Ann Arbour - University of Michigan - 27th September

This morning we had a nice long lie in whilst Stephen and Galina were at work.  At lunchtime, Galina came home and drove us to Ann Arbour for the afternoon.  This is a very  nice artsy and traditional town about 40 miles outside of Detroit.  It's the home of the University of Michigan (best in the State) and is quite small.  Galina says there are three types of people there - the hippy/arty lot, the students and the professors.  So we mooched around the nice art shops, book shops and comic shops, taking in the lovely old buildings.  We walked around the university campus and hung out with the cheeky squirrels and chipmunks who were gathering nuts in a frenzy.  The campus had amazing buildings from the end of 1800s and 1920s, red brick, some art nouveau, interspersed with lawns and more beautiful trees.  The students were milling around, and actually wearing the University of Michigan hoodies and caps.  It felt like I was on the set to those 1980s american films and I thought I might at any moment bump into a young John Cusack, Molly Ringwold or Matthew McCarthy.  We stumbled upon a building and quad which was almost, stone for stone, a rebuild of Kings College Cambridge, including the Chapel, but in this case it was an amazing law library.  We took Stephen, Galina and Isobella out for a meal as it was our last night.  We went to Sheilds, a Detroit diner since 1946.  We had square pizza the size of several bricks.  We ate some of it then took the rest home in a box!  After a “You Bet” style packing extravaganza, whereby we bet each other to what extent we would need to squeeze all our booty in our suitcases, we bored S&G with Joe’s website, which they did actually marvel at.  Quite right too.

Indian River, Mackinaw Island, Surf & Turf - 24-26th Sept

Two-scoops Friday

We drove to Indian River where Stephen and Galina have their cabin on Lake Burt.  This was an even more quaint american town, mainly for the tourists who like fishing, hunting and hanging out on the beach at the lake.  It reminded me of the places I’ve seen on 80s films like Stand by Me.  

We went to Paula’s for breakfast.  Today I had Raspberry pancakes.  And oh my lord, these were good too.  Paula’s walls were lined with all sorts of teapots, and the local small town folk - mullets, overbleached hair, denim, baseball caps and trucks!  Joe spotted a patriotic picture of a crying eagle with the twin towers in the background, illustrating a moving poem about “terrorists beware - America will prevail”.  Beautiful.  Interesting.  Weird.  

Stephen and Galina showed us their Cabin on the lake, which looked like the sea.  It was quite stormy and windy, but we could see that in the sunshine it would be an idyllic place to be.  Apparently when it’s calm, the water is clear and dreamy for swimming as it’s freshwater.  Isobella gave us a guided tour whilst Galina packed everything up for the winter.  We drove to the ice-cream parlour and chocolate shop in Indian River.  Scoop one - I have another chocoholic’s dream - this time chocolate ice cream and lumps of chocolate.  A small serving was rather large.  Then I got lured into chocolate tasting by the chocolate-making owner of the place.  He made me eat some handmade chocolate coated hard toffee (like a Dime bar but nicer) and a handmade chocolate caramel.  This was good.  I ended up getting some Halloween chocolates and Mavis brought some nutty ones for me to bring back for Mum.   By this time, I was starting to get brain freeze and a chocolate head as I realised I’d not had any for over a week, without even noticing. 

We drove back to Mavis’s and decided not to go to Makinac City.  Instead we just hung out, chatted and ate chicken curry, and scoop two - another Dairy Queen pudding (this time I had an M&M blizzard and a second round of brain freeze) before going to bed.

   

Saturday 

Stephen made us sausage and eggs for breakfast then we all drove to Makinac City and took the fast boat to Makinac Island.  The city looked like a holiday toytown.  More traditional wood paneled shops, painted in bright colours, selling fudge and sports wear.  The weather was windy and rainy so the ferry crossing was pretty hairy.  My usual preference is to stand on deck and let the wind whistle past my ears and take in big gulps of fresh sea air.  To do this today would have resulted in me getting completely soaked so I sat tight in the cabin as we flew across the waves, with the occassional slam onto the lake surface, with plenty of spray obscuring the view of the Makinac Bridge - the 6th longest suspension bridge in the world - it links the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan state.  

