AMAZING MICHIGAN! ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE PARTS OF MY JOURNEY!

I adore Michigan!

My first stop was the small town of Hart where my mother's childhood neighbor, Linda, and her husband lived. They took me in for the weekend and fed me and gave me tours throughout the small beach towns in their area. I can't thank them enough!
Hart is a very rural area with cherry crops, asparagus crops, peaches, corn, and cattle. Apparently 90% of their cherry crops were wiped out by frost this year. Thanks a lot mother nature for ruining those juicy Michigan-grown cherries for us!
These beaches we visited were only really something I can imagine to be in Michigan. The plant life gives the area a whimsical feeling and the lake, although it looks pretty much like the ocean because of how large it is, is really just a large lake. The world always surprises me. We all should remember when we get stuck in our own little worlds and worries that there is something bigger out there for us. There is always something beautiful to see, and something amazing to be doing. We just have to find it.

Beachside Dreams

 

After exploring the beach towns, Linda remembered where my grandparents first met and decided to take me there to see it. In a little town called Manistee, my grandfather got his first teaching job in a old red-brick school house. Luckily, my grandmother just so happened to be working there as a receptionist at the time. The rest is history. The school house is closed down now but it was still an amazing feeling to be standing right at the place where it all started. They met, fell in love, and I have to thank the fates because that is why I'm here today. My grandfather passed away when I was still very young so I don't have too many memories of him. But I hear he was a great man. He flew airplanes in WWII. My grandmother, who passed away when I was in middle school, was an awesome person! She spoiled me and my brother like crazy and was the kindest woman I've ever known. I kept hearing about her being a free spirit and how she used to smoke cigars and didn't care what anyone thought of it!

The Old School House where my grandparent's first met

The next stop was the city of Grand Rapids. Now, after visiting this place I could definitely see myself moving there. At least for the summers! There was so much going on and everyone seemed to be out for a good time. I just so happened to be there the week of Rock the Rapids, a huge concert festival. The day I came into the city I stopped at a bar called The Bob http://www.thebob.com/ . I heard there that a concert was going on that night, so I decided to check it out and see if I could get tickets. It was country music star Miranda Lambert, also featuring her band Pistol Annies. I met a girl that offered to sell me a ticket to the show. I figured, "why not"! While I was in the crowd I just so happened to run into the same girl that sold me my ticket. She told me her name was Whitney and we decided since we were both alone we would hang out together for the concert. The concert was fun and Miranda Lambert was energetic. I didn't listen to country stations enough to know the words to her songs, but I did recognize a lot of them that I liked. And the Pistol Annies had some great songs that I now love!

Pistol Annies (far right, Miranda Lambert)

After the concert Whitney asked if I'd like to check out the bars with her. So we proceeded to have one of the funnest nights I've had so far on this trip. We drank and literally danced down the streets singing that Call Me Maybe song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNaR-rxAic . Whitney thought this would be a good thing to sing to guys to pick them up. And of course, most of the guys we sang this to sang it right along with us. Fun town! To my extreme luck, Whitney offered a sofa for me to sleep on instead of in my car for the night. So I spent two nights NOT in a car. Thank you Whitney!

Whitney and I

 

The next night we went downtown to the bars to see who was playing at Rock the Rapids this night. I have to admit I would have much rather gone to this concert but if I hadn't have gone to the Miranda Lambert one, I wouldn't have met Whitney and wouldn't have had a place to stay. So everything worked out just fine. But Shinedown, Staind, and POD were playing this night and they sounded amazing! The concert was outdoors so it could be heard from all around the downtown area. We ended up seeing this guy that Whitney knew that said some of the members of the band were supposed to be showing up at the bar and he could get us into their VIP section. Needless to say I was EXTREMELY excited about this. We drank, met new and interesting people, and had a fabulous time. The actual band members never showed up by the time we were ready to leave, but some of Shinedown's and Staind's guitar and drum technicians were there. And they still pretty much looked like rockstars with all the girls and booze around them!

Another amazing thing we did that night was go to this huge courtyard filled with people swing dancing. Apparently they did this every Tuesday in the summers and they were going for the Guinness world record of most people swing dancing in an area, or something along those lines. The energy was so contagious there! It was one of those times that I really wished I knew how to swing dance. One of Whitney's friends took it upon himself to teach me a few basics and I was getting it down and having some fun practicing. Another guy asked if I'd ever been flipped before. I said no and he proceeded to have me jump up and flip over his arm backwards! The rush was amazing! And now, I've decided that I'm taking swing lessons. Done.

Swing Dancing!!

Another great night in Grand Rapids!

It was then on to my mother's childhood neighbor Ray's place in Somerset. Ray and his wife took great care of me and we went out for dinner to get some amazing tasting BBQ and talk about the good old days when my mom and uncle were younger. Ray and his wife lived in a beautiful little lake community. It was so peaceful there. We took a ride in Ray's boat and he reminised about my family and what it was like growing up for them. After hearing some of the stories, growing up in the 60's sounded like so much fun I almost wished I could see what my mom was like back then and hang out with all of them!

I had so much fun on this journey through Michigan and I met so many kind people that didn't think twice about helping me out. I know that I will definitely be coming back for more fun times with new friends and relaxing scenery on lake-side beaches.

Thank you to everyone who made this a great trip!

~Kelsey P.~

Manistee on Dwellable