5/13/2009 Holland MI Wet, cool
It rained in the night. Thunder and rain woke us up a few times. It was expected, as a front was moving through.
We breakfasted and made ready to go. I got wet doing that. Then Dolores spotted the left rear tire on the trailer as being flat. After putting on a spare tire, we found it a little low on pressure. We drove to town and stopped at a tire store. They graciously put a hose out the door for my use.
Then we headed north, first west of the Illinois-Indiana border then east of it. Still raining. We stopped for fuel and I got wet again. Unusual station - had to back out after fueling. Finally we reached Michigan City, IN and the rain eased up.
After the late start, we arrived only a little late. John & Nancy welcomed us.
After a bit, they put out ribs and side dishes, very good. We chatted some more & played cribbage (guys beat gals 2 of 2). Then off to bed, just ahead of the front coming through this area.
5/14/2009 Holland MI Rain, then clear. 50's into 60's breezy.
Lots of crashing and banging during the night - one wave right after bedtime and another about 2:00 am. If there were more, we weren't disturbed.
We went into the house as the sky cleared and the wind came up. Had breakfast and talked. John & I went to downtown Saugatuck to the Sand Bar Saloon, where we had coffee with Bill and Owen S. Lots of jokes and talking. Owen S, Bill & I were on a kid's bowling team as teenagers - 50+ years ago.
The ladies went shopping at Kohl's - D came up with a big bagful of stuff at 30% and more off.
John & I stopped to share nachos and have a beer at Finnigan's before meeting the ladies for the movie - the latest Star Trek movie. We thought it was quite well done.
The ladies went home, John & I went to the VFW for a beer. John ran into friends but we left promptly and got home. Then we all went to dinner at Wally's (most of us had the perch dinner). Then off to Schultz Park to meet John & Erica, where Sophie (age 8) was playing softball. The other kids were there as well. We'll see them tomorrow. Might even borrow their high-speed internet to get notes off.
We took a driving tour of Douglas and then back to the house to watch Sherlock Holmes on PBS. It wasn't being received in the house very well, but the set in the trailer was doing fine, so we moved out to the trailer to watch it - Trouble at Thor Bridge, circa 1990. Nice.
We thanked John and Nancy for coming over to our house [ ;-) ] as they left. We settled in to do these notes and relax. Nice day.
5/15/2009 Holland MI Cool, rainy, gray.
Forgot to mention that yesterday, the gals beat us at cribbage, including "skunking" us. Bad news. Today we tied them (1-1).
We loafed for a while, John & I went for coffee at the Sand Bar Saloon, then out to Erica's house for a pizza lunch. They have a nice house on three acres, with a bunch of apple trees that are in bloom now. I got my email using Erica's mid-speed internet and sent a couple of notes.
Pizza was good, the twins were their usual cute selves.
Then back to the house, where Nancy fixed a nice chicken dinner.
We went out to Saugatuck Brewing, where they were opening their new big room with free entry to see the band "Ragbones" or some such. The female lead was good, the bass player was nice, the effects of two percussion people was neat, but the lead guitar player was a bore. He was jumping all over the stage and acting as though the performance was all about him.
We met a couple of John's friends, including Ernie Evangalista who is always a hoot. My beer, the IPA, was nice but the rest left everyone sort of cold. We left about 10:30 and went home to play the above-mentioned cribbage and to settle in.
5/16/2009 Holland MI Cool, sunny.
Turns out that the band last night ran into a problem with their van, so bad that they slept at Saugatuck Brewing. They called John's son Neil early this morning for help. He came out and found a wheel bearing totally wiped out on one front wheel. He managed to put together a temporary solution so they could get to East Lansing for a 2:00 pm appointment. They paid him with cash and one of their CD's.
The four of us went to breakfast at the Red house, then John & I did coffee at the SBS; Ernie came in for a while and Al from last night also showed up. The ladies went off shopping in Holland and came back with some little gifts.
I played with my Macbook and modem to get a few emails - terribly slow compared with cable. But John can't get any high-speed internet out here. He's hoping the township's erection of an antenna for wifi at the town hall with enable it. That's 2.2 miles away, so a directional antenna up high will definitely be needed and even that might not be enough.
Then we prepared for the bonfire. It was still cold and windy, but we went ahead.
Neil & Gisel came along with their four kids plus two kid friends. John & Erica showed up with their four plus Dirk. Bedlam reigned within minutes. Kids everywhere. Steaks and hot dogs on the grill, pasta salad, chips, pickles, baked beans, and so forth. We talked with everyone and helped herd kids now and then. Everybody departed about 9:00; Bill & Owen S dropped by about then, so we talked with them until everyone looked like they were going to drop. Then we quit and went to bed.
5/17/2009 Holland MI Cool, sunny.
We had been going to go to church early but missed that when we overslept. Just plain tired. Too much fun. We'll take it easy today and move tomorrow.
John had a spell yesterday where he felt too much food and fun had caught up with him. He took a long nap and felt better. Our bodies are trying to tell us something, I guess.
John & Nancy went to late church, contemporary service which I avoid, and after that we took a ride down the Lake Michigan coast to South Haven. We had lunch at Clementine's, a great restaurant in an old bank building with excellent decor. Most of us had the walleye-and-perch combination.
Then we rode around town taking pictures, particularly of the channel from the harbor into Lake Michigan. We stopped at Tractor Supply Company for a couple of incidentals for the truck and just to browse. Then back via back roads through the apple orchards to the house.
We played cribbage, which the ladies won. We sat and read the Sunday papers. Then we had a light dinner of leftovers from the picnic last night.
Then we watched William Powell and Myrna Loy in "The Thin Man", which was confusing, funny, and screwy. I'm going to have to read the book.
The we said our goodnights and settled into the trailer. It's 38*F as I type this and headed for 35*. Brrr...
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