I’m sad to say we’ve made it to our last full day in Michigan.  Sabbatical is not yet halfway over, but the first phase of it is, arguably the one I was looking forward to the most.  Unlike most trips here where I frantically try to pack everything in, this version featured the down time and the diversity to make it truly decompressing.  I should be writing that it was a good time, a great time even, but other undiscussed factors erupted and hung over, casting a net of doubt and uncertainty over every minute and every place.  The curse is stronger and more malignant than it at first seemed.

We drove home from Caseville and AML lamented there no Amish farmers out working 1890′s style.  Then we left with Louis for the Tiger game.  We saved by eating before the game at a Coney Island attached to the stadium, and then went to our seat and met friends there.  Remember the curse?  It started raining after an inning, followed by what ended up being a 2.5 hour delay after they stopped the game in the middle of the fourth.  With babysitters and jobs calling, the group gave up on waiting at about 10:30 and headed back.  I watched some of the game at home after it eventually restarted at 11:05, but was dozing off and so went to bed missing their eventual win.

Thursday morning we went to the airport to pick up Sean and then took a small detour to pick up some pina colada slushy mix for Dave’s graduation party on Saturday (which we will miss flying to Mexico).  Then, back to the Cera’s for spaghetti lunch (click for all the pictures from this entry):

We left at about 4:30 and stopped at the cemetery, and then proceeded on our way to the Vani Castle.  After a long drive to the north, no one answered the door,  it ended up they were all in the shower.  Eventually, Tony let us in and gave us a tour of endless travertine.   We watched Arianna (who we met for the first time) their tour (a 7000 sq ft house takes a while to tour) when later arrivals got their tour.  Arianna is a prodigious puker, and twice dispensed what seemed like an unnatural volume for a two month old – on both Cynthia and I.   I especially got a kick out of the her managing to get some all the way down Cynthia’s shirt.  At dusk Marissa wanted to see some deer,  so Dave an I headed out to the porch, pointed two out within 15 seconds, and then came back in.  The others were amazed by the raw power of our forestsense, and immediately built a grand shrine in our honor.

Today I shipped some  gear that I don’t need for the rest of the trip back to Cali – fishing stuff mostly.  I also sent my broken rod back to Sage with some pictures and am hoping for liberal interpretation of the lifetime guarantee.  Then G&G Jacques arrived to set up their tent for the graduation party, and I helped.  During the process, AML arrived to go out to lunch downtown, and so once the tent was in reasonable shape, we left for the Ren Cen with Sean and had a nice late lunch at Seldom Blues (I had yankee pot roast).  Of course, it rained on us as we strolled the riverwalk and we had to scramble back to the car.  Precipitation has been the theme of this trip.

Now the rain is coming down torrentially, and my mom is stuggling to keep the tarp-tent from collapsing from the weight of the water.   We’ll have a family dinner tonight, finish packing, and leave to catch our flight early in the morning.  I assume I’ll continue to have wi-fi access, but if not, posting will obviously be more sporadic.  Until next time, from Cancun . . .

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