TVC 2013Neal and I went to Michigan at the end of July. The weather was mostly great, the Traverse City Film Festival kicked off before I left (it's a huge deal; Michael Moore is involved; free outdoor movies on the lake every night), I pretty much gorged myself. We ate so much food! At each meal! And pie, can't forget the cherry pie (the crumble is my new favorite). Traverse City is cherry capital of the world, so the pie is a staple. We both left on Saturday, I returned on Wednesday and he came back Sunday. It was a fun trip.
Saturday: We flew RDU --> Baltimore --> Flint via Southwest. In Flint, he rented a car so we could road trip it up to TVC. We had lunch with one of his best friends & his wife at BDubs (food was tasty!), drove to East Lansing to see his house, his brother, his parents' house..We visited Michigan State's campus which is huge. Kind of reminds me of a mix between NC State, Virginia Tech and CU Boulder...And I got my "official" MSU t-shirt at one of the bookstores; more official than the hoodie I got last year at a sports store in TVC. ;) Then, we drove up to TVC. On the way, we stopped in Gladwin so I could take pictures with the signs. Random to some, makes sense to others. I didn't realize that section of MI is heavy on the Amish. The drug store had designated parking for buggy & horse and we saw one going the opposite way when Neal missed the turn for the highway and we ended up taking the long way up. ;) I got loopy because we were both so tired. Did I mention our flight out of Raleigh LEFT at 6am?!
Sunday: We slept in. We putzed around the house for a little while. Neal, his mom & I went into downtown and window shopped/bought pies/enjoyed a not-yet overcrowded stroll (it was too many people for my taste, for such a small area). It was fun. I got a few things, including a Christmas present for my sister. After dinner, Neal and I went bowling. We were both out of practice..first time we've bowled since the league ended in March(?). I did, however, get a turkey!
Monday: We went shooting. His parents have friends who have a bunch of property up towards Interlochen (like 500 ac) and when they hunt/target practice, that's where they go. We shot first with a .38 special. I got the best shot, closest to the bullseye. His dad was quite pleased to say the least. We went a few rounds with that gun (at 50 ft) before moving onto the rifle. I don't know what kind it was...but I think I got closest with that one too. Apparently, I'm a good shot. Then, Mr. B came up and we went back to his house. He has a crossbow. We shot with that a few rounds..once again, best kill shot! :) Surprisingly, I liked it. We might have to go to an indoor range around here sometime.
His dad's cousin and her husband came up that afternoon. She's a character. :) After dinner, we went to Moomer's. It's world famous ice cream (made famous by one of the morning shows a couple years ago). I got vanilla (the true test of how good it is) and it was delicious (with rainbow sprinkles in a waffle cone). I'd go back. :D
Tuesday: His other cousin came. Neal and I went out for the day: wine tasting up the other peninsula and over to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. What a fun day! Apparently, Madonna's father has a winery. It was our 2nd stop. Our favorite was Black Star Farms. We got 4 bottles. :)
Wednesday: The day I left. Almost missed my flight out of TVC. Home safely and exhausted.
Overall, it was a great trip. Michigan is beautiful and is a great place to visit. Would I ever live there? Who knows.
