The Trip--Day 4, 5, & 6

After the excitement of the first three days, the next three were far calmer.  Yet, I’ve still got a few things to share.

Monday morning started by getting up late (around 8:00) and heading down to St. John.  Since I was going to be around, Mom had told the class that I’d come in to visit for a little while.  When I got there, the class was out playing some team games, so I figured I’d watch that for a little while.  I managed to catch up a little bit with a couple of the parents who were there to help with the events, as well as take pictures.  Of course, these parents were all about my age, which was a little surreal (given the fact that I’m still single).  I still don’t feel old enough to have kids

Anyway, when they got to the water balloon toss, one person still needed a partner, and I was drafted into service.  My partner (whose name I’ve already forgotten, sorry) actually did pretty well, finishing 3rd.  Of course, I had to do this while taking a knee, much like you see in the front row of a team picture, but that was OK.  I managed to escape without a) getting soaked myself or b) soaking my partner.  Our breaks occurred on away-from-body drops.

After the games ended, it was back inside for ice cream (which was the enticement I needed to make the trip in).  After the kids got their ice cream (which I managed to pick up for Mom on my way in), I got to show the class Sleepy Bear.  Sleepy is a stuffed animal I’ve had since shortly after I was born.  He put up with a lot of abuse when I was younger, and has the scars to prove it.  Apparently, Mom has recounted some of those stories to several classes, including his defuzzing.  They asked a few questions, which I answered.  Once they were out of questions, I wandered back for some ice cream.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet.  I had lunch with Dad and just hung around the house.  Things got more interesting, or at least aggravating, at dinner.

For some reason, Dad likes to watch the news on Channel 7 in Detroit at dinner.  Well, given the coverage, I firmly believe that the station was taking kickbacks from IKEA to cover the opening of their store in Canton.  They had to spend the first 6-7 minutes of the broadcast talking about the morons (the reporters called them “people”, but I strongly disagree with that assessment) who decided to camp out in line so they could be among the first ones in when the store opened on WEDNESDAY.  Channel 7 even sent a helicopter over there to provide “aerial coverage” of these future (or current) psychiatric patients.  They showed graphics telling people where they could park.  You can see some up-close pictures of this crap on Ann’s blog.  I can’t wait until the next dog-grooming store opens in Novi.  I’m sure they’ll get the same coverage, right Channel 7?  How much does it cost to get you to provide this “free” coverage?  A hundred grand?  More?  Less?  Free beer at the Anchor Bar?  Wings tickets?  Yet you wonder why Mayor Kwame has the mayor’s office up for sale.

This junk continued through Wednesday.  The plugs for this gigantic non-event continued almost non-stop for the next 3 days.  This is my only time in my life that I wish Bill Bonds was still an anchor.  Sure, he’s sold out by doing commercials for Gardner-White furniture, but there’s no way in hell he would have allowed the news broadcast to be used so shamelessly.  Now I know how Robbie Timmons has a job.  Waive a few dollars in her face and she’ll say whatever you want her to say.  So what if it isn’t actually news?

After dinner on Monday, I did meet my cousin Amy for drinks and to catch up, as I didn’t get to talk to her much during Mom’s dinner on Sunday.  It was great to see her and to hear about what’s been going on with her family.

Outside of that, Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful.  I hung out with the parents at the house for the most part.  I got a haircut on Tuesday and had a chance to talk baseball with MTB (that’s Mike the Barber for the uninitiated).  I also spoke with a recruiter on Wednesday afternoon about my background and what I’m looking for.  Yes, I could still end up at TNG, but I’m keeping my options open while they decide what role I might have and what my responsibilities might include.

Wednesday evening, I got everything packed, as I would be leaving Thursday morning.  With that, I set the alarm and went to bed.  So ended day six.

The Trip--Day 3

Sunday was the day of the whole reason for the trip:  Mom’s retirement dinner at St. John.  Of course, the day started earlier than I’d planned, as I still wasn’t able to get to sleep on the bed I was on.  I kept turning and tossing trying to find a comfortable position, but it just wasn’t happening on that bed.  So at about 4 in the morning, I got up, grabbed a sheet and a blanket, and headed for the couch in the living room.  I also grabbed my phone and set the alarm so I’d wake up in time to get ready for church.  Fortunately, that did the trick.  I was asleep in just a few minutes.

Now, don’t feel bad for me here.  Chad & I were sharing a room with two twin beds while Michele had the spare bedroom with a queen and twin bed.  Since neither of us would want to let the other have the “good” bed, we decided to keep things even and let Michele have that.  I’d been able to sleep on that twin bed before, so the fact that I couldn’t sleep was really a surprise.  But back to the story.

