July 31, 2017: Mom’s 71st Birthday

Mom wanted to go to the Michigan Heritage Park in Whitehall for her birthday.  She is fascinated with history.   It’s a half mile loop with pre-historic exhibits.   Then, we went shopping in Grand Rapids and had a nice dinner at Pietros.

July 11-13, 2017 Niagara Falls with Josh

I was surprised when I looked at my phone at 6:30 am and Josh had written that he was all packed and ready to go to Niagara Falls a day early.   He was like an excited little boy.  It was so cute.  I hadn't been to Niagara Falls since 1985.    I brought with me $160 and Josh had $100 which made me nervous as I am used to having at least $500 to spend and a credit card for emergencies.  I wasn't as prepared for this trip as I normally am.   I should have had AAA travel services route us on the trip as my GPS didn't work in Canada.  I used my phone GPS to get us there.  We stopped in Frankenmueth as Josh hadn't been there before.  We had dinner at Zehnders which cost us $22.95 each.  Josh paid the bill.  

It was exciting for Josh to take the Blue Sky Bridge in Port Huron over the border to Canada.  He was taking a lot of pictures.   We each got a Canadian stamp in our passport.     I drove the whole way there.   We stayed two nights at Jellystone campground which was 3 miles from the Falls.

On Wednesday,  we got up early, had mochas at Starbucks and got to the Falls.    I drove down Lindy Lane Rd which has become quite built up in the past 30 years.     We paid $15 to park at the Skycam Tower lot.    Walked to the Falls and took lots of pictures.   I insisted we take the boat trip to under the Falls which Josh seemed to enjoy.  We got quite wet.    Josh said he was quite impressed with how I got around town without a map and that I was an enjoyable person and not to take that for granted.
We hung out by the pool a bit in the afternoon and took naps.
Had dinner using our Jetboils and got some ice cream.  We went swimming in the pool for about an hour.  

Thursday morning we got up early and packed up and went to Starbucks for mochas.   I drove past Hamilton for a rest stop about 2 hours away and realized I had left my purse with my passport in it back at the Starbucks in Niagara Falls.   I was in tears.  I didn't want to drive back in the heavy rain in that traffic through Hamilton to Niagara Falls.    Josh said he would drive which was a blessing.  We couldn't get much cell phone service in Canada so it was hard to call the Starbucks.  I finally got through and found out they had my purse waiting for me in their back room which was a relief.

You would think with all of my traveling, I would have remembered to get international phone service on my phone.  I didn't and got charged $201 in data charges.  I had turned off my cell phone after the first day.    I called Verizon and they were going to add international calling and retroactively fix the charges so it would be only $85.  

Overall, I think we had a great time on the trip and we compromised on our sleeping arrangements.  He prefers rustic camping and I prefer hotels.   We could have done better planning for this trip.  Next time, I will have more money, a credit card, and watch my purse.

July 10, 2017: Grand Rapids

Josh and I drove to Grand Rapids to take care of some business for him in downtown Grand Rapids.   We also went to Silver Bullet Firearms to look at guns for me.  We found a Glock 43.     It was $650 with a laser.   Never went into a large gun store before.   It still makes me nervous to even shoot a gun.  There is a lot of responsibility involved with owning a gun.

July 8, 2017: Concealed Pistol License Class

I'm on vacation for the next week.    Today,  I did something that was totally out of my comfort zone. I took a concealed pistol license class at Port City Pistol.  It was an all day class from 7:30 am until around 4:00 pm.    The first half of the day was the class instruction and the second half was learning how to shoot a gun for self defense.    I took the class with Josh, Krystle, and Chance.  I learned some important ways to protect myself in my home such as having a safe room to go to where you store your gun in case your home is broken into and your life is on the line.   Your last resort is to shoot the gun but if the bad guy steps into your home, then by law you have a right to protect you and your loved ones.  You should first call the police and leave your phone conversation on for dispatch to record what is going on.

When it got to the section of the class where we operated the 22 revolver,  I was quite nervous.  My group had Krystle, Chance, and I.   I learned how to load a gun and shot my first gun ever.   I was able to hit all 8 bullets on the 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper which was good.   The test was open book and the group worked on it.  We all passed the class and got certificates.    Josh was quite impressed with me for taking the class and going out of my comfort zone and managing my anxiety through it.    We all did very well in the class.

