We've just returned from ten days of
touring up and down the west side of our home state of Michigan,
enjoying near-perfect summer weather and a multitude of family
visits. You could say the unofficial theme of this trip
was reunions. It all started because it was time once
again for Caroline's GHHS Class of '87 high school reunion.
She had so much fun five years ago at her 20th, that the minute
she left, she vowed to return for the next one. And now it
was nearly upon us. Neither of us had had the privilege of
being in Michigan during one of their wonderful summers in quite
some time and Scott had yet to meet our niece Kate who was
turning one-year-old on the day of the reunion itself.
Furthermore, Scott's parents and closest cousins would all be
together in one place on their annual vacation up at Torch Lake
the week leading up to the reunion. Add to that that
Caroline's sister and her family had rented a beach-front
cottage on Lake Michigan for that week as well, and the timing
couldn't have been more perfect. We decided it would be a
good time to make a week-plus trip of it, visiting with extended
family on both sides as well as Caroline being able to attend
her reunion. So we planned one of our typical multi-part
trips (which have the hallmarks of lots of driving around and
sleeping in way too many beds) of which we should be famous for
if we are not already.
Planning-wise, it was a challenging trip
from the very beginning. In the spring of this year, it
was looking quite certain that we'd be living in Singapore by
this time for Scott's job, in which case we'd be more likely to
be vacationing in Thailand or Vietnam than Michigan. Even
when the expat opportunity was removed from the equation, Scott
was scheduled to be in Singapore for work for the two weeks
preceding the trip and he booked a ticket to fly directly from
Asia to Chicago, planning to meet Caroline in Grand Haven.
Then at the last minute, Scott took a new job and cancelled the
Singapore trip, still planning to meet Caroline in Grand Haven,
since she planned to fly in a couple days early to spend time
with her mom and stepdad.
The drama
continued when Caroline's connection out of Chicago got
cancelled and then she lost her ID and credit cards,
causing her to spend the night and following day in Chicago with
only a small carryon bag and a limited about of cash. To
make matters worse, Scott had her cell phone with him since he
had had to turn in his work Blackberry on his way out the door
to the airport to catch his flight to Chicago and was driving to
Grand Haven in the middle of the night. We mistakenly
thought that, of the two of us, he would be the one more likely
to need it. But 24 hours later, after a challenging day at
O'Hare (originally there were no available flights until after
Scott would arrive at Caroline's parents!), Caroline was on her
way to Muskegon via United Airlines and the relief of being
among family, combined with sunny, warm weather quickly made it
all a distant memory.
Our vacation was
carefully divided up into three segments: 3 days up at Torch
Lake with Scott's family, 2 days on Lake Michigan with
Caroline's sister and extended family and 4 more days in Grand
Haven with Caroline's family (extended at the last minute so we
could connect with Caroline's Aunt Nancy, visiting from
Washington D.C.). Torch Lake was just like Scott
remembered it from his youth, filled with lazy days hanging out
with parents, brothers, an uncle and 'aunt', and several
cousins. There were two notable differences from the old
days: the water was actually warm(ish) and there were lots of
little kids, belonging to Scott's three cousins, running around.
Both of these new developments only made the Torch Lake
experience even better! The seven children in attendance
ranged in age from four to nine, the youngest being a tiny
infant at our last meeting. The newest generation of
cousins all got along marvelously and it was a real pleasure
having the opportunity to spend time with them. We
especially enjoyed hanging out with Marylin, the eldest of the
bunch and a charming young lady who actually thought we were
kind of fun and cool (I think). We had good timing for the
trip, since I assure you we won't be considered cool for much
longer! Highlights of our time at Torch Lake included
sandcastle building with the kids; cruising in the the pontoon
boat; dinner at Pearl's with the whole gang in Elk Rapids; ice
cream in Alden; playing Left, Right, Center with the kids,
Grandma 'Nise and Grunkle Jerry; morning Aeropress 'wars'; the
evening 'wine bell' and enjoying a gourmet dinner with Scott's
college friends Ryan and Leigh in Traverse City on their deck
nestled in the woods. But the best part was spending lots
of lazy time lounging in and around the water, drinking cheap
beer and doing some serious reconnecting with the people we've
missed since our departure from Michigan in the late '90s.
We could have happily spent the entire week at Torch Lake but,
alas, before we knew it it was time to move on.
