Michigan, Chicago, Michigan

Ok so you dont reallly get an idea for how big the States is (or how far your friends drove down to pick you up - a solid 18hrs!!) until you go on a road trip - and Texas to Michigan is pretty much right up through the middle of the country and my biggest leg yet. We went through about 5 different states, a time zone, and countless bottles of pop (fizzy drink) and movies but managed to arrive safely in Michigan at 6:30am Thurs driving through a couple of nights and napping in Chicago before continuing the final 8 hours up to Rogers City

Rogers City, Michigan
Ah, Michaela's home town, its always really nice to see where your friends grew up and meet their family. Well in Mick's case she has the best of both worlds - a beautiful house right on Lake Huron and an awesome family - had deep and meaningful's with her mom, her dad took me rifle shooting (scary but good to learn how to shoot a beer can) and I was even cool enough to tag along to glow bowling with her little sister and her friends! Rogers City was a great place to take a couple of days out and relax (but we still managed to get a lot done!)



The three days included a day trip on the ferry to Makinac Island to get some delicious fudge and pasties and of course to learn about some history too. There are no cars on the island so the whole place smells like a mix of horse dung and fudge - its a beautiful place! Also got to pick heaps of fresh veges at Mick's childhod friend's Grandma and Grandpas and learnt how to jetski and kneeboard (Im much better at the first : P we went all the way out to 40-mile point and saw a sunken ship!) Had a bonfire on the beach and cooked hot dogs on sticks and made s'mores - yummy!! Ate a lot of delicious home cooked food and had a great time learning about this quaint town right on Lake Huron. Thanks to the Lynch's for having me : )



Chicago
Went to see Blue Man Group (http://www.blueman.com/) which I'd seen advertised at the Venetian in Vegas but didnt have the time to go so sooo stoked I got to see it in Chicago - what an amazing show!! If it ever comes anywhere near where you are ever you should definately go and see it!!! Ive never had that much fun at a show with toilet paper, vacuum cleaners, and electronic sign boards - it was really interactive and such a great way to finish off our trip : )


Chicago Downtown is really nice, I spent about 2 1/2 days just wandering around (and taking the free shuttle buses) there's actually quite a bit to do here (even on a budget - Im paying for the skydiving now!!) Managed to see the Field Museum, Solider Field, Adler Planetarium, Buckingham Fountain, Art Institute of Chicago, Millenium Park (with Crown Fountain and the awesome liquid mecury reflecting bean), Navy Pier, Sears Tower, Federal Bank of Chicago (which was actually really interesting - got to play a monetary policy game and see one million US dollars in $1, $20 and $100 bills), Daley Centre, Cultural Centre, Gallery 37, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Hancock Observatory, Water Tower, Hershey's Factory, Stained Glass Museum and even got to pack up some freight at Hankyu Cargo. Oh yeah, and of course we cant forget the delicious deep dish pizza!!




Muskegon/Holland, Michigan
Spent a week and a half chilling with Don and his family/friends in Muskegon/Holland, Michigan. Thanks to everyone for having me :) I had a great time in these smaller towns - great to visit places that you wouldnt come unless you knew people, Holland - as you can guess - was very Dutch influenced and is where Don (and Michaela's) university - Hope College is, and Muskegon is about 30 mins drive north. While here I managed to catch a couple of local festivals - Friday night in the park, Shoreline Spectacular for Labour Weekend, Roosevelt Park Days (pancake breakfast, parade, market, beertent) and the Tulipanes (a latino art and film festival where I saw an amazing movie - Goal:The Dream Begins!!! I think it might almost be a new favourite - and thats saying a lot from the chick who doesn't really like movies! so if you get a chance, go see it, it made me laugh, cry, cheer, smile from the heart and ended with the whole audience in applause).


Spent a lot of time chilling watching movies/the boys play video games as the only real thing we had planned was to visit a couple of the oldest homes in the area and make a trip to the local theme/water park, Michigan Adventure, which has a huge wooden roller coaster and the Funnel of Fear Waterslide. But highlights of my stay were the things more spontaneous including convincing Don's friends to get a 30pack of beer and play Circle of Death, go mini golfing at 9:30pm, play giant chess at 2am and invest in a 4L tub of chocolate icecream.




We ate quesadillas, pizza hut buffet (with cinnamon sticks instead of chips!), Japanese, homemade chicken fried rice and omlettes, pop tarts, huge fresh pretzels, homemade "instant" choc chip cookies, animal crackers, fudge, gravy train and my first PB&J sandwich (well technically it was a roll but still!) Had lots of deep and meaningful conversations about cultural differences and perceptions, got a lot of love and attention from Don's cats (especially Pauwz) and generally just had a great time getting to know the people around here (including Louie who doesnt believe in lounge furniture because it leaves less space for pianos and whose dining room is an American diner!) Thanks Michigan, I've had a great time!!