Yesterday we left Frankenmuth in the afternoon and headed for Grand Haven to stay with some family. Spoiler alert: they're probably the coolest. We haven't seen them in two years, and so our reunion was extra great! We walked along the beach/pier which was still pretty frozen and afterwards went to a place called K2's for pizza, pool, and of course, some good ol' conversation! I think we were all pretty full after our individualized mini pizzas... well, at least I was. Afterwards, they surprised me with one of the best ice-cream cakes I've had. My stomach is growling just thinking about it...
We left Grand Haven this morning around 9:30 AM. Our original ETA according to our GPS was 1 PM and according to Siri, it was 2:30 PM. Well, due to a series of events, our actual time of arrival was 5 PM due to a series events:
- Initially, Siri was taking us towards the ferry rather than the freeway and Dad didn't want to trust the seven year old GPS right away (eventually we used it for a while)
- The car's tires needed to be changed because the two back ones no longer had tread; originally we went to Sears but they were poop holes, so we ended up going to Firestone
- While waiting for the tires to be changed, we went to JJ's Pizza for lunch (a block down from Firestone)
- Dad tried going through an IPass Lane but ended up getting stuck because we don't have one; several cars honked at us as we were trying to pay, also a sign that we were in Illinois
- Getting through Chicago took about 2 hours (as usual) and was kind of the worst for someone like me because of this thing called motion sickness
I'm sure that several more things had happened in this time span, but I think my brain is mushy from holding all of these memorable adventures and as a result, I can't remember all of them. To conclude our trip we figured that we drove a total of 1785 miles, averaged 26.5 miles/gallon, spent $262.81 on gas and developed Canadian accents. Well, more so Dad than me. You'll notice he says "eh" a lot more...
This for sure has been the trip of a lifetime and I am so incredibly thankful to have gone on it. It's helped me realize how much I take my parents for granted and that I need to start to appreciate them so much more. And now that I'm older, we can be friends and I don't constantly need to be reminded to brush my teeth, take a shower, and everything else parents remind their children of. I wish that Mom and Stephanie could have come with us and be a part of our memories. But it's just as fun reliving the experience while explaining it to them. Some people may find it odd that I spent my 21st birthday with my dad and others may think it's awesome. I've come to the conclusion that it's awesome. So, kids, be sure to love your parents unconditionally--they might just take you across the world to visit an aquarium--and I promise you won't regret it.
This for sure has been the trip of a lifetime and I am so incredibly thankful to have gone on it. It's helped me realize how much I take my parents for granted and that I need to start to appreciate them so much more. And now that I'm older, we can be friends and I don't constantly need to be reminded to brush my teeth, take a shower, and everything else parents remind their children of. I wish that Mom and Stephanie could have come with us and be a part of our memories. But it's just as fun reliving the experience while explaining it to them. Some people may find it odd that I spent my 21st birthday with my dad and others may think it's awesome. I've come to the conclusion that it's awesome. So, kids, be sure to love your parents unconditionally--they might just take you across the world to visit an aquarium--and I promise you won't regret it.
-A & G
(Stay tuned for other life adventures I encounter, eh?)
(Stay tuned for other life adventures I encounter, eh?)
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| a little sea gull riding the ice |
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| welcome to chicago -_- |
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| chicago |