Next thing I know, Chad’s waking me up.  It’s about 7:45, and he’s getting ready to leave for church.  He, Michele, and Dad were going to the 8:00 service.  I had been planning to go to the 9:30 service so Mom would have someone to sit with at that one (since she got to go to all the services), so that worked out pretty well.  As everyone else was in church, I showered, dressed, and got breakfast before heading over to St. John.

I met up with Rob before heading in.  Mom found us, so she knew where we were sitting.  She had to make an appearance at the other 9:30 service (St. John has 2 at 9:30) first, but would join us afterwards.  Or so we thought.  Uncle Dale, my cousin Jen, her husband Rick, her daughter Corin, and nephew Mason all sat up near the front, so when Mom was escorted in, they took her up to sit with them.  That was OK.

When Mom went up to be recognized, the pastor assumed that my uncle was my father.  This guy has been the pastor at this church for 3 or 4 years now.  Mom has been on staff the entire time (actually the last 22 years), and he doesn’t know my uncle (who’s also a member of this church) from Dad.  Needless to say, I was yet again disappointed in Pastor Ego.

After having lunch with Rob, his Mom, and brother Michael (thanks for treating, Mrs. G.), it was back to the house to hang out with the family for a little while before getting ready for the dinner, which started at 4:00.  Despite the rocky start at church earlier in the day, everything went VERY well.  The dinner was good, everyone seemed to have a good time, and everyone who spoke (including Mom) did a great job.  A special thanks to Pete Grund who was a fantastic emcee for the event.

After helping get the gifts packed into the car, we headed back to the house.  If there was ever a time our family should have taken two cars, this was probably it.  Of course, this is when we all (which was 5 of us with Michele) go in one vehicle.  It was not uncommon that if our family would go anywhere, 4 of us would show up in 3 cars.  Go figure.

Once we got home, Chad & Michele had to pack up and head back to GR, since Chad needed to catch a plane to Vegas on Monday morning.  It was good to see him again, as well as to meet Michele.  Odds are the next time I see them will be when I head up for their wedding in a few months, unless they come down to look for a place around Charlotte before then (hint, hint).

While I was down talking with Mom, Dad changed the bed in the spare bedroom, where I’ve been known to sleep well.  After another little snack, and getting Dad’s blood sugar back up, I was off to bed for a GOOD night’s sleep.  So ended day 3.

The Trip--Day 2

For some unknown reason, I really didn’t sleep much on Friday night.  I’ve noticed that I don’t sleep well the first night in a different bed.  Such is the penalty for too many nights in my own bed, I guess.  Anyway, with my roughly 1 hour of sleep, I was up and getting breakfast.

Actually, there wasn’t much going on early Saturday.  Chad & I had discussed what we were going to give Mom for her retirement gift before he & Michele left to take a look at some spas in the area.  Of course, Michele had done some advance scouting and got things down to a few options.  I pretty much hung around the house and talked with the parents.  I did squeeze in a little bit of reading, but not much.

Since Chad, Michele, Rob, and I were going to the Red Sux-Tigers game that evening, we decided we’d leave early to get an early dinner before driving down to Detroit.  Rob was kind enough to drive up and pick us all up at the parents place a little after 4:00.  With that, we were off to T.G.I. Fridays, where we had a good meal.  I had my usual:  the Jack Daniels’ Flat Iron Steak.  I get it every time they have it.  I even got an extra serving of the Jack Daniels sauce that I was putting on both my steak and my mashed potatoes.  It cost an extra $.49, but since Rob was buying (punishment for years of losing Tiger teams), I decided to go nuts.

Since Chad & Michele got drinks, they got carded (Rob & I stuck with Coke).  I can understand it with Michele, but there’s no way Chad doesn’t look over 25.  Anyway, after dinner, the waitress asks them how they like living in Grand Rapids.  We had just been talking about GR prior to her coming back to the table, so we thought maybe she’d been listening in on us.  She came clean that she notice it on their drivers licenses, but for some reason decided to wait until we were done eating to ask about this.  She came to the realization that this might come across as a little stalkerish (it is), and kind of apologized for that.  Rob & Chad paid the bills, and we were off to the game.

Rob found a place to park, and we headed over to the stadium.  On the trip down, the skies had gotten darker.  Just after we got into the stadium, it started raining.  Don’t ask me how we managed to beat the rain, but we were glad we did.  The rain continued for about 40-45 minutes, which delayed us getting to our seats, but we managed to create a small cluster without getting in the way of people going by.

