Home from Michigan

It was wonderful to escape to the north country for a respite from the heat of Oklahoma.  We headed for Michigan early in the morning and arrived in Effingham, Illinois about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.  After a short nap in the Hampton Inn, we walked next door to the Lone Star Road House.  Just as we finished eating, a severe thunderstorm swept the county.  The wind was blowing rain at 60 miles per hour, and continued doing so for 30 minutes.  Needless to say, we got acquainted with many other travelers from all over the U.S. while we waited.  Some had come because the power went down in other restaurants across town. 

The next morning, the sun came out and we continued our journey north.  We arrived at Kelli's home in Grand Rapids, Michigan in time for a delicious grilled brot and pork chop dinner.  Caleb (16) and Hannah (15) kept us laughing with their stories about school and friends.  Caleb is on the varisty tennis team, and Hannah is Sophomore representative on the student council.  There are over 1,000 students in their high school.  Kelli stays busy being media director for Cornerstone University.  Grand Rapids has a national arts festival soon, and Kelli was interviewing top artists for the newspapers.

The following day we drove to Interlochen Arts Academy for the closing concert. At intermission, I wasn't feeling well and decided to sit outside.  I could still hear the music while looking at the tress and the lakes.  A 13 year old boy who was watching the family dog sat down next to me.  His family was from Chicago,and his sister was playing the harp in the orchestra.  His father was a former NASA rocket scientist and was in the process of being transferred to Virginia.  What I found interesting was that he was homeschooled because his family was Christian.  He had been taught that science and God were very compatible.

After the concert, we drove the hour back to Manistee where we had rented a condo at Harbour Village for the second year since selling our cottage.  It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.  The back side of the condo is on the yacht harbour, and the front faces Lake Michigan.  The grandkids love the huge beach with a playground.  Also, the complex has two swimming pools - one outside with a jacuzzi and one inside for rainy days.  We ate breakfast and lunch at the condo, and then went out for dinner each evening.  On Wednesday, we all went to the park and listened to a free jazz concert.  The group was from Lansing and had played with Ray Charles.  On Friday, Bill and I went to the Ramsdell Theater and saw the play, "Glass Managerie" by Tennesee Williams.  The actors were great!!!

We are home now and I will write more about that later.  Today is Mom's 89th birthday.  Her friends are giving her a party at the nursing home this afternoon, and family is taking her out to dinner tonight.  She will be going home soon and she is excited about that.  We have held her apartment for her.