Also, I am pretty financially broke right now.  We lost the power to our house due to a storm a few nights ago and had to throw out the food in the refrigerator which makes me nervous as I didn't have any money until payday.  I sure do need an emergency fund for instances like this.

Memorial Day Weekend 2017

It was hard to work on Friday knowing I would be off of work for the next 3 days.   I was so excited when I got a text from Josh that he had money and we could hang out.  I figured I would be spending a lot of time with him this weekend which wasn't the case.    We did go to Barnes and I stayed over Friday night and we had a nice breakfast at the restaurant called "The Dive".  

Saturday,  went with my Mom on our annual trip up to Baldwin.   We didn't go last year as Peggy wasn't in town and it would have been depressing for me to go up there with how the town has changed since I was a child.

Got the delicious dinner rolls in Bailey from Hilltop Bakery.  We went to the Newaygo Arts and Crafts fair and then through this nice antique store in town.    Had a nice lunch at Riverstop cafe.   Got to Baldwin and went through the clothing store which used to be Peggy's store.  It wasn't the same as when she had her store.  She used to have such cute things all displayed perfectly.

Visited Peggy and saw her son and daughter and their spouses.   Had a nice visit with Peggy.  Since Kenny has passed away, she has found other things to occupy her time.   She met this friend who used to be a heroin addict but for the past 3 months has been clean.   He is a genius at computer repair and goes to doctors, lawyers, big name celebrity homes, etc fixing their electronics.  He doesn't have a license so she drives him to his customers.  It has given her a new sense of purpose in her life which is wonderful.

It got me thinking about my purpose in life and what I will be doing in my future.  This weekend, I have thought about where I have lived over the years and feel that God has placed me in the perfect places for that stage in my life.  When I lived on Lawnel,  I had all kinds of kids my age to play with outside.   I went to high school and to a Western Michigan University at the right time, as well as lived in Chicago at a time when it was safer.   I lived in the apartments at the right time and met some wonderful people.  We had this condo built at a time when the development wasn't done so we were able to see it's completion and enjoy the festivities.   We have lost some good neighbors who moved which has been sad for us as we had so much fun with them the first few years.
I feel that I had my little sister and my dog, Maggie at the right time of my life.     Now, I have to wonder what is next.  

Sunday, I had a hard time figuring out what to do as I haven't been home on the weekends in several weeks.    I ended up going back to church, then to the Fruitport craft fair to see my friend Tony do caricatures.   Then,  I contacted Kay and Karen and we went on a nice ride around Muskegon and took a walk on the Beechwood Trail.

Monday,  I went to my friend Mirelda's house to get ready for the parade in Lakeside.  I got to ride in a TransAm convertible and pass out candy to the cute kids.   Saw my friends from high schoolJenn Elenbaas, Lisa Hoffman, and Sarah Luna.  They took pictures and posted it on Facebook.     Mirelda's family took me out for lunch at Brann's.    Took a long nap and a 3 mile walk where I ran into my friend Beth Keur, whom I met years ago at Bridge Bible Chuch.  

So what I envisioned for my weekend on Friday turned out to be completely different than expected, but was very nice.

May 20, 2017: Jackson State Prison Tour

Mom and I decided to go with Countryside Tours on a 1 day bus trip to see the Jackson State Prison, as well as a Greek Orthodox Church.    The tour name was called 'Saints & Sinners.   Our first stop was at the Michigan State Theater in Jackson, where we learned a little about the prison.      The tour guides were quite entertaining.     Then, we went to lunch at Steve's Ranch Restaurant which wasn't too good.    

Our tour guide was listening to NPR radio in Miami 8 years ago and heard that the state prison in Jackson, Michigan was going to be converted into apartments.   She jumped at the chance and within 2 weeks, she had come to Jackson, picked out her apartment, and sold her place in Miami.     She was quite fascinated with prisons.       We got to see the inside of her apartment which used to be a cell in the prison.

We stopped at a Greek Orthodox church and learned about icon paintings and had some delicious baklava.

February 4, 2017: Karaoke at Pigeon Hill Brewery

My friend, Mirelda Tokarczyk and I went to Pigeon Hill Brewery for pizza and beer.     Pigeon Hill has been in Muskegon for three years and I still hadn't gone there.     It was packed full of people.  Mirelda wanted to do karaoke so we picked out a song and did karaoke in front of the crowd.    I have never done karaoke before. We got an applause.   I think I should not quit my day job.