L&K Take America

When I set out on planning this adventure,  I decided I was going to make the most of my time on the road by not visiting places I had been before. However, I spent a lot of time in the Detroit area and felt a great desire to visit there to see some of the friends I had made while working there. My time at Chrysler was pivotal in my career and honestly, making me who I am. In some ways, I think it prepared me for being independent enough to make this trip. I forged relationships with the people I worked with that have lasted far longer than my time there.

My closest friend while I was in Michigan and one of my dearest friends today, Kate, had twins about 17 months ago and I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet them nor had I seen her since her baby shower when I last visited the area. For me, there was no question that I was going to stop for them even if I was only able to arrange to see her. They were more perfect than I could have imagined and she truly is doing an amazing job. I’m not sure how she does it! I enjoyed every minute with her and her little ones, but it definitely made me miss seeing her every day. We try our best to stay in touch, but life has a way of getting in the way. She was so gracious to allow me to disrupt her schedule and routine three days in a row!

Luna had been prepped for such an occasion since she was a tiny pup by my niece and nephew, but I always get nervous that she will get irritable. The kids LOVED her and she did really well with them. She allowed them to pet her, pat her, chase her, and “walk her”. It was quite adorable.

Beyond seeing her and the babies, I was able to meet up with two other coworker/friends, Maria & Erin, on the second and third nights I was in Michigan. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a camp site within an hour of where my friend lives in Troy, MI so I used some Marriott points to stay in a hotel for two nights instead. While I wasn’t “roughing it,” I did have the challenge of backing up into a parking spot for the first time. I must say, I crushed it! I was EXTREMELY surprised (to say the least) to be able to do this on a single attempt! I’m sure it was fluke, but I’ll take it.

On my third night, I stayed with my manager, Erin, from Chrysler and her family in their beautiful new home in Clarkston, MI. I was so happy that my visit worked with everyone’s schedules and we were able to catch up in person.

I had not exactly planned out my next move and Erin’s husband, Eric, was SO helpful to work through the details on that! Getting around the Great Lakes is difficult, especially if you don’t want to go through Chicago. Eric had devised a plan that I would take a ferry from the Western Michigan coast to Wisconsin, which would have dramatically reduced the amount of time I would have to drive. Unfortunately, the ferry could only take vehicles up to 8 feet 5 inches. Bummer…I would have to go around. The decision was whether to go south through Illinois or north through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I decided on the latter.

While it was definitely nice to sleep in a house and take a shower in a full sized shower, I must say that I kind of missed my traveling home. I had established a routine and everything had its place in the silver shell. Having to “pack” an overnight bag was rather disorienting and I felt very disorganized by the end of the three days. I’m actually a TERRIBLE packer, so I tend to end up with 5 bags for a single night stay. Kind of embarrassing actually.

I left Clarkston and headed to Petoskey, MI, which was a beautiful lakeside town. Upon arrival, I hadn’t worked out in several days and was feeling rather frumpy so I decided to use the hand crank instead of the drill to lower and level the stabilizing jacks. On the third jack, I was a little aggressive and somehow cracked myself in the jaw with the hand crank. I definitely must have looked completely stunned as if someone else had struck me and the radiating pain brought tears to my eyes. How in the world did I do that to myself?!? Clearly I am not coordinated enough for such tasks. Idiot.

After setting up, Luna and I went and to explore the downtown area. The lakeside was beautiful. Luna has an obsession with grass. The below photos exemplify her typical behavior when she encounters grass, especially really nice, thick grass.

They are also a very dog friendly town and Luna & I were able to find a restaurant with a patio which allowed us to dine out.

When we got back to the camper, I poured myself a glass of wine before sitting down to blog. I then reached for the cabinet above the table to get Luna a treat and the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch I had stashed up there came crashing down, knocking over both the open bottle and glass of wine. This gave the camper floor a Cabernet Franc wash. Luna was less than impressed.

Upon leaving Michigan, I embarked on the longest part of the trip I would be taking solo thus far. My next place I need to be by a certain date is Seattle towards the end of the month to meet my sister. I have a lot of ground to cover between now and then, and a lot of the states in between I have never been to. I’m both excited and nervous, but let the next adventure begin!

Thank you to EVERYONE who made the time in their schedules to see me. It was truly wonderful!