joined in some of the Beach Bash games . . . and I ended up covered in eggs after mistakingly entering the egg toss. Fortunately, I was on a beach and quickly ran straight into the water to rinse off the yellow yolk dripping down my shoulder. We played baseball in the street, tried our luck fishing on HorseHead Lake, rode along the bumpy dirt rodes on a horse-drawn hay ride, and even found time to put together a farm-scene puzzle.
So despite the fact that I began this entry in Chicago, I feel as though I started highlighting the beauty of Michigan as I blabbered along, and I ended up sounding like one of those "Pure Michigan" commercials. Maybe they should hire me? - I could do a great job! Well I think now its time for me to finish this Slurpee and get ready for the rest of my summer in the Great Lakes State!