Once landed, we strolled around the Island, which was a haven of tranquility as no cars are allowed.  Tourists hire bikes, walk around or take horse drawn carriages to get around.  We spent some time milling around the fudge shops and the sportswear shops and the fudge shops and the tat shops and the fudge shops and the fudge shops.  Stephen organised a private horse and cart to take the five of us on a guided tour around the island.  This way we got to escape from the hoards of tourists and were able to take a sneaky peek at the massive holiday homes of the richies who com

e here during the summer.  We were taken through the woods and saw some cool trees and plants.  It was very quiet.  By the time we got to the main street, we were all quite chilled out, but chilly.  So we went to Goodfellows for hot chocolate and lunch.  The hot chocolate was very sweet and not as good as the nice stuff in England.  Referring to the earlier statement about not seeing many fat people - well, we did here.  Fat count was up.  Also we realised that a lot of restaurants play country music and have sports on TV.  After a final lap of main street and a firm no to Isobella (age 4.5) that the collectors figure of Donnie Darko was not an appropriate memento of the trip, we got the ferry back to the mainland and drove back to Mavis’s house.  

In the evening, I met an actual Republican.  Mavis babysat Isobella, whilst Stephen and Galena took us out to meet Stephen’s school friends Chris and Greg and his wife Terri.  We went to “Top of the Greeks” and had surf and turf!  Oh my, the steak was delicious.  Tender and melt in the mouth.  Between mouthfuls we discovered quite a bit about welfare in the US and had interesting discussions about such things as housing benefit and incentives to work.  We also found out about homecoming and other teen customs we’d only ever heard about on films.  Once home, we half watched A Knight’s Tale, mourned the passing of Heath Ledger, ate some halloween chocolates, then went to sleep.

Sunday - drive back, costco, grill, xfiles

After a not so early start, I made a photo tour of Mavis’s house and garden, then we packed up, said our goodbyes and headed back to Detroit.  I sat next to Isobella and we watched old episodes of Scooby Doo on the in-car DVD system!!!   We stopped for a couple of wee stops.  One was at one of the purpose built “rest areas”, which provided parking, picnic areas with BBQ grills, loos and vending machines.  It reminded me of the places we used to stop on our travels in England when I was little, and I realised they have seem to have disappeared, replaced by service stations, I think.  I also discovered that broiled means grilled and grilled means barbequed.  The little taster of the “fall colours” on the way up had turned into a more meaty mouthful by the time we drove back.  I keep getting overwhelmed by the hoards of trees there are everywhere we’ve been  - great forests as far as the eye can see, but also in the towns and gardens.  I wasn’t expecting this at all.  So we had a treat of some beautiful banks of orange, red, purple, yellows and green trees, all clumped together.  When I looked back out of the rear window at one point it was like a patchwork quilt of colours.  The photos really didn’t do it justice. 

We got back to S&G’s mid-afternoon, had a spot of lunch, then went with Stephen to Costco to get some steak and srimps for the grill fest that he had been promising us all week.  We’d heard american steak was the best, and the tasters we’d had so far had not let us down, but more was yet to come. Costco is a cash and carry, but on a scale I’d never seen before - stuff as far and high as the eye could see.  Bloomin heck.  Stephen grilled us some fillet mignon steaks to perfection, along with xxxking size prawns and yummy salad.  THANK YOU!! Joe and I watched 3 episodes of the x-files then went to bed will full tums and crazy dreams.

Road Trip - Thursday 23rd September - Detroit to Cheboygan, Michigan

More of my blog from my recent trip to the US.

