The Getaway

The Polish Prince has been working hard at his job, around the house (both houses), so he wants to take a couple days off to do something, go somewhere. Away from the house so he won't be tempted to work. Hah! I am able to resist the temptation to work better than him!

So where do you want to go? I ask.
Don't know. Just get in the van and drive.
Like where?
I don't know. You're suppose to come up with an idea.
Really? Why is it up to me.
Because you're the planner.
But I am sick and can't think.
So are you saying you don't want to go now? We can stay home. I can find something to do. It doesn't matter that I haven't had any time off and I need to get away.
No, we'll go. I can sneeze, blow my nose, and feel all around miserable in the van just as easy as I do here in my recliner... my comfortable recliner, in front of the television.

So we head out Friday with no destination in mind... just NORTH. Michigan has some beautiful scenery heading up north and along Lake Michigan. We've been 'north' many times so he took some back roads and we zig zagged through the countryside. It was a really pretty drive. I was enjoying myself in between sneezes. We went through one area where asparagus plants were tall and going to seed. There were a lot. I mean a LOT of asparagus fields. I am talking thousands and thousands of acres of asparagus. I got out the handy dandy map for that county and sure enough in the info section it said we were going through the 'asparagus capital of the world'. Seriously, it was amazing. We agreed we should come back in the spring just to see how all of the asparagus is harvested. (side note: The Polish Prince was born and raised a farmer... it is in his blood!) Of course, did I get any pictures of these fields of green? No! Mental Slap!

We made our way to the lakeshore and headed north into Manistee. My Sister lived up there at one time. Come to think of it, so did my Brother and his family. But wow! The town has sure changed. I got all turned around. I recognized a bar I had stopped in many years ago, but that was about it. We were heading to the outskirts of town and I started to point out the lifelike statues of some deer. WHOA! Thems real! A doe and 3 spotted fawns were grazing by the side of the road. Close enough that I could have counted the spots. I got a couple pictures of them.

If the Polish Prince would have been sick, he would have been in his chair whining about how miserable he was. It would have been, "Can you get me a drink? Can you get me some kleenex? Some soup would be nice." And so on and so forth. When I am sick.... I get no sympathy. I get, "You can handle it, you're tough! Where's my dinner?" He knows it pisses me off... this double standard, so I guess he was making it up to me because I agreed to go travelling with him... cause he pulled into Little River Casino and asked me if I wanted to walk around a bit and throw some coins away! Hey! this is a big concession on his part! He hates taking me to the casino. He says it is just a waste of time and money. I LOVE going. He says I am addicted and I'll send them to the brink of bankruptcy. Yeah. Right. Huh-huh. I am definitely not a true blood, dyed in the wool gambler. Playing the quarter slots is big money for me. Playing more than one quarter at a time is really pushing my luck. Seldom do I hit Max Credits. I personally like the nickel machine and if the gray hairs are hogging them... I love the penny and two cent machines! Besides, I spent my money at Little River. No, of course, I did not win anything. I never expect to. I just had fun!

We left there after a an hour or two and continued heading north along the lakeshore. We were trying to get to Petoskey before 10:00pm. There is another casino, Victories, up there but it is for the buffet that we go... the Mukwa Cafe. Oh, the food is sumptious! We got there just in the nick of time and feasted on the best fried fish, mashed potatoes, roast beef and veggies. And the desserts....mmmmmmmm good! Of course, afterwards, we wandered around and dropped some coin in. Actually, I put a $20 bill in a 2 cent machine and played that for two hours. When it was gone, I was ready to go.

We stopped for the night at Boyne Falls. The motel was nice enough but being sick and in a strange place.... equals NO SLEEP! NO REST! We were up and out early. Travelling south now. Baby Son was camping around the Baldwin area with some friends so we set out to find him. Omigosh! I should have gotten better info. He said Pickeral Lake near Baldwin. There are many Pickeral Lakes in that area! But not the one Baby Son was at! Tried calling on the cell phone. Northern Michigan is not an area condusive to cellular traffic. Finally reached a spot where the phones were coming in just barely but enough to ask where he was and to stay put until we got there. They were in the town of Baldwin at the ice cream shop. So we met them there and found out exactly where the campground was and made plans to stop when we were done with lunch.

We ate in a quaint, little restaurant. Good food and homey atmosphere. We sat there longer than intended because it started raining.... a deluge... torrential downpour! I felt sorry for Baby Son and the camper buddies. We made a run for the van and headed down the road about 10 miles to the campground. It stopped raining after 3 miles. By 7 miles, there was no indication that it had even rained. Got to the campsite and they were dry!! I was glad for them except it was a rustic campsite and they could have used the 'shower', if you get my meaning!

The fishing wasn't so good. They were glad they brought back up food. They were deep frying a turkey. I found out later that it turned out really good. As a matter of fact, their camping trip was so good they stayed another night. Haven't heard yet whether or not they made it back safe and sound. I'm the MOM... I worry!

We made it back early Saturday evening. I was glad we went but happy to be home. The pupkids were VERY happy to see us back! They missed us. So did the 10 outside cats but not for the same reason... they were just hungry!

Today I am feeling much better. Still blowing my nose some, but no need for nasal spray, cold medicine, antihistamine, aspirin or anything else. I am on the road to recovery. So much so... I did 6 loads of laundry... and posted this long winded entry!