Road Trip, Part I

Spring Road Trip Part I- written yesterday!

This is the life…Cruising through Canada listening to “The Long Way Home” by the Dixie Chicks (thanks to DrMI), and typing a blog post to chronicle the first couple days of our spring road trip. I should really be reading journal articles for my 15 page paper that is due in a week, but… this is much more fun.

We have had a fabulous time so far! We left town on Friday, leaving only my ipod behind (bbthund. To the rescue!), and drove south to the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan, or Dixon, Illinois. We stayed at our family home for only the night. The next morning bright and early we visited Grandma at the nursing home. Although Grandma has few good days anymore, we seemed to hit the jackpot. She was ready for us when we arrived and although we couldn’t understand much of what she talked about- she was excited to ask Jff about the “twins” and other topics. I even got her to laugh when we told her about how Luke calls Jff “Crazy J” because of the way he shakes his head like a madman. Leaving was hard, tears for who she was, for the life she now leads, and the few happinesses she still has- knowing we are one of the few.

Before leaving Dixon we met my favorite aunt for breakfast. It is so fun to talk to her, she is wonderful, someone I aspire to be like. I wish her the best as her life continues to change as a widower. Soon after breakfast, we drove out of my favorite childhood town. It is always too long between visits. A rich history exists there for me. Heading east, we got to Chicago about an hour and a half later... only time to stop by and have lunch and a quick visit with Cousin Jean, Husband Daryl, and their son Luke. We had a blast! Two year old Luke was obsessed with putting a balloon under my sweatshirt and then unzipping, to free the balloon. We did this over and over again. He of course also asked Jff a thousand times to shake his head—which of course brought on the giggles. “Crazy Jff” and I left for Michigan when Luke went down for his nap.

We arrived in Michigan at dinner time, so excited to see DrMI and husband for the first time since our wedding last summer. It was fun to catch up in their cute little home over a delicious meal. We looked at pictures, told stories, and I was introduced to my new fav. Television show thanks to TiVo- “Man vs. Wild”. I also got a really fun birthday present. On Sunday we went into Ann Arbor and showed Jff around campus, did some window shopping, went and got ice cream (yum!). After a minor incursion to the Sprint store (long story), we continued on to see a really fun parade with great costumes and sat outside to eat great Italian food. On the way home, gabbing with just DrMI was the most fun- I miss that so much- the phone doesn’t always do it justice! Later on, Jff and I played each other in tennis on the Wii, went for a run, and I finished writing a paper. Last night we ate sushi, chips and guac, and played euchre- good competition-and funny stories of cards mating, honeymoon games, etc. Oh, and the best beer, Oberon, was in season in Michigan, so we got our share. Delicious! Our love to K and M- it was sad to leave. They are so fun, and so far away.

This morning on our way through Detroit, we drove by DrMI’s medical school and squeeked by the Comerica stadium before the traffic for the Tiger’s opening got bad. We drove through the tunnel and are now on our way through Ontario to see Jff’s college roommate and wife in their new town. Will update the blog with more inane details of our travels at a later date!