Sunday, June 10, 2007
Traversing to Traverse City
We were to Michigan quite a few years ago, when we had some friends who were from Bay City. The kids were very young at that time. We spent some time around Bay City, Detroit, and Mackinaw Island. On this trip, we were on the other side of Michigan. We flew in and out of Grand Rapids and the retreat was in Traverse City.
Traverse City is where several peninsulas go into Lake Michigan—so there are several large bays. When we got there Wednesday evening, we walked along the shore and in the sand for a while. It was in the 80s and very humid, but as we were walking, the temperature dropped probably 20 degrees.
The next day, we drove up the Mission Peninsula before the retreat started. There are tons of cherry orchards, vineyards and million dollar homes. At the end is a historic area where an old light house is located. It was supposed to be a swimming beach, but there was a long stretch of rocks and grassy area before the water started. I guess the lake is really low (like a lot of others). Although there were some really nice sandy beaches along the lake.
On Saturday, after the retreat, we drove to the west cost of Michigan and followed the lake. We found a really nice beach where we sat in the sunshine—it was kind of neat because it was a sand dune with a steep bank. We carved out ‘chairs’ and plopped down. If we needed little more lumbar support—we could just push some sand in the area. Since I’m always so exhausted after a retreat—it was really nice to just sit back and relax.
We spent the night in Grand Rapids and then left early in the morning to fly home. Since there were sever thunder storms the day before, our plane was delayed for 45 minutes so the crew could get the mandatory rest. Then we ended up being delayed another 45 minutes because they didn’t get the slip when they fueled up the plane and couldn’t leave until they got it. That meant we only had 20 minutes in the cites—so we really hurried across the airport. Another man from our flight ran by us while we were going on the moving walkway. About the time we got to where the A and B concourse starts, we heard our names called for our flight. It was a lucky thing we were leaving from A2—so we didn’t have too far to go. The other man who had run by us was also getting on the plane to the Falls and was telling them that we were right behind him—so we made it on the flight. The really amazing thing to me was that our luggage also made it. I was certain that it wouldn’t.
I’m only home for a little while and then will be gone for two full weeks again.
Traverse City is where several peninsulas go into Lake Michigan—so there are several large bays. When we got there Wednesday evening, we walked along the shore and in the sand for a while. It was in the 80s and very humid, but as we were walking, the temperature dropped probably 20 degrees. The next day, we drove up the Mission Peninsula before the retreat started. There are tons of cherry orchards, vineyards and million dollar homes. At the end is a historic area where an old light house is located. It was supposed to be a swimming beach, but there was a long stretch of rocks and grassy area before the water started. I guess the lake is really low (like a lot of others). Although there were some really nice sandy beaches along the lake.
On Saturday, after the retreat, we drove to the west cost of Michigan and followed the lake. We found a really nice beach where we sat in the sunshine—it was kind of neat because it was a sand dune with a steep bank. We carved out ‘chairs’ and plopped down. If we needed little more lumbar support—we could just push some sand in the area. Since I’m always so exhausted after a retreat—it was really nice to just sit back and relax.We spent the night in Grand Rapids and then left early in the morning to fly home. Since there were sever thunder storms the day before, our plane was delayed for 45 minutes so the crew could get the mandatory rest. Then we ended up being delayed another 45 minutes because they didn’t get the slip when they fueled up the plane and couldn’t leave until they got it. That meant we only had 20 minutes in the cites—so we really hurried across the airport. Another man from our flight ran by us while we were going on the moving walkway. About the time we got to where the A and B concourse starts, we heard our names called for our flight. It was a lucky thing we were leaving from A2—so we didn’t have too far to go. The other man who had run by us was also getting on the plane to the Falls and was telling them that we were right behind him—so we made it on the flight. The really amazing thing to me was that our luggage also made it. I was certain that it wouldn’t.
I’m only home for a little while and then will be gone for two full weeks again.
# posted by bjm @ 1:31 PM 