So we finally head to our seats.  The game started about 50 minutes later than scheduled, but once it got going, it moved pretty quickly.  Bonderman had a good start, and the Tigers were up 3-2 going into the bottom of the 8th.  Much to Rob’s chagrin, this was a save situation, and Todd Jones was warming up in the bullpen.  However, Magglio Ordonez hit a 3-run homer off of Julian Tavarez (who sucks, by the way, but since he pitches for Boston, that’s OK) to up the score to 6-2.  This removed the save situation, Todd Jones sat down, and Rob was immediately relieved.  He was even more relieved after Rodney finished things off in the 9th to give Detroit their only win against Boston in the series.

With that, we headed back to car and headed home.  The game ended just after 10:00, which is pretty freaking quick considering it didn’t start until a little before 8:00.  Rob dropped us off back at the parents house a little after 11:00, and then it was off to bed.  So ended day two.

The Trip--Day 1

All things considered, I had a pretty good trip up to Michigan.  Things started off on Friday morning.  After stopping off at the bank for a last minute withdrawal, I gave Dad a quick call to let him know I was leaving, just like he asked.  I had joked with him the night before that he needed to make sure he was up.  Fortunately, he actually was up and out of bed (I called a little after 9 am), but had been that way for only about 10 minutes.

Leaving Charlotte just a little after 9:00 in the morning is just about perfect timing.  Rush hour has died down, but the non-employed types aren’t headed out to stores yet.  This let me blitz through downtown Charlotte without a hitch.  Things continued to sail smoothly up I-77 through all of North Carolina and Virginia.

I know I’ve said this before, but I really enjoy driving on the West Virginia Turnpike.  Yes, I could do without coughing up $3.75 in tolls, but winding through the mountains in my little ’96 Avenger just feels right.  I can grip some of the corners that overloaded SUV’s just can’t.  I had to kick the car out of the overdrive in a couple of spots in order to maintain my speed, but it handled everything like a champ.  I did have to take a potty break at the Tamarack stop around exit 45 on the turnpike, but within 5 minutes, I was back on the road.

As I neared Charleston, I had a decision to make.  I could continue up I-77 to the Ohio Turnpike, or I could break west on I-64 and pick up US-35 to Chilicothe and Columbus.  Having checked the weather report prior to leaving, they were calling for spotty showers for most of Ohio.  Given this, and the fact that I’ve only used US-35 a couple of times, I decided to stay on the turnpike.  I hate trying to navigate unfamiliar roads in the rain.  This would mean the trip would last a little longer, but the stress reduction made it worth it.

Once I cleared Charleston around 1:30, I broke out lunch, which was a couple pieces of pizza that I’d packed with me.  Casey & Erin, quit laughing.  Of course I packed some pizza, and no, I didn’t pack a microwave to heat it with.  I just ate it cold, which is good as well.  The stretch between Charleston and Zanesville, Ohio is pretty calm, and a good spot to eat in the car.

After just under 400 miles and about 6 hours of driving, I finally stopped for gas in Caldwell, Ohio.  I was quite happy with this, as the fuel light still hadn’t come on, and I knew I was over halfway home.  By this time, things had gotten more overcast, and I figured I was due to bump into some showers soon.  $38.00 and 13.576 gallons of gas later, I was back on my way.  And for you wealthy SUV drivers, that’s just under 30 miles a gallon in a 10 year old vehicle.  You and your Durango /Explorer /Escalade /Hummer can kiss my shiny, white, fuel-efficient butt.

Just as I got back onto I-77, things got REALLY dark.  I kept watching the skies, looking for any circular patterns that might indicate a tornado or some other kind of freaky weather.  The only thing I saw were clouds moving east to west, which still isn’t a good sign, but at least it was consistent.  Soon after, the rain started.  Nothing too bad, but enough where I had to keep the wipers running intermittently.  

The rain continued up through Canton & Akron.  I don’t know why, but I swear the last 3 or 4 times I’ve driven through Canton & Akron, it’s been raining.  I think this is God’s way of telling me not to move to northeast Ohio.

As traffic picked up, I bailed on I-77 and jumped on I-277 to I-76, then back to I-77.  I did this for two reasons.  First, things can get pretty hairy if I would have continued north, where the northern flow turns into SR-8 and intersects with the turnpike.  Second, it would have increased the amount of my toll on the turnpike.  Since both of those things are bad (at least in my mind), I made my break.  A funny thing happened shortly after I did that:  The rain stopped.  The clouds were still there, but the rain stopped.

