I like Michigan
Sep. 2nd, 2003 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chestnutcurlsHey. I'm back. Here's the account of my Michigan Adventure.
I feel like this write-up was boring, but you can judge for yourself.
Friday we drove all day from Nashville, after visiting my sister on Thursday. We made good time, but then took over an hour to get through Detroit, since we got lost. I understand now why my family had never traveled anywhere but Florida or Texas: apparently we're incapable of finding our way in unfamiliar places. Anyway, after we got to the hotel and settled in, it was time to get back in the car and travel 45 more minutes to my cousin's bride's family's house for the rehearsal dinner, catered by Olive Garden. It turned out not to be a formal dinner after all, so I ended up wearing khaki pants after all that aggravation.
Rachael (my cousin's new wife) is the most beautiful person I have ever seen in real life. She is absolutely gorgeous and weighs about ten pounds. She could be a supermodel, but instead she's a nurse, for which I must give her props. I didn't get to talk to her much, but she seems nice. She has a very large extended family, also nice. I think Cliff (my cousin) felt kind of slighted because he had so few family members there- his mom, his dad and stepmom (my Uncle Mike and his wife Claudia), his sister Tiff (my cousin who visited us not long ago), and the four of us.
Anyway, the dinner was fine, but kind of dull for me since I hardly knew anyone. I did try throughout our visit to talk to the new family, but it was fairly obvious that they all thought I was a dork. So I was bored. I would have hung out with Tiff, but she was busy doing sister-of-the-groom type stuff.
Saturday was a fun, action-packed day. In the morning I called Jennifer (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
anulyra) and she agreed to come to the hotel and then go to lunch with my family and I. My mother had been very huffy about my wanting to meet another online person, but my dad must have convinced her, because on Saturday she was suddenly all cheery and supportive about it. I honestly have no idea what happened there.
Anyway, I was very excited to meet Jen. Around noon she showed up with her husband Jason (jasoneric) and we all went to lunch at a Mongolian Barbecue restaurant. I had never been to one, and it was delicious. It's like do-it-yourself stir-fry. You get whatever you want from the meat bar and the veggie bar and the spice bar, and then the cooks cook it in front of you. It was lots of fun. Everyone got along well, much to my relief. After lunch, we went back to the hotel and hung out for a while. Jennifer taught me lots of cool Michigan things, like what the state bird is (the Construction Cone) and how to show people where you're from in Michigan (point to a spot on your right hand). She's very nice and fun. The time I spent with her and Jason was the most fun I had on the whole trip.
Then we were off to Cliff and Rachael's wedding, which took place on a golf course. Well, a field next to a golf course. The bridal party proceeded to the wedding area on golf carts, which I had definitely never seen before. The couple was married under an arbor that Rachael's dad built himself (which resulted in a lot of Meet the Parents jokes at the reception). It was a beautiful wedding - the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Afterward, we all went across the street for the reception at the country club. It was a full sit-down-dinner reception. The food was great, and I really appreciated it. I hadn't been able to eat much for several days (thanks a lot, Z-Pack), so I was starving. Then it was time for dancing, which was a lot of fun. I danced several times with my dad. After a few hours I got bored and wanted to call Jennifer, but I knew we couldn't do anything, so I just sat exhausted until we finally left at almost midnight.
Sunday was our designated Canada Day! We drove downtown and crossed the Detroit River via an underwater tunnel. Upon reaching the Canada clearance area, my brother realized he didn't have his ID. Thankfully, the border guard let us through anyway since we were only staying an hour or so (my father refused to spend any more time out of America). We stopped at a welcome center and then went down to a scenic riverwalk. The Detroit River is actually salt water, so the breeze was very refreshing. Compared to the eternally-brown Mississippi, the blue river was even prettier to me. We looked at some monuments and plants along the riverwalk. Then we went back to Detroit. My mother and I wanted to see Lake Erie, but my father didn't want to drive the extra half-hour. So I still haven't seen a Great Lake. But I have been to Canada. :)
Later in the afternoon, we went back to Rachael's family's house for another cookout. Cliff and Rachael weren't leaving for their honeymoon until the next day- they've been living together for a while, so I guess it wasn't a big deal- so they were there to open their wedding presents. That was fun. I also got to spend some time with my uncle and his wife, Claudia, whom I love. So that part of the trip ended on a good note.
On the way back to the hotel we went to Kroger to pick up some drinks, and the funniest thing happened. When we go on trips, my mom is always telling people we're from out of town. It drives me nuts. She advertises our tourist-ness at the slightest provocation. So when we reached the checkout, my mom handed the cashier her Kroger card and said, "I don't know if this will work- we're from another state!" Kevin and I started cracking up and couldn't stop. We kept saying to each other, "Hey! Did you know we're from another state?" On the way out, we went out the IN door because that was where our car was parked. A worker was pushing a long line of carts in the door and was not happy to see us. Without missing a beat, my brother goes, "We're sorry- we didn't know which way to go, we're from another state." I laughed so hard I cried. My parents didn't see the humor.
Monday I spent thirteen hours in the car, with a short break in Nashville to see Debra again. Then I came home to find the trash cans, laundry baskets, and litterbox overflowing, and the dishes I'd left five days earlier still sitting in the sink, now smelling absolutely horrible. Welcome home and Happy Labor Day. At least the cat was happy to see me.
