Michigan Interlude: Birthday & family time

The one set date on our travel calendar so far was our flight from Denver to Michigan on June 17th. We wanted to be back in Mich for Jos’ Mom’s birthday on the 19th. Per Jos’ youngest nephew (he is 3), the birthday girl is ”older than a dinosaur.“ 😂 Which continues to crack Jim up... 🦖

Unfortunately, our flight in — scheduled to land at midnight — was delayed 2+ hours. We finally landed & got into bed after 4am!! 😴 💤. After recovering the next day, we refueled at our old coffee stop, Bear Claw, Jim finally got to have breakfast at Kate’s Kitchen, and we met one of Jos’ aunts, Deb, for dinner before she left on vacation.

The next day was the birthday! Janis opened gifts, then we met Jos’ brother Matt for lunch, where he brough a special chocolate cream pie from Kate’s Kitchen. It was her birthday treat for days to come! We later went to see Jos’ nephews play baseball, followed by a late dinner all together at a local pub.

It rained the next day, so we stayed in to learn the steps for homemade gnocchi, which Janis learned from some friends recently. It was good, but not perfect. Too much work to try it again!!

On Friday, we visited Jos’ grandparents, then went to downtown Detroit to the historic Whitney for a gathering of Janis’ school friends. Then we went to a pig roast at family friend’s house, which included a gigantic bonfire 🔥 on the river. A busy & social day!

Our last full day in Mich was Satruday, and the bbq at Jos’ Mom’s house for family and friends. Jim’s tired just thinking about all the work preparing for the party! 😆 We got to see quite a few family and friends, and had a nice, summery afternoon. After cleaning up, we crashed, and flew back to Denver the next morning.

❤️