Day Nine-- Midland, MI

This morning I got up early again and went down to the exercise room before breakfast. Today was checkout day so when we got up there was a folder with instructions for how to check baggage, how to get a carriage down to the docks for transport back to the mainland.

Breakfast was great, again! Today, I had a leek and spinach quiche with mango juice. We took pictures with our favorite servers... they are so cute with the guests and if you talk to them, they're just so friendly and helpful and will do anything you need or want. (like last night g'ma was annoyed by how loud the jazz band was playing and she asked one of the people at dinner to tell them to turn down the racket, and she did and they did)

We checked out, got a carriage down to the dock but decided to wait for the next catamaran so that we could get some more fudge. We got more fudge and she went to another store while I waited with all the bags we were carrying.

Once we got to the mainland, we found our luggage, loaded up the car and drove about 2.5 hours down to Midland to visit G'ma's brother and his wife. I think the last time I saw them I was about 12 or 13 at a family reunion but family is family and we all sat down and talked like we were old friends. Their daughter came over and then her husband came and we had dinner (homemade pizzas) and sat a talked.

I've decided that seriously, family is family, and it doesn't matter how long it's been or how old you were, family just accepts you and is glad to see you and hear about how people are doing. I showed them pictures of my family and told them little stories and vice versa. What's really weird is that Will (my great-aunt, short for Wilma) and her daughter both remembered seeing me when I was a baby at a family reunion out here and Kim (my 2nd cousin) remembers when I was born because she's really good friends with my dad's sister. So weird when people remember you from, well, forever!

Side note: The pizzas were artichoke/spinach (with onions), green pepper/pepperoni, and Spanish (black beans, jalepenos, tomato slices) and really, really good and healthy! /For dessert we had dishes of vanilla ice cream with heaps, seriously, heaps of fresh Michigan strawberries! Michigan strawberries are red all the way through and soft and just so much better than the strawberries I'm used to.

I talked with Will G'ma and her brother talked about pictures and stories and were debating about in which year there was a German POW camp in their town -- either 1944 or 1945-- they couldn't decide and were going off of when strawberry picking season was and when their sister graduated from high school. She teaches yoga so tomorrow morning G'ma and I are going to her yoga class!

The room I'm staying is has stawberry wallpaper and a different print stawberry curtains! Will was an interior decorator for a long time and had her own business so her house is very artistic and really fun to look at.

Not a super exciting day, but a good day all around!