One Journey Ends...Another Begins

I know this is very late.  But, I wanted to at least wrap up our trip for all who followed.  In the last post, we were at Julie's in Illinois after two very long days of driving.  After a wonderful holiday weekend, we headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The drive was uneventful.  We spent four days visiting with Rick's Dad, our Kate, and our friends.  It is always great to go "home".
 

A big thank you to the Huffman's who once again provided a great meal and great fellowship.  We always enjoy our visits!

It was also great to see the Sherwood family, even if the visit was short.

A special thanks to Suzie for rearanging her work schedule to spend the day shopping with me!  And the gift wrapping class was fun too!  Sure miss our regular outings.  But I always look forward to the time we share when I can make it to the Fort.

It was also wonderful to see our daughter Kate, happy and healthy. 

So, our beginning to the holiday season was terrific!

On December 3 we began the trek back to Michigan.  North of Lansing the weather took a turn.  Snow, sleet, ice, rain...we just passed the sign that read "Bridge may be icy" and a small sedan tried to pass a car in front of us.  Tried being the operative word.  As he fish-tailed back and forth and then went into full spin, Rick (with help from above) maintained control of our vehicle and managed to avoid a collision.  The other car?  He ended up driving backwards along the guardrail.  But, thankfully no one was injured.

We were able to cross the bridge and the weather was good.  Just about Munising the storm reappeared.  But driving in the UP is a whole lot different than driving anywhere else!  And you just can't beat the beauty of our snow!  We drove to Marquette and hunkered in for the night. 

Saturday we attended the big craft show at the Superior Dome and then made our way home.

The end would be blissful if not for the fact that our water heater had sprung a leak and the sump pump was pumping fresh water right outside!  No hot showers tonight.

With all crisis avoided and replacement parts on the way we are home safe and sound.  The total trip was about 8,700 miles and we had a great time!  We met some great people, saw some amazing sights and visited with family and friends.  Who could ask for more.

I thought I would end this blog here.  But, I have found that I enjoy the process.  So, I think as 2011 rolls in I will continue to add bits and pieces as life carries on.

Hope everyone enjoyed a very Merry Christmas and wishing everyone a great 2011!