Entries in Michigan (33)
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Day 28 in 2022
Single digit temperatures, snow, and wind, all set against the backdrop of a raging pandemic, are not ideal vacation conditions. On the bright side, the conference is held annually at the DeVos Place Convention Center and Performance Hall, and while Betsy DeVos is Michigan's greatest embarrassment and I'd rather not give the family any of our money, the complex is a beautiful one and is attached to the Amway Grand Hotel, where we found ourselves lucky enough to get a room. That meant that not only did Calvin not have to leave the building for any of his activities, we were well entertained during the long days without having to leave it ourselves. We stayed in the historic part of the 1920s hotel, with its high, thick-beamed ceilings, and while much of it has of course been redone, it was done so tastefully and in keeping with the theme.
So on day two, while much of the hotel world was busy with conference things, we explored a mostly empty hotel and attached conference center without the risk of crowds or the chill of the Michigan winter.
Grand Haven
When we were coming home from Italy a few years ago and were nervously going through our first return trip through customs (because if you live in Michigan, Canada doesn't count), the nice man who interviewed us gave us an outsiders view of our home state. "Where are you from?" he asked in his all business, no nonsense tone. "Michigan," Jon replied in his slightly shakey, I've never done this before tone, to which the officer replied "Michigan!" his tone immediately turning to one of astonishment, "Got some troubles over there. You still have a job?" I guess to some, our state economy is at best a mystery, at worst a complete horror.
But there is so much more to our home than the outsiders view of a suffering economy. Michigan is a beautiful land of water and woodland. Our lake shores feel as vast as the ocean but without the salt and the sharks. I love to travel and experience new plances every chance I get, but I love coming home, and I'm also always happy to take a vacation right here: if not quite a staycation, then a statecation.
We were on the road again last weekend, this time for a family wedding on Jon's side that took us to the beautiful "west coast" of Michigan where the soft, fine sand stretches over small dunes and into the lake. There we soaked up time with family we hadn't seen in years. We buried our toes in the sand while watching the sun sink toward the horizon behind an unmarred span of lake. We attended a chilly but sweet wedding and danced into the evening. We broke bread and drank wine together. We came home refreshed and invigorated.