A few hours after our departure from Torch Lake, we arrived in
Holland to find Caroline's sister, Jen's family and another
amazing spot awaiting us. Jen and Ivan's rented cottage,
situated right on Lake Michigan, was a large, fully-appointed
home and had a prize location, indeed. With the house
located just steps from the pristine beach, we spent more time
in the water and lounging on the sand, slowly turning a
golden-bronze as the stress of the past year-and-a-half
continued to melt away. Scott (and later Graham) exhibited
admirable patience with almost 6-year-old Christopher, who was
going through a bit of an antisocial Legos-and-DS-video-game
phase, and it was fun to catch up with Jen and Ivan and to spend
more time getting to know Kate, whose first birthday party we'd
be attending later in the week. Caroline's mom, Jane, took
advantage of her twins and their families finally being in the
same place at the same time and organized an unofficial Bosch
family reunion at the lake. Jane invited Caroline's Aunt
Mary, cousin Amelia and Amelia's husband Graham to come from
Wisconsin and Indiana, respectively, for a day at the beach.
Mary and Jane lovingly and skillfully prepared a Middle Eastern
picnic lunch, followed by a dinner of delicious local
brats, grilled to perfection by Ivan, along with cold
vegan-friendly picnic salads. Our white sangria was also a
hit as were Amelia's scrumptious vegan chocolate chip cookies
and it was a wonderful time catching up with more family whom we
don't see nearly often enough.
Somehow, with
the blink of an eye, an entire week had already sped by and it
was now time relocate to Caroline's mom's house for Kate's
birthday party and then on to the big reunion - the official one
of the trip - celebrating 25 years of life since high school!
Kate was a model birthday girl, attacking her cake with gusto to
the point of requiring a bath afterward and showing at least
moderate interest in her gifts, including her customized felted
blocks, imported from an artisan friend in Mexico, from her
Auntie C'Lo and Uncle Scott. After the party, Scott
dropped Caroline and Jen off at the Elks Club for the reunion
and continued on his way for pizza and a beer on the deck at
Kirby, with a prime view overlooking all the Coast Guard
Festival Friday-night action. Although the reunion was
somewhat sparsely attended, Caroline had a good time
reconnecting with old high school friends and particularly
enjoyed the group photos for each elementary school as well as
the fun 80s dress-up props and retro tunes.
Although lots of good times were had everywhere on our
itinerary, it was a relief to be on our final bed of the trip at
Caroline's mom's (complete with room to spread out as well as a
private bath) and our remaining days in Grand Haven were quite
relaxed after the party atmosphere of birthdays and reunions.
On Saturday, following tradition, we casually watched the Coast
Guard parade from Jane and Bill's comfortable front porch and
passed the remainder of our visit in a haze of boardwalk and
pier strolls, munching on the requisite Pronto Pups and ice
cream cones, and taking in Grand Haven's stunning nightly
sunsets. These pleasant daily activities were punctuated
with two final events: a visit to Scott's best man, Chris'
family in Dewitt for some very active play with
3-and-a-half-year-old Zach and a more sedate meeting with
mild-mannered Liv (age one-and-a-half) and a quick meal at
Champps and on Monday a more leisurely and relaxed lunch at Snug
Harbor and a stroll to the pier with Caroline's Aunt Nancy, who
was also in town for her high school reunion.
After a very busy and stressful 14 months back in the Bay Area,
this trip was a wonderful way to recharge, rejuvenate and
reconnect with those who matter the most to us, in a relaxed and
familiar setting. But for our next travel adventure we're
already hoping for something a bit more exotic and
adventurous...stay tuned!
Vito,
Marylin & Jimmy work diligently on their sandcastles
Dinner
at Pearl's - Don stops by for a visit from the parents-and-kids
table
Bill (aka Grandpa Mustache), Sally and the next generation of
cousins
Caroline & Kathy prepare to enjoy the sunset from the dock
Jen
enjoys a relaxing, kid-free meal at Snug Harbor
Contemplating Lake Michigan
Scott
& Christopher check out the other boogey boarders
Family!
Kate enjoys a ride from her Grandpa B
Cousin Amelia relaxes on the beach after a swim
Ivan mans the grill while Jane helps prepare the buns
Everybody, now!
Kate loves her birthday cake!
Caroline & Jen get into the '80s props at their 25th high school
reunion
Christopher's favorite part of the parade? Why, the candy
they throw, of course!
Caroline gets her Grand Haven 'delicacies' fix after the parade
Caroline, Jacque, Zack & Liv at Champps
Just another gorgeous sunset over Lake Michigan...