Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

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One of the neat things about our trip so far is all of the suggestions we have gotten on places to visit. Traverse City is one of those places, thanks to my dad and the people he works with. We arrived in Traverse City on Friday, September 12, at night. Because it was dark, we decided that we would put off the sight seeing until Saturday morning, but we did make a quick stop at Pangaea's pizza, where we got our food and drinks to go. After mooching internet from a local restaurant, we found a KOA about 15 miles south. As it had been raining off and on, we decided to sleep in the car in order to avoid packing up a wet tent again the next morning. As has been the case, we utilized the free internet and free showers Saturday morning before heading back to Traverse City. Unfortunately, Saturday did not prove to be a good day for strolling the streets of downtown, located on the coast of Lake Michigan. A combination of rain and colder temperatures cut the majority of our plans for the day short. The city is known for its water sports and pristine waters, but being soaked, we were more than ready to depart after a few hours. We spent an hour in the local bookstore giving the weather one last chance to blow over, but the rain continued to fall. Bummed out by the less than ideal weather, we did not get to visit very many of the cute shops along the main street shopping district. I guess this one will have to be added to the list of "Return To At A Later Date." Additionally, due to the rain, we did not take any pictures because we did not want to get the camera wet. That is why this blog is very short with very few pictures. Sorry about that, but we will make up for it in the next blog where we took over 100 pictures! (It was at the Henry Ford complex and Greenfield Village in Detroit) The original plan was to stay in Traverse City all day, and visit my aunt and cousin on Sunday, however, we moved the plans up and arrived in Rockford on Saturday afternoon for a three day visit. For anyone that's curious, Rockford is just north of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

My Aunt Lori and cousin Dan (since Uncle Phil and cousin Kevin are out of town at work and school) were super generous in allowing us to visit and sleep in an actual bed for the first time since California. Coincidentally, Aunt Lori has visited many of the same places that we hit up on this trip, so it was fun to talk about and compare visits, since she also had many pictures of the same things we did. To continue a theme present throughout the rest of our trip, they took us to a highlight of Rockford…the Rockford Dam. Nearby: the Dam Dog. With a variety of toppings available, Dam Dog serves up a menu of dogs for every palate. Filled with chili, cheese, and dogs, we walked around the downtown Rockford area, locating both the library and a used bookstore, which is always important. In addition to having a bed, it was great having a real shower and some nice home-cooked meals. We also really enjoyed having some people to talk with, different from each other. Had the weather been nicer, we would have tried to hit some other sights in Grand Rapids. As it was, on Tuesday we decided to continue on to Detroit and the Henry Ford (which is a museum).

Thanks you, Aunt Lori and Dan, for allowing us to stay with you! It's always nice to visit with family. We really enjoyed our Dam Dogs and the dam! Also, thank you for giving me something to wear other than my Lehigh sweatshirt! Apparently there has been some discussion about the lack of variety in my warm clothing. They were kind enough to purchase a new sweatshirt for me. So all of you observant viewers out there, be sure to look for the change in wardrobe, compliments of the Raseys.

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Photos

Rockford
True good Dam Dogs, right from Rockford, Michigan. Nickey had a chili cheese dog, Cody had a chili cheese ketchup mustard onion pickle dog. Mmmmm.

Rockford
Oh yeah!

Rockford
In other words, no thugs.

Rockford
THE dam. From all of the rain that we brought with us, it was just about to overflow.

Rockford
Another shot of the rushing water coming through the dam.

Rockford
The water on the backside of the dam was about coming over the top.

Rockford
Aunt Lori's house, where we stayed. Thank you!