I feel like this write-up was boring, but you can judge for yourself.
Friday we drove all day from Nashville, after visiting my sister on Thursday. We made good time, but then took over an hour to get through Detroit, since we got lost. I understand now why my family had never traveled anywhere but Florida or Texas: apparently we're incapable of finding our way in unfamiliar places. Anyway, after we got to the hotel and settled in, it was time to get back in the car and travel 45 more minutes to my cousin's bride's family's house for the rehearsal dinner, catered by Olive Garden. It turned out not to be a formal dinner after all, so I ended up wearing khaki pants after all that aggravation.
Rachael (my cousin's new wife) is the most beautiful person I have ever seen in real life. She is absolutely gorgeous and weighs about ten pounds. She could be a supermodel, but instead she's a nurse, for which I must give her props. I didn't get to talk to her much, but she seems nice. She has a very large extended family, also nice. I think Cliff (my cousin) felt kind of slighted because he had so few family members there- his mom, his dad and stepmom (my Uncle Mike and his wife Claudia), his sister Tiff (my cousin who visited us not long ago), and the four of us.
Anyway, the dinner was fine, but kind of dull for me since I hardly knew anyone. I did try throughout our visit to talk to the new family, but it was fairly obvious that they all thought I was a dork. So I was bored. I would have hung out with Tiff, but she was busy doing sister-of-the-groom type stuff.
Saturday was a fun, action-packed day. In the morning I called Jennifer (
anulyra) and she agreed to come to the hotel and then go to lunch with my family and I. My mother had been very huffy about my wanting to meet another online person, but my dad must have convinced her, because on Saturday she was suddenly all cheery and supportive about it. I honestly have no idea what happened there.Anyway, I was very excited to meet Jen. Around noon she showed up with her husband Jason (
jasoneric) and we all went to lunch at a Mongolian Barbecue restaurant. I had never been to one, and it was delicious. It's like do-it-yourself stir-fry. You get whatever you want from the meat bar and the veggie bar and the spice bar, and then the cooks cook it in front of you. It was lots of fun. Everyone got along well, much to my relief. After lunch, we went back to the hotel and hung out for a while. Jennifer taught me lots of cool Michigan things, like what the state bird is (the Construction Cone) and how to show people where you're from in Michigan (point to a spot on your right hand). She's very nice and fun. The time I spent with her and Jason was the most fun I had on the whole trip.Then we were off to Cliff and Rachael's wedding, which took place on a golf course. Well, a field next to a golf course. The bridal party proceeded to the wedding area on golf carts, which I had definitely never seen before. The couple was married under an arbor that Rachael's dad built himself (which resulted in a lot of Meet the Parents jokes at the reception). It was a beautiful wedding - the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Afterward, we all went across the street for the reception at the country club. It was a full sit-down-dinner reception. The food was great, and I really appreciated it. I hadn't been able to eat much for several days (thanks a lot, Z-Pack), so I was starving. Then it was time for dancing, which was a lot of fun. I danced several times with my dad. After a few hours I got bored and wanted to call Jennifer, but I knew we couldn't do anything, so I just sat exhausted until we finally left at almost midnight.
Sunday was our designated Canada Day! We drove downtown and crossed the Detroit River via an underwater tunnel. Upon reaching the Canada clearance area, my brother realized he didn't have his ID. Thankfully, the border guard let us through anyway since we were only staying an hour or so (my father refused to spend any more time out of America). We stopped at a welcome center and then went down to a scenic riverwalk. The Detroit River is actually salt water, so the breeze was very refreshing. Compared to the eternally-brown Mississippi, the blue river was even prettier to me. We looked at some monuments and plants along the riverwalk. Then we went back to Detroit. My mother and I wanted to see Lake Erie, but my father didn't want to drive the extra half-hour. So I still haven't seen a Great Lake. But I have been to Canada. :)
Later in the afternoon, we went back to Rachael's family's house for another cookout. Cliff and Rachael weren't leaving for their honeymoon until the next day- they've been living together for a while, so I guess it wasn't a big deal- so they were there to open their wedding presents. That was fun. I also got to spend some time with my uncle and his wife, Claudia, whom I love. So that part of the trip ended on a good note.
On the way back to the hotel we went to Kroger to pick up some drinks, and the funniest thing happened. When we go on trips, my mom is always telling people we're from out of town. It drives me nuts. She advertises our tourist-ness at the slightest provocation. So when we reached the checkout, my mom handed the cashier her Kroger card and said, "I don't know if this will work- we're from another state!" Kevin and I started cracking up and couldn't stop. We kept saying to each other, "Hey! Did you know we're from another state?" On the way out, we went out the IN door because that was where our car was parked. A worker was pushing a long line of carts in the door and was not happy to see us. Without missing a beat, my brother goes, "We're sorry- we didn't know which way to go, we're from another state." I laughed so hard I cried. My parents didn't see the humor.
Monday I spent thirteen hours in the car, with a short break in Nashville to see Debra again. Then I came home to find the trash cans, laundry baskets, and litterbox overflowing, and the dishes I'd left five days earlier still sitting in the sink, now smelling absolutely horrible. Welcome home and Happy Labor Day. At least the cat was happy to see me.
