It’s hard really to grasp that yesterday we were frantically, frenetically finishing our packing and today we’re sitting in a motel in Central Michigan. The kids were great today as we put on nearly 400 miles, which should be our second-longest driving day of the whole trip. We didn’t get out of Niagara Falls until about 11am, but booked through southern Ontario without stopping, crossing back into the US at Sarnia. Actually, our only stop between Niagara Falls and Houghton Lake, MI, where we’re holed up for the evening, was for gas. We had planned to walk around Sarnia, checking out the river and lake, but it was 94 and later than we had planned.
In the car, we listened to Roald Dahl read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. Marina read a key chapter from The Goblet of Fire to us all and Izzy and Marina played an imagination game together. At one point, they took a break from it and Izzy was pleading with Marina to play with her. Point is: spirits are good, still.
We stopped for gas in a town known as Michigan’s Little Bavaria, but didn’t realize it until we were ten miles past and weren’t going to go back. The temperature had risen to 96, but the AC was working, as is our new car fridge.
We had dinner in a fine family restaurant and came back to the hotel to go swimming in the skanky pool. I tried to work out for a little while, but managed only about ten minutes on the treadmill before relenting to Izzy’s demands that I get in the pool to play catch with him. Good thing he got me; I would have collapsed if I went much longer.
Michigan music: Iggy, Gil Scott-Heron, Sufjan Stevens, and course these smoothies.
OK also The Gories covering a great disco (yes, I said that) tune from the artist also known as Kid Creole, who has nothing to do with Michigan. (Here’s the original.)
in the morning we went on the Maid of the Mist and got soaked! then we drove for 6 hours today, we just had dinner and are going for a dip in the pool.