Michigan Trip 2008

Last weekend I took at trip to Michigan.
Yup, you heard that right.
MICHIGAN.

Now, when I say that to most people, their response is usually, "Hmmmm, Michigan? Why would you want to go there? In NOVEMBER?". So I end up explaining that I grew up just outside of Detroit, and that Erika, a good friend of the family - someone I actually consider to be family - got married and it was our good fortune that the wedding was taking place right near our old family stomping grounds. I spent the first thirteen years of my life in Michigan, and believe it or not, I LOVED growing up there as you will probably be able to tell by the ridiculously large amount of pictures to follow. Having the opportunity to go back there after all these years was amazing and at the risk of sounding like a complete sap, it was quite possibly one of the best family trips I've ever taken.

Okay, prepare yourself for a pictorial essay on my childhood!
Are you ready?

Well, to start with, here is how we officially knew we had entered the Midwest - below was the sign outside the door of our hotel's lobby:


You won't see that in California!

Below is the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center (otherwise known as the JCC) which was where we spent the majority of our childhood. My mom worked here for years, and this enormous building was essentially our playground. Growing up in this place was the reason why I went to college and got a degree in Recreation Administration and Business. It was always my dream to come back and work here someday (but alas, Michigan is kind of a far commute from California!):


This is the first house I ever lived in on Tammerlane Drive in a subdivision called Old Farm. Boy, it seemed so much bigger when I was little!


Here I am in front of where I went to kindergarten at Ealy Elementary School:


This is the house on Strathdale Lane that we moved to when I was in third grade. We lovingly refer to it as "The Sinking House" because the foundation was actually sinking, something that we didn't realize until we spent several years having to trim our vertical blinds like hair because they kept "growing" and hitting the floor. Ah, good times!



We lived right down the street from a park that was located on Moon Lake. I used to ride my bike to the park, walk down the path to the dock, and catch tad poles for hours. I never realized how breathtakingly beautiful it was down at the lake!:









The next place we went was our old elementary school, Pine Lake, that had an awesome wooded path that we used to walk through everyday on our way to school. It looked exactly like it did when we were kids:







And not only did the path and the school look the same, but we were amazed to find that they even still had the same playground equipment that had been there when we were kids twenty something years ago! Unbelievable! Of course, I had to take pictures to prove it:







After freezing our butts off playing on old school yard equipment, we headed out to one of our favorite childhood restaurants, Olga's.



The last time we were at this particular Olga's, about 25 years ago, our whole family got a nasty case of food poisoning. We figured that by now they probably got that worked out and we wolfed down some deliscious food that tasted better than I remembered it. But in an odd (and somewhat amusing) twist of fate, Jer ended up getting food poisoning AGAIN later that night. Okay, well, maybe it wasn't that funny to Jer (sorry, Bro!), but I figured we could all laugh a bit at his expense.

After lunch, we decided that we couldn't truly experience fall in Michigan without stopping by the old Franklin Cider Mill, the site of countless school field trips and autumn weekends during my childhood. The Cider Mill uses an old fashioned water wheel to power the apple presses that are used to make the cider.





They have the BEST apple cider and homemade old fashioned donuts I've ever tasted - it is AMAZING. Of course, we had to take some to go!



Later that night, we got dressed up and headed to the wedding, which was beautiful:




Here's a picture of the happy couple - Erika and Ron, who, as I write this, are probably having drinks on a beach in Buenos Aires! Congrats, you two!:


The entire weekend I walked around with a big sappy smile on my face. What was so darn great about a weekend near Detroit? Well, I got the chance to see old friends that mean the world to me:

Amy Jablin with Baby Mia and "The Kids" together again, Jer, Amy, Erika and Me


My dad and his best buddy, Alan Jablin, and my mom with her old friend Margery Jablin


But more importantly, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time walking down memory lane with my brother Jeremy and my parents (Rory and Hoby sat this trip out and stayed home.) I don't think the four of us have been alone together on a trip in years and it was bittersweet considering all that we've been going through this year since my dad's cancer diagnosis. I think that we were able to wrap ourselves up in a warm, fuzzy blanket of nostalgia and take our minds off the harshness of reality, even if it was only for a little while.

So, yes, I spent the weekend in Michigan - cold, run down, middle of no where Michigan. And you know what, I wouldn't have missed it for the world...

Summer Vacation 2008

Every summer, we round up my side of the family - my folks, our family of three, and sometimes, if we're lucky, my brother - and go on a trip together. This time around, we went on a seven day cruise to the Mexican Riviera and I'm happy to report that it was absolutely wonderful (WAAAAAY better than the first cruise we took as a family two years ago to Hawaii, thank goodness!).

It helped enormously that we didn't have to fly anywhere. Plane rides with Rory are never fun - I start to dread them WEEKS in advance - so knowing that we didn't have to get on a plane made getting ready for this trip seem almost too easy. I didn't even start packing until the day before we left, which for me, Queen of the Obsessive Compulsive Suitcase Packers, is nothing short of amazing. Then, we literally just hopped in our car, drove less than an hour to the Port of Long Beach, and walked right onto the ship. It doesn't get much easier than that!

