Goodbye Michigan

Sunday morning we were getting us and the kids ready for church when Bill and Kara came home.  We then all met Pat and Kelly at church and sat with Pat's mother.  I think she was pleased going from all alone in the pew to a totally full one!

We saw several folks we know since this was our parish church for 16 years.  It was heartbreaking to see our friend Mary in a wheelchair totally not knowing where she was or who we were.  She and her husband Dick were our bowling partners when we bowled on the church league years ago.  We had a nice conversation with her daughter, Mary Ellen.  By the time we spoke to everyone, the church was about empty and they were locking the door.  That's pretty much how it was every Sunday when we lived there.

We returned to Kara's and assessed our food situation.  We decided we were in good shape.  I set about putting everything in baking dishes so we could put it all in the oven to bake.  Kara and Bill opened their gifts before we ate.  Cassie and Kyle came over too but Ally was working.

We said our goodbyes to the whole family after dinner.  Kara and family had a 6 am flight to Orlando on Monday while Kristin and Larry had a Sunday evening flight home to Orlando.  Kelly's family was already scattering getting ready for another work week.

We returned to the campground and had a fire with Jay and Stella.  On Monday we drove back in to colllect the rental and personal items from the wedding.  The Mission Possible Methodist teens were cleaning the  church and helped carry everything out.  Our first stop was at the rental place to drop off two bags of linens, two drink decanters and a large silver tub that had held small bottles of water.  The other things belonged to Kara.  Larry's reflective circle for photos and Bill's golf umbrella had also been left behind.  We took all of these things to Kara's where I picked up my jewelry, left Sam's Game Boy cassette and brought the trash cans into the garage.  With our chores done we returned to the campground.

Ted did the outside work while I thoroughly cleaned inside the trailer.  It actually wore me out.  For our goodbye dinner, the four of us went to the Romeo diner.  It was only the second time we ate there the whole month.  We burned all but three logs of our wood in our last fire on our last night together.

This morning we left a bit before Jay and Stella and traveled I-75 to Cincinnati.  They were heading north to Sioux Ste. Marie.  We are all set up in our usual campground and settled in.  After dinner we took showers and I took a nap.  I think the activity of the last month caught up with me.

Tomorrow starts lots of visiting with as many folks as we can fit in.   We also need to stock up on our goetta, turtle soup, brats and Skyline chili to take home.  It will be a busy, fun week before heading out for home.  We plan to stay in the Memphis area one night so we can visit with Rick and Brenda.  They have come off the road and are anxious for us to see their new place of residence.

If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it. ~ James Garfield