'10 Michigan

The day after the wedding, we met David and Amy at their church, and had a picnic afterward, near Laura's house.

Steve Auciello was able to join us, and then D&A took him to the airport. We ate mostly leftover rehearsal dinner food and wedding cake.

Jenny's a good southerner, eating her RC and a Moon Pie, the theme of the dinner (David and Amy go together like RC and a Moon Pie).

After the picnic, Garry & Ilene, the Nguyens, and the Joyces all went up to Kalkaska to Gayle Boss Gillett's cottage on Lake Manistee for one more day together.

Glen took all the "one day" folks out for a pontoon boat ride and taught Art how to pilot the boat so that we could us it again later.

Glen gives Art some pointers.

Quang and Emily enjoy the trip.

Brenda gazes into the sunset.

Ilene and Garry look happy with the ride.

Chatting with our host (and hostess, not pictured) and singing some hymns and gospel songs while Gayle accompanied on the piano.

Enjoying supper together

Sunset over Lake Manistee. The cottage's screen porch was only a few yards from the water, so we had beautiful views available all the time. If I ever were to buy a home on the water, I'd look for that feature. G&G said it was the screen porch that sold them on the house. There was also a nice breeze blowing through, most of the time.

Monday we went to Alden for letterboxing and ice cream, and to look at Torch Lake.

A nice little area near the docks

Flat enjoys a pensive moment. Is he thinking of his brother, all alone in D&A's apartment? Or maybe of his relatives far across the sea in England.

Perhaps Mom is thinking of her sweetie, who loved this lake so much. I felt close to him the whole time we were up north, and really hated to leave.

Mom still has her sense of humor, seen as she poses for Garry.

A sign near the docks gives some interesting statistics about the lake. It's painted in some of the many colors of Torch Lake waters.

Flat enjoys a walk with his buddy.

Sign fail at Rapid City

Monday evening was the picnic with the Brooks clan. Brenda's family and Ginni Brooks Harden's girls enjoy the good food.

Brenda, Garry, and Ilene chat with Bill and Jackie.

Bill, Jackie, and hostess Betty

Fred Brooks, his wife Cindy, Brad Petrie, and Ginni Brooks Harden. Brad and Ginni just started dating, though they've been friends for years. He took her to the Petrie reunion and she brought him to this one. Disclaimer from Ginni - no blood relation!

Mom shares some of her many pictures with David Petrie. Is Garry teasing Brad and Ginni?

Third cousins (approximately) enjoy tech talk.

After the picnic, we stopped at the park where we had Dad's service, and the kids took a dip. Then Brenda's family drove back down to Laura's. Garry and Ilene went on their way, sightseeing as they drove around Lake Michigan and back to Iowa.

Mike Passingham (who lives in Mancelona) stopped by for a visit. While he was there, Mom fell and cut her legs. We're glad Mike was there, because he had us call the local rescue, who were a great help in bandaging the cuts. She was fine the next day, thank the Lord. It was nice visiting with Mike, too.

Art took us for a high-speed ride on the lake, then a slower circuit. It's a nice quiet lake for the most part, even on the weekends.

Daniel and Flat took their turn at piloting, too.

Biking around the lake, about 12 miles.

Daniel did very well, even though his bike was older.

Along the way, we found some delicious blackberries. Went back later with the car and picked a lot. When we went again the next week, a local resident stopped and informed us that the road was private (We hadn't known) and shooed us away. Sure enough, on the street sign were tiny letters that said "private." Even so, we got a lot of nice berries, enough for a cobbler.

Sunset at the cottage.

The National Trout Memorial in Kalkaska

Sign at National Trout Memorial

Flat hitches a ride on the state bird, the robin.

He was also brave enough to ride the state animal, the wolverine.

Mom found a friend at the Cherry Street Market in Kalkaska, a favorite shopping spot!

Flat isn't so sure he likes posing with this critter.

Flat would rather hitch a ride with Daniel, who rode around the lake every day.

Sunday afternoon, we had a nice visit with Mike and Sue Boss, who have a beautiful home on Bear Lake.

We had a great time catching up with them. We had never met Sue, and hadn't seen Mike for 40 years.

This award-winning picture hangs in Gayle's cottage, and is one of the first things I noticed when we arrived. It's a picture that a friend took of Gayle's parents, Fern Joyce and Oscar Boss, truly an amazing couple. What a heritage - and they have over 70 descendents!

We took Mom to Betty's to visit for a few days, and then we did some things she couldn't have joined us for. This is where we had lunch in Charlevoix.

Flat found another critter to ride.