What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Summer this year has been long and full and eventful. But now that I've returned from the last of my fall trips, I'm realizing that summer is over. Yesterday morning I went running, and the clouds in the sky brought out all the shades of green and brown in the landscape, and the air felt touch-of-fall chilly (as opposed to early spring chilly), and I finally remembered, with all of my senses, that I love Ann Arbor in the fall, too. I'm ready.

So it's reflection time, and I think some highlights are in order. Sometimes the little details that add color to trips get lost in the highlights, so I thought I'd make the highlights brief, and pull out a bit of the miscellany that made it interesting. It turns out my summer was packed. This will not be a brief post. Skim as you wish.

I. UK Trip: Pots of the British Museum
Some highlights: Exploring London alone, the Design Museum, driving on the wrong side of the road, Wells Cathedral, Bizarre Bath walking tour, Seashell Cottage, running in Llandudno, a moment of sunshine on the Ring of Kerry, Holyrood park, taking a picture of the Loch Ness Monster, photographs on the Isle of Skye, Julius Ceasar, good Indian food in Oxford, sheep.

Miscellany: On our first full day in London, Jessica and I planned several museum visits. After visiting the British Library, we headed to the British Museum, but Jessica had just arrived that morning, and after spending a night in the airport and a second night on an airplane, she (understandably) decided she would rather take a nap than wander a museum full of old pots and jewelry. Left with my own still-slightly-jetlagged self, and not entirely sure how to navigate a museum of old pots and jewelry, and enjoy it, I started taking pictures of pots. Lots and lots of pictures of pots. And suddenly, surprisingly, the British Museum became a lot more interesting. I looked for unique pots. I paid attention to angles and lighting. I wondered about the stories behind the pots I found. When I returned home to Michigan, I put together (but never posted) this montage which I call Pots of the British Museum. I'm quite proud of it. See if you can find the smashed piggy bank, the ancient muffin tin, the space age tea kettle, the largest pot in the British Museum, and the metal cup that looks like it got caught in the hatch when the Lost crew stopped entering in the numbers.


II. Run Charlevoix: Red Vines
Some Highlights: Stairs, finding a microcache, eight runners, Mike McMurtrey, red licorice, Adam on his bicycle at mile 11, third place, free bracelets, chatting on the beach, great pizza, a basement bookstore.

Miscellany: The Red Vines were my favorite part of the half marathon. I had been sick the evening before and hadn't really eaten a good dinner, so it caught up to me pretty quickly once I started running. Then, about three miles in, I hit an aid station with water and kids to shout encouragement and the chocolate gels that saved my life. I also noticed a big Costco bucket of Red Vines sitting on the table they had set up. I did not take one, but I took note, and looked forward to my second pass for the next 7.1 miles (it was an out-and-back race). Red Vines, it turns out, are the best race kind of race food. It's not particularly easy to eat, but manageable, and delicious, and one Red Vine occupied my attention for an entire mile. That, and a drive-by by Adam on his bicycle to shout encouragement, kept me going through to the finish line even after my knee nearly gave out.

III. Upper Penninsula: How to Light a Fire
Some Highlights: S'mores with Symphony bars, walking on the shore first thing in the morning, church at the Charlevoix branch, campsite showers, mosquito- and rain-free tents, a break in the weather, Tahquamenon Falls, not being the only one to lose a small electronic device, campfires, giant calzones, a frog, another frog, getting unstuck.

Miscellany: Fires, it turns out, are a lot harder to start than you'd think. My home state of California seems to burn easily enough, and so it seems to me that you should be able to just light a match, set it to dry wood, wait a couple minutes, and, fwoosh!* you have yourself a roaring fire. Not so. It also seems to me that a couple of Eagle Scouts working together should be nearly as effective as a dry California summer. Also not so. Each night's fire seemed more an ordeal than the last, and keeping the fire once it got going was as much effort as getting it started in the first place. I am sure I learned how to start a fire in Girls Camp. I am also sure that I never had to actually start one. I wasn't much help.

* I'm guessing here on the spelling of the sound of a fire errupting out of nowhere....

IV. Family Reunion, Estes Park: How to Really Light a Fire
Some Highlights: Boulder, funny hats, supporting the Michigan economy, mountains, campfire songs, making friends with Will, Tai Chi, Frisbee golf, mountains, arts and crafts, a successful book club, the home improvement show skit, Grandma on the zip line, the Great Dalmuti, mountains.


Miscellany: Equipped with a store-bought fire starter, a match, and a bundle of dry firewood, a nine-year-old can accomplish what two Eagle scouts and a Girls Camp graduate could not, in a tenth of a time it took them not to accomplish it.

V. Utah Road Trip: Why Motel 6 is a Bargain
Some Highlights: Life of Pi on CD, detouring to Colorado, bubbles time in nursery, seeing Aunt Sue, wireless internet at Grandma's, chocolate chip cookie dough "accidents," Tour of Utah, learning what it takes for my brother to tolerate small dogs, sewing pillows, 101 Dalmations, girls' day with Kelsey, un-dog-hairing my car, Settlers, Jin in my grandma's backyard, my yearly Bountiful Temple hill run, a music exchange with Eric, seeing family.

Miscellany: On our way home, we stopped halfway and stayed the night at a Motel 6. It was right by a 24-hour Lingerie store (any lingerie store next to a Motel 6 and open 24 hours is sketchy), and had no continental breakfast, and had a bulletproof* after-hours glass window at the front desk, and was located in Lincoln, Nebraska (strike four). But it was cheap and allowed big dogs and we just needed a place to sleep before the 12-hour drive the next day. Strike five right there. At 2:51 in the morning, a car alarm went off right outside our room's window. Fortunately it only lasted about 30 seconds. Unfortunately it went off again half an hour later, and again half an hour after that, and again half an hour after that, for the rest of the night. So much for sleep. And for Motel 6 and for Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Okay, the "bulletproof" is just an assumption.

VI. Highlights from Ann Arbor (the non-travelly part of summer)
Running with Jin again, the Detroit Institute of Arts for free, farmers market pickups, Cedar Point part III, barbecues, picking blueberries, reading on my patio, the entire bishopric at the Saline Summerfest 5K, crafting, the institute incident, cable television and a cable party, Angelo's with Ashley, a new roommate, canoeing on the Huron River.


And now on to the fall....