What I did on my summer vacation...

At the end of June and beginning of July, I was able to get about a week of vacation, during which I was able to head home and to the Island, with a few other stops along the way. Mark and myself left Williamsburg in my car for DC on a Saturday morning, staying with his friends in the city. We took the afternoon (and braved the intense and disgusting heat) to explore the Folklife Festival before making our way to a Nationals baseball game with his family. The game was fun, and became even more eventful when a giant storm rolled in, causing the game to be put on hold and us, quite drenched, to leave and head back to his friends' apartment for more matches of Mario Kart (on Wii and a super huge HD tv!). The next morning, we were up and on the way to his grandparent's house northeast of Pittsburgh, and then on the next morning to Ann Arbor.

photos: The National Mall with the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival (the same festival that I worked at last summer), this year featuring Texas, Bhutan, and NASA; the inside of the Bhutanese buddhist temple on the Mall with a Bhutanese monk; the new Nationals stadium; the view from above the first base line (by a couple of tiers) of the stadium, complete with a view of the Capitol in the background (our seats were under the big scoreboard in center field); and a staple of a Washington Nationals game -- giant-headed presidents that run around.




Once back in A2, we met with Mark's friend Craig (with whom we were staying), gave Mark a tour around town and campus, before meeting up with Cadi and Brian for some time at Dominick's (ah, the sangria), trivia night at Connor's, and a couple of stops at Ann Arbor Brewing Company and Ashley's before turning in for the night. The next day, we met Lee May for breakfast before heading to Frankenmuth to meet my mom, dad, and sister for lunch at the Bavarian Inn and some shopping around town. Then, at last, I was back in Lansing, feeling a bit exhausted. The next day (Wednesday) we both slept in, swam a bit in the g-units' pool, found some fresh ice cream and cheese curds at the MSU dairy store, met the family at dinner at the pub, and chilled with the family for a final evening, before both we left for the North and my dad left for his new home and job in New Mexico. Thursday morning had us up, packed, breakfasted at Flap Jack, and on the road north.

photos: Mark's friend Craig's Optimus Prime transformer poses with the Colonel (Mark's version of Rebel Roy), handing over his matrix of power (I think that's what it's called); the g-units and me in Lansing; Joe and his girlfriend, Sam; and Mom, Leslie, and Josh.




Before heading to the Island, we stopped at Leg's Inn for a good polish meal after driving the tunnel of trees. It was fun to see all the island folks, even though I'd seen some of them just weeks before at Beth's wedding. We hiked, ate, blacksmithed, wandered, and relaxed. The 4th of July at the fort was just as good as always, though odd for me since it was the first that I'd attended that I didn't have to work. We also got to hang out with the Pub Runners, which was and is always fun. We were up early the next day to head off the island and downstate, having to drive all the way to Bruce's new home in Ohio. We made it (after stops for lunch and Meijer shopping), albeit late. Sunday we were definitely exhausted and had a difficult time leaving the delicious and local breakfast and relaxed atmosphere of chilling on his farm. However, we did leave and made it back to Williamsburg that night, with me ready for work the next day.

photos: Wildflowers on the back patio of Leg's Inn in Cross Village, MI; Ben Bever showing what he thinks of non-Deere tractors; Katie and Maria find a carnival ride in the woods; the Colonel's horse finds a companion at the Pink Pony; and Mark up at Fort Holmes.





photos: The view of the Fort from the Rifle Range; the guys sing a bit on the 4th; the girl scouts raising the flag on the 4th;
the Michigan volley during the 38-gun salute; and the crafties during the salutes.





photos: Me, Mark, and the Pub Runner's #1 fan (I promise, there are indeed photos of us not making these faces -- it's not a permanent thing); Bever worried that he might have lost his "boob inspector" badge -- classy, Bev...; Bever just like we remembered him; a stop at Bruce's house wouldn't be complete without frolicking dogs; and Bruce's family farmstead.





All in all, it was a great trip and a lot of fun. Thanks so much to all of you that helped us and hung out with us along the way!