We drove from Detroit to Cheboygan, which is at the northern most tip of the lower peninsula of Michigan.  This was a 4 hour road trip and we saw such cool countryside.  Loads of trees, tall water towers with town names written on the side, white panel farm houses, red wooden barns and metal silos (like my fisher price one which moo-ed when you opened the barn doors).  Bits of it reminded me of the Wizard of Oz and other bits of Northern Exposure. 

It certainly was hunting and fishing country.  All the men folk were large and bearded with baseball caps, and their lady friends weren’t much different.  

We’d heard about the “Fall Colours”, where the trees turn from green to a multitude of oranges, yellows, reds and purples and as we drove further north we were teased with early tit-bits of this amazing natural phenomenon.  We stopped at the Lumberjack Cafe for breakfast.  Oh my word, I tasted the BEST blueberry pancakes.  A serving consisted of three 7”ish pancakes.  On top of this you could have as many as you could eat for free.  Joe rose to the challenge, and only managed another 1.  The record is 9.  The decor of this place was done out like a hunting log cabin, with stuffed bears and deer and moose heads on the walls.  After a quick stop at an even cheaper Old Navy and very cheap Gap (I left my purse in the changing room) we were back on the road again.  

Our drive into Cheboygan was along a road that was flanked on one side by Lake Mullett and Lake Burt on the other.  These were apparently the smaller inland lakes, as opposed to the great lakes, but they looked pretty great to me.  They were lined with cute holiday cabins and more trees.  

Cheboygan was a traditional small American town, with an actual main street with shops, cafes and businesses in older buildings.  Stephen took us on a quick tour, showing us the Dairy Queen where Aunty Mavis used to work and where the family lived out back of when they first arrived here from Kuwait.  He also showed us the old Roy family home which was a lovely wood paneled house with porch and steps up to the front door. Amazingly the similar 5 bedroom home next door was on the market for about $100,000.  So that’s about £65,000.  Oh my goodness.  Joe and I couldn’t quite get over this and started to think perhaps a move to America might be a good idea.  So much more boom for your buck with the housing and space.  

We arrived at Aunty Mavis’s with a warm welcome.  Her home is a modular home, pre-built, brought to the land in two bits on the back of a lorry and then fixed together on arrival.  It was set in 3 acres of land at the edge of the town, boardered by woodland and a little creek.  We watched the chipmunks, squirrels and birds in the garden, but didn’t get to see the family of deer that often hang out.  We just hung around and chatted and drank tea, then Mavis cooked her legendary chicken curry with salad and bhaji (steamed cabbage and tomato).  For pudding, Stephen went to the Dairy Queen and brought us each back a Blizzard - ice cream mixed up with bits of yummy things.  I had a chocoholics delight - chocolate ice cream with chocolate truffle lumps.  This was good.  After more chatting we went to bed.  It was so warming to hang out with Mavis.  She's so kind and funny and chilled out.  And her house is full of sweets, just like my Nanny's (her eldest sister), 

Birthday Boy!

On Sunday I went to my nephew's 4th birthday party and we all had an ace time.  He is so cute and so is his lovely big sister.  She is 6 and is a brilliant reader - she read to us all - Alice in Wonderland ladybird book.  I loved it!  She also gave us a starry performance of her ballet dancing, and we played name that tune (to a tuneless recorder) and another game we made up out of Ethan's Storm Trooper figure packaging!  She was reading words like leadership, intelligence and mechanical skills.  She is so clever.  I am biased but also incredibly proud and in wonder of her.  She's such a strong and inspiring little bean, who I am filled with love for and love helping her be all she can be.  Ethan was too busy throwing himself around, but we did share a tender moment as he threw himself on me and asked me to read him a book called, Hey I love you!  He snuggled in under my arm and it was precious!

Friday

1.  I went to see Ross Noble with Joy and Joe and he was very very funny
2.  I did a massage for a new customer and it was good.  Helped me out of my blue mood.
3.  I changed the bedding and it smells lovely.

