Michigan Continued

Good Morning from beautiful Allendale, MI. West side of the state, near Grand Rapids. Use your goggle maps. Why Allendale? Because we started in FLINT! Just kidding. Family visits are the order of business this week. The weekend we spent in Flint was a lot of fun, not so much because of the geography, but because of the gang pictured above, the Delta Tau Delta Frat boys, class of 1964.

A word of advice to anyone contemplating a class reunion - GO! I learned things about my husband no one would believe. Oh, the shenanigans that went on during his college days! What bound these men together then was clear - beer. Lots and lots of cheap beer. And, as I learned this weekend, the ability to consume copious amounts.

The tour of "Ye Olde Stomping Grounds" began Saturday morning. Three couples piled into a car to begin the search for the house our GMI Alums rented at the end of their Senior year. Along the way to Lake Fenton, we learned that as Pledges, they thought a sign similar to the one pictured above would look better in their house. Being engineering students, they were prepared to unbolt and load it onto the roof of a car. Imagine their surprise when the Fraternity President demanded they remove it from its place of honor.

The funny thing about returning to a place after 50 years is that things change. So when we finally found Lake Fenton after hearing lots of, "should I turn here?" " No, I mean maybe, Yes" (the fact that Joni had pulled up a map and was gently trying to lead them to water had no impact on our fearless explorers) we found the lake and lots and lots of beautiful homes. Alas, not the cottage the boys rented back in the day. But we think we found the area where it once stood. (The wives just went with it because we had six adults crammed into a caddy and those of us in the middle were done).

The rest of the weekend was filled with parties and some speeches and a photo booth. By Sunday afternoon we were all ready to head off and sleep. A sure way to judge that the weekend was a success.

Michigan

Greetings from beautiful Flint, MI! Not exactly the hotbed for summer travelers, but one must start some place. Actually our journey began last Monday when we said good bye to our home in Phoenix, AZ and hello Jauchmobile, our summer home on wheels. The week was spent driving through AZ, NM, TX, OK, MO, IL, IN. This morning we arrive in MI.

John and I are newbies to this experience and, like all good students, spent months reading everything we could about RVing and felt we were ready. Who could not love an activity that involves Boondocking? That is what we did this week. Minds out of the gutter people. Boondocking is stopping for the night at a truck stop or rest stop or, for those of you who can not pass up a deal, Walmart for the night. No fees like at a campground for those of us of German decent (John) or those of us who like to save money and have no pride (me).

As we formulated our plan for the summer, I thought, why not blog? There are at least two people out there who will read it (a good reason to have children). I have always kept journals of our travels so I will have a memory of the trip because, as any woman of a certain age knows, memories can be tricky things. What was I saying? Oh, yes, that whole journaling thing is now available to all to see.

So, we begin our journey here in Flint because my Sweetheart is celebrating his 50th college reunion. Our weekend will be filled with old friends, lots of laughs, and lots of reminiscing.

Stay tuned to see where we go next!