No sleeping late was allowed. Our alarm was set for 6:00 Friday morning as we had planned a full first day back. Thankfully, the hot water heater had done its job overnight and I took full advantage of an unlimited water supply. Of all the things I've missed about land life, "real" showers are high on the list. I had not had a nice, long, hot, steamy, high pressure, overhead dispensing shower since May 20. Simple pleasures.
My first stop was to get my car inspected and four new tires. We had ordered the tires with the hope of being a quick in and out. It did not go as planned and I left with only three mounted and an appointment on Monday to finish the job. From there I was off to pick up medicine at Target then meet Ashley for lunch at Cookout. A BLT and a milkshake hit the spot. In the first of several missed photo opportunities, I forgot to take our selfie. With a few hours free, I rushed back home and began to tackle the overgrown mess that was my flowerbeds. I made quick work of the front beds and managed to get in another hot shower before leaving to get my hair cut.
As thankful as I was to get it cut in Burlington, Vermont, I was even more thankful to get back to Anh Dai (who has patiently cut my hair for 25 years) to put some shape and layers back into my fine, stringy mess. She insisted I take a selfie to show the next person what to do. I'm hoping I can wait until the end of October and have her give me my next trim. We met Barry's brother, sister-in-law, and niece for dinner and then quickly called it a night.
Saturday morning was laundry time and I got some more yard work in between cycles. Barry visited with his friend Richard and they did some Touch and Gos at the Hanover Airport before he left to attend the first of his dad's birthday parties for the day. (Barry actually took a selfie so it had to make the blog.) I went and visited my parents for a while and then came back home for more garden time. The rose bushes on each side of the back steps had become quite unruly and grown together, forming their own little archway. These had to be tamed before I could get other clippings up to the compost pile. We all went to Buckhead's to celebrate Julian's 90th birthday. He made sure he saved room for dessert (lemon curd cheesecake) and was able to blow out the candle. We kept him out way past his bed time, but we all had a great time together.
On Sunday morning we brought out the big ladder to eliminate our Gutter Garden. I had spotted this tree growing on Friday, but Barry and I both have to help move and position the 40 foot ladder. It was amazing how fast that thing grew in a bed of decomposing oak pollen. All cleaned out, we put the beast of a ladder away. A huge thunderstorm chased me in by 3:00 and dumped 2.25 inches of rain. We headed to my parents' house for a gourmet dinner my sister had prepared, but she was unable to stay and eat with us. We missed seeing Lisa and Robbie, as they already had dinner plans with Robbie's dad.
Monday morning I got my fourth tire mounted then hit the road to Norfolk for a visit with Linda and David. She and I did Mexican for lunch before returning to their house for a while. I now have my walking orders to complete several 5Ks and a 10K to earn the virtual race medals she collected for me. I will put in the miles and claim them honestly. She took our selfie before I left. From Norfolk I headed to Deltaville for a sleepover at Glenda's. Granddaughter Elinor met me at the door and we immediately jumped into fun times, including many stories, comparing cruise notes, sharing laughs, and even a little crabbing. Seven-year-old Elinor and I camped upstairs overnight and both were awake early. We had a nice chat while waiting for the adults to stir downstairs.
A full day was ahead of us on Tuesday. We did some pruning and came across this praying mantis that totally made me forget to take our selfies. We headed to Charlottesville to drop Elinor off and pick up Tessa for her stay with Gigi and PopPop. Along the way we detoured for Chick-fil-A and then my dental appointment. We visited for a few hours with the whole family before heading back. Five-year-old Tessa was a riot and full of energy. I know I (and probably we) haven't laughed that hard and continuously in a very long time. Thank you so much, Glenda, for sharing these special times and folks with me. My drive home went quickly and easily as I tried to replay every little moment in my head from an incredible two days.
Just like that our visit home was over. We buttoned the house back up and left for the Richmond airport at 8:30 on Wednesday morning. Our flight was 45 minutes late leaving, but I had a nice view of the James River and downtown Richmond on the way out. I love the window seat. The flight to Detroit took just over an hour and I had a mix of reading and sleep during that time. Due to our very late arrival we had a quick reload onto the flight to Chippewa County International Airport. We had the back row on a full flight, sitting right across the slender aisle from the bathroom. I did finish the book I was working on and look forward to starting a new one.
As we began our descent into Chippewa and dropped below the clouds, the beauty of the Great Lakes reminded me of why we are here. As pretty as it is from the air, I am ready to resume our trip and experience more of this area from the water. We landed and walked 100 yards to our vehicle in the free parking lot. We headed to the ferry, stopping along the way at the grocery store to reprovision. The ferry was loading as we pulled up to the tail of the line. Perfect timing. Twenty minutes later we were back on Drummond Island. We unloaded, turned on Crossroads' air conditioner and headed back out for dinner while she cooled down. The sign in the restaurant combined with all the great memories from a few days home (including the visit to my dentist) definitely made me smile.
Tomorrow we will prepare Crossroads for departure on Friday morning. We will make a few stops along the north shore of Lake Michigan with our next big goal being Green Bay, Wisconsin, (the body of water, not the town) by Monday.
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