Thursday

1.  I have good friends at work - we are all looking after each other
2. I had sausage, mash and peas at the Stratford Haven sausage festival.  I went for the red wine and garlic option. Others had Chorizo and pork and sweet chilli.  My choice was the best.  This was followed by homemade apple and raspberry tart with nut crumble topping and cream.  Delicious.  This was all accompanied by probably some of my bestest people in the world - bro, hub and bro's beeyatch.   Good fun had by all.
3. Joe got asked to go to India by a friend's son who likes his art.

Phijosophy and serendipity

I haven't yet finished telling my tales of America, but I will.  In the meantime, I'm getting back to the original purpose of this blog, as I have lost track of it recently, at a time when I really need it.

So I'm going to tell you about the good thing that happened yesterday...

I had two really good learning experiences - I went to day 2 of my ILM Leadership & Management course in the day, then in the evening went to the PALS AGM, which was a meeting with other people who are mentoring children who have been adopted.  At both events I met inspiring and interesting people, and learnt more about the world, other people's lives and myself.  Always good.  Much of what I heard was very humbling and profoundly affecting. eg. when you realise, feel and see what small children are subjected by the people who are supposed to be protecting them and then see what impact it has on the rest of their lives.  It was bullying we were discussing in this context.

I got the feeling the universe is starting to conspire with me.  For example, one option I'm thinking of if I get made redundant, is to set myself up as a management consultant, and this came to the fore on Monday when I went to meet a business advisor at Business Link and we discussed, amongst other things, the importance of networking, and then yesterday, when chatting to the tutor on the ILM course - it turns out she's a management consultant, with lots of experience, enthusiasm and encouragement, and she offered to help me set myself up if that's what I decide!  She said it's really important when you're starting out, and people helped her when she did and she's passing it on.  Is this what they call serendipity?  Or is it a result of what I am starting to put out there, since I reached rock bottom, let all the negativity out, then decided to get pro-active and make the changes I want to.  I am putting out lots of stuff at the moment, and maybe it's starting to deliver.

Today, a lovely new friend at work told me I was a philosopher, and I liked this a lot.  Not only because she said it in a positive way, but also that she recognises that I am a thinker and that's a good helpful thing. Often, people are quite derogatory about this trait - eg.  "you think too much", "too much thinking, not enough action", "pie in the sky", but at the moment, thinking is really helping me come to terms with what is happening in my life at the moment and working things out.  I also realised that me being a philosopher is helping my friends.

PS.  another good thing is that my wonderful friend Joy brought me a heart shaped blackboard a couple of weeks ago.  I chose it in a shop when she insisted on buying me something.  I don't know why I chose it really - it looked nice, I thought Joe and I could leave loving/abusive messages for each other.  But then I needed a way to keep reminding me of the things I need to focus on to get my work life back on track, and there hanging on the wall was my blackboard, which I wrote a positive affirmation on, and then when I need to tell myself something new, I change it.  At the moment it says - "I am the master of my destiny" and "Action leads to satisfaction".  Thank you Joy

PPS.  In this challenging time, I've really felt blessed by my friends who seem to be coming at me from all angles at the moment, without me even asking. Friends I've not been in touch with for a while have contacted me out of the blue, and said exactly what I needed to hear, lots of different things in different ways, even without me saying I needed all this stuff.  I have been surrounded by lovely lunches, satiating soirees, enlightening emails and touching telephone calls.  I feel wrapped up in kindness, and it's a very good feeling at the moment.  I have really felt weird negative feelings (including lots of anger that I've needed to express/exorcise) I've not had before, and you are all keeping me sane.  Maybe I'm just looking for goodness in any little way that I can at the moment, because it seems like it's sapping away.  But these are all good signs that I will be alright in the end.  Thank you wonderful friends.  I hope others fair well too.


So bon!