Now, honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Mexico - it's not the cleanest place on the planet and I hate being accosted by people who are trying to sell me chicklets and various other crap that is "almost free for you, Senorita!" - but I managed to ignore that stuff for the most part and concentrate on having fun with the fam.

The cruise ship was huge and had plenty of things to keep us all busy, including a camp for kids that we were able to check Rory into for a few hours a day, which he absolutely loved (THANK GOD!!). This enabled the adults to have some ADULT fun, which included a bit of gambling in the casino, playing ping pong (my brother actually brought his OWN ping pong paddles! Sorry Jer, I just couldn't pass up mentioning that!) and having a few drinks with little umbrellas in them. Okay, maybe more than a few...I can't ever turn down a Malibu and Pineapple.

Usually after dinner, we would pick Rory up from the evening session of camp and take him to see the shows, which he LOVED, not that we were suprised. Singing, dancing, music, and lights - Rory was in absolute heaven! And most nights, while we were sitting in the balcony seats and waiting for the show to start, Rory would be so excited that he would start dancing like crazy. I mean, my kid can REALLY shake his booty when he wants to! I don't know where he gets his moves from - certainly not his father (sorry, honey!)- but there is no doubt that he has them! I wish I had a good video if it, but I was laughing too hard to hold the camera steady. People were watching him from all over the theater, pointing to him up in the balcony, but he was totally oblivious and just boogied down until he wore himself out or the show started. And for the rest of the cruise, people would come up to him and say, "Hey, you're that little dancing kid! Thanks for the pre-show!" Maybe I should have been embarassed, but honestly, I was so proud of my little entertainer.



We went to several different ports in Mexico - Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta - and in two of them, we found resorts that had awesome pools to play in. Our favorite was El Cid in Mazatlan - it had slides, rocks to climb up, small pools on top of a waterfall, and even a cliff to jump off of into the pool. I had been worried that Rory had inherited my fear of heights, but after seeing him do this, I guess I don't have to worry anymore:



Rory, of course, wanted me to jump, too. And since my THREE YEAR OLD was able to do it (not to mention some little bugger who was even younger than him!), it was either jump or look like a total chicken shit in front of my kid who already has some serious respect issues - so after a couple of drinks and a tiny push from my brother, I jumped, too:



Thank God there is photographic evidence because I don't think it's likely I'll be throwing myself off a cliff, even a small one, anytime soon. (Unless, of course, these three year old tantrums don't end soon, in which case I might consider it. Ha ha.)

I'm sure that pictures will show a lot more than I can describe, so here's a sampling of some of the better ones:


Playing checkers with beer bottle caps in the pool - SO classy!


Rory and his Uncle Jer (who obviously doesn't have kids by the "I'm pretending to like this but really I'm SO ready to give you your kid back" expression on his face!)


The view from the pool at the Krystal Resort in Puerta Vallarta that kinda makes me forget why I don't like Mexico


Rory getting pummelled by waves in Cabo at Lover's Beach


Rory's favorite pool at the top of the waterfall at El Cid Resort in Mazatlan


We griped about packing our fancy clothes, but I have to say we actually clean up pretty darn good! This year's picture for our Christmas cards, perhaps?


A very happy, healthy looking Poppi (taken by Rory!)

All in all, it was one amazing trip and we can't wait to see what next summer's adventure will be! Getting back to "reality" this week has been a hard adjustment for everyone, but whenever I start to feel stressed out, I just watch this, and everything gets better:



Thanks to Grandma Jo and Grandpa Al for an awesome vacation sponsored by everyone's favorite bank, NBD (National Bank of Dad).

We love you!

The 4th of July - Mariposa Style

Since I'm hopelessly behind on my blogging, I thought I'd put some pictures up that pretty much speak for themselves:

We spent Saturday at the Merced River, which was wonderful. It reminded me so much of being at the rivers up by Humboldt State. At one point, Hoby had taken Rory over to the tide pools to look for pollywogs and I was laying out on a rock in the sun, drinking a cold beer and dipping my feet in the water. Sighhhhh, it was pure heaven. For a few minutes, I was daydreaming that I been transported back in time to my carefree college days...until my darling son came over and quickly brought me back to reality with a splash of cold river water. Thanks, Ro.



Of course, the men had to show off for the kids by jumping off some rocks into the river. If there was ever any doubt these guys are brothers, well, there isn't now! Check out these photos:



At first I thought I took the same picture twice! But that's Brandon jumping in the first photo and Hoby jumping in the second one. They are in the exact same position - how weird is that?!

So, what else do people do on 4th of July weekend up in the mountains? Well, we waved some sparklers,



washed Uncle Brandon's van,



watered the plants in the buff (not all of us, just Rory! Besides, real mountain men don't need no stinkin' clothes!):



And after a LOOOOOOOONG day of playing with cousins, shooting BB guns, throwing rocks, jumping in and out of the pool and eating the steady stream of sugar provided by Grandma Judy, we CRASHED:



Yup, I'd say it was a good time had by all...