It's been so long since we've been in Michigan (or so it seems) I had a real kick of re-reading my previous entry about Evil Lake. I should mention the remainder of our stay in Sleeping Bear was amazing and it has been one of my most cherished memories on this trip. The weather got hot that week we were there and we floated almost every day, getting a nice tan and lots of exercise.
We even took Spike with us on one float because we had seen a family the day before with three different dogs. Of course, their dogs were a lot smaller than Spike. And we had one heck of a time convincing him to walk DOWN the river rather than slamming our tubes into the banks alongside. He nearly impaled us on several downed trees but although it was anything but relaxing, it was actually pretty fun. Or challenging, I should say. Figuring out the best way to tether him between us or attach him to one of us was a continuing evolution of our best critical-thinking skills. Spike did his best to thwart us but he was pretty much unconscious for the rest of the night. Age is catching up with him.
We figured out the river route and never had to see Evil Lake again. The story is funny in hindsight but it was really just a small blip on our Michigan radar. The region is beautiful and though others protest that the winters are miserably bitter, it is hard to believe in the midst of their glorious summer.
Once we left Sleeping Bear, we were delighted to discover our friend Lynda and her girlfriend, Mary, were only two hours south of us. We met up for lunch and had a play date with the dogs. It was really wonderful to see her and to meet Mary. They seemed very happy and our time together was all too short.
Once we left Lynda, we continued at a more break-neck pace to New York to see Rupert. We planned an extended stay and did end up staying for 4 full weeks. His roommates were utterly delightful and we had a really good time watching Battlestar Galatica (all 4.5 seasons) and puttering around with friends. We spent some quality time with one of Whitney's old roommates from when she attended RIT and it was fantastic to socialize with people again. Though we've loved the solitude of traveling together, we have missed the opportunity to share our stories with other people and just to engage in general. While in New York we went to Letchworth State Park (one of the most beautiful parks on our trip) and drove to Syracuse University to check out the M.F.A. program.
Oh yeah, I'll have to follow up on a post about our newly evolved plans for the future. Whitney and I have finally figured out what we're doing with our lives! Or at least... for the next couple of years. :-) Stay tuned!