Now on the turnpike, my thoughts turned to where I was going to stop for dinner.  There are three good service plazas on the Ohio Turnpike between Cleveland and Toledo.  The first one is right after you get on off I-77.  I wasn’t quite ready at that point, so I skipped that, and figured my bladder and I could make it the 40 or so miles to the next one.  I could have sworn that one had a McDonalds, but it appears that Burger King has taken over.  So instead, I went to Manchu Wok for some sweet & sour pork and fried rice.  This wasn’t too bad, but nothing I’d strongly recommend to anyone.  I will say the place was very clean, and a good place to do your business if needed.

When I got back on the road, the sun was out, and the clouds had pretty much dissipated.  I did hit a bit of a surprise when I jumped off the turnpike at I-280.  They forgot to post signs that I-280 was closed.  They did have a detour marked, that was surprisingly easy to follow, but I ended up a little south of the turnpike when I finally picked up I-75, and still had to navigate through Toledo.  Once back on the freeway, it was pretty easy sailing into Detroit.

I know this sounds really weird, but I love driving on I-75 through Detroit when it’s not rush hour.  There’s still enough cars on the road that you can form a small group, get in the left lane, and just go.  Rarely will you find a cop who’s looking to pull anyone over for anything outside of just insane speeds (95+ mph) or crazy lane changes at high speeds.  Of course, just as I got north of I-375 downtown, I got passed by two kids on motorcycles who had to be doing over 100 and just weaving in and out of lanes wherever they saw a little space.  I’d be willing to bet they were racing, but the second guy through sure wasn’t doing a good job of catching up.  Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my left lane experience once again.  Plus, unlike in North Carolina, if you come up behind someone in the fast lane in Detroit, you’ve got a better than 50% chance that he/she/it will move right and let you by so you don’t have to pass on the right.

Finally, after almost 12 hours and about 720 miles, I made it up to the parents place.  Both seemed glad to see me, and I have to admit that it was nice to see them.  After unloading the car and relaxing a little bit, Chad and Michele (his fiancée for the uninitiated) rolled in.  This was the first time I’d gotten a chance to meet Michele.  Within about 15 minutes, I managed to stick my foot in my mouth with a crack about SC4 (that would be St. Clair County Community College), which come to find out Michele attended for a couple of years.  Crap.  But she didn’t get too upset.  I will say she seems pretty cool, and I may even be looking forward to having a sister-in-law soon.  I may pay for that crack at some point, but in the meantime, it hasn’t seemed to change her mind about marrying Chad, which is a good thing.  Then again, she survived the initial meeting with Dad, so everything’s been downhill from there.

After a late snack, I was off to bed.  So ended day one.

The Vacuum Story

I know y’all are wondering how my trip went.  I’ll get to that in the next couple of days.  However, since I got to tell this at Mom’s retirement dinner, I’ll share the vacuum story now.

During my first 2 years at North, I got dropped off at St. John after school.  Many of you know that I don’t have a great deal of patience, and those of you who knew me in those days can attest to the fact that I had even less when I was 14 and 15.  So everyday, I’d be at St. John hanging out with Rob, waiting for Mom to get everything wrapped up so we (OK, I) could go home.

Many of you are also aware that Mom is a very clean and neat person.  Spills get cleaned up, and things get put back where they came from.  I came in one day, and apparently there’d been some kind of mishap, because Mom wanted to let one of the janitors know about whatever had happened.  Sure, she’d cleaned up what she could, but she also wanted them to know what happened so they could do some extra cleaning on that spot.

Unfortunately (for her), she was ready to go before any of the janitors got to her room, so she left a note describing the location of the spill/accident, as well as a brief description of what had happened.  However, I could tell that it was bothering her that she didn’t get to tell anyone in person.  I really didn’t care, as I just wanted to get home.

So we’re walking down the hall to go to the car, when suddenly Mom veers off to the right down another hall, saying, “Oh, I think I hear a vacuum.”  I stand and listen for a moment, and don’t hear anything.  Many of the lights are off in the hallway, and all of the rooms appear dark.  But since arguing about it won’t help me get home any faster, I turn to follow.

Mom starts peeking her head in different rooms, only to be disappointed each time that no one is in there.  Finally, she gets to the last room in the hall, without finding any janitor.  Semi-dejectedly, she turns back and we proceed back to the car, saying, “I could have sworn I heard a vacuum.”  Ever since then, whenever Mom hears (or sees, or thinks) anything no one else does, I’ll come back with, “Is that a vacuum?  I think I hear a vacuum!”  Twenty-plus years, and she still hasn’t lived that one down.