Michigan Vacation, May 2012

So I'm not much of one for words but I thought I'd post some highlights of my trip. The text will be short. :)

Wednesday the 2nd I flew into Chicago where my good friend Alyssa picked me up at the airport. We spent the rest of the day at her place playing games and drawing with paint on the computer. You'll see a picture of her under Thursday's block.

Thursday the 3rd we were picked up by Bill and went to Navy Pier. We had fun walking around outside and in the stores while taking photos. Part of our visit to the Pier included a tour of a Fun House. We got lost! If it weren't for Alyssa we would still be stuck in those halls of mirrors! I included some of the photos we took below:

 Friday the 4th was spent mostly in Lansing. My friend Greg and I went to the same Museum I visited back in 2004 when I served at MSU campus. Later Greg dropped me off to pick up my rental car! First time car-renter for me! I would never have thought of checking to make sure the spare tire was still there on my own. Below is a photo from the Museum visit:

 
Saturday the 5th I was in Bay City. I had called ahead to see if I could visit the Martinez family on this Saturday without even connecting that it would be the Cinco de Mayo! Awesome! We were able to visit and they had all sorts of family coming and going and lots of good homemade Mexican food. :) Brother Martinez also sang his Porque song for me again. Towards the end of the evening one of my new friends and I drove to the Samyn's for a Young Single Adult Activity around a bonfire. Seeing the Samyns again was nice and bonfires are always enjoyable. Below is are photos of a beautiful street in Bay City and the Samyn family:

Sunday the 6th was a semi-long drive to Alpena for Church. I got there a little bit late but still in time for Testimonies! I pulled up a chair and sat next to Toni, Sister Kuerth dared point me out during her testimony, and there were so many people to see and talk to that I just wished I had more time!

It was so good being back in the church house! Also something that I haven't mentioned yet, is how almost weird it is that I'm free to hug *everyone* now. When I was in Michigan before as a missionary there was a rule that as Sister Missionaries we could not hug males. But now that I've been released as a missionary I can hug all I want! Below are some photos with some friends I saw that day:

 

 
Monday the 7th I continued Alpena visits. Seriously so many wonderful people in Alpena! There could never be enough time there. At the Hoppes we went searching for Petoskey stones in their front yard, that was fun, they collect rocks. :) And at my other visit, my friend Jan makes all sorts of beautiful jewelry.

Tuesday the 8th I spent some time on the Ossineke shore then headed to the Petoskey shore to look for Petoskey stones there. I think it was in Petoskey that I got my two mosquito bites. D:

Ossineke

Petoskey

Wednesday the 9th I stopped by Castle Farms on my way to Battle Creek and took a crazy amount of pictures. Too many, really. Although I am quite grateful there is a 10 second timer option. I also dropped my barely 7-days old camera into a stream. I think you'll recognize which photo that is when you see it.

Where taking pics on my phone began:

Thursday the 10th was back to Lansing for the Zoo! And also a visit to the State Capitol Building. :)

Friday the 11th was Holland for Tulip Time. I went on a Trolly Tour where they showed us what were *supposed* to be photo ops if the the Tulips hadn't bloomed early this year. Instead what we saw were a lot of stems, and very few flowers. This year's unofficial slogan was "Stem Fest 2012." I was able to shop around a few of the downtown stores, watched street dancers, saw the Getliffs, saw the Betts, and saw Avengers all in one day.

Saturday the 12th I finished up my time in Holland by visiting the Lunas and watching the muziek parade with them. I especially enjoyed watching the parade with them because Sister Luna has fun with that. :)

A cute li'l girl at the parade

A cute couple at the parade

While in Michigan I was met with much love, kindness, and so many good people. It was a wonderful experience. And I thank everyone.