U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! (ad nauseam): Part III

Finally the main event for my trip back to the US was approaching, a wedding celebration for a great friend, with whom I spent my University years living with while at the University of Michigan.

As both he and his wife are originally from the great state of Michigan and both attended the University of Michigan, it was only fitting that they selected a beautiful site for their nuptials in their home state. The site was a spacious lake house along Lake Michigan in Mackinaw City, just a mere 3-minute drive from the Mackinac Bridge. (Aside: It’s the 3^rd largest suspension bridge in the world. Plus, check out the story on the car that was blown off the bridge by wind in 1989 – hopefully, others will think twice about driving imports in Michigan.)

View from the lake house

Anyhow, a quick 4 hour drive north up Interstate-75 and we were at our destination for the weekend. A house for the bridal party to share right on the shores of Lake Michigan (By the way - for those of you keeping score at home - the 4^th largest freshwater lake in the world.)

Entering the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) via the Mackinac Bridge

Memorabilia from a small museum on the Bridge [St. Ignace (UP)]

Cruising into town on Thursday before the Saturday nuptials, allowed us all to spend some much-needed time enjoying everyone’s company after spending the past 4 years with varying levels of contact with one another. As time will do to any close friends and/or family, we had all come a long way since the days of living together in our beautiful college town. The past four years have seen us move (among other destinations) to Washington DC, Colorado, Seattle, Wichita, Norfolk, San Francisco, and now I find myself in Guatemala. However, despite the distances, we’ve all managed to keep in touch over the years and even at times when not everyone could be present, we’ve had our fair share of get-togethers, which have meant the world to me. Trips back to Ann Arbor for a football game, trips up to northern Michigan for an annual canoe trip, a trip out to San Francisco to explore the west coast, and even get-togethers in Washington DC – good friends will always find a way to share time, no matter the distance travelled.

It's not the U.P. if there aren't pasties

And in the name of that mantra, many gathered from far and wide to share this special wedding weekend together. All focused on the soon-to-be-wed couple, the excitement in the air was undeniable and without a doubt the weekend’s events culminated with one of the best weddings I have ever attended. Coupled with the indulgence in the surrounding northern Michigan beauty and feeling at home with best friends, I could not have asked for a better way to round out my trip back home to the US. 

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! (ad nauseam): Part II

The 9 hour drive back to Michigan from Washington DC was a pleasant one. As the first leg had me cruising through the hills of West Virginia and Maryland as I came from Cincinnati, the route back to Michigan had me cruising through the hills of Pennsylvania. A drive I have made a handful of times with friends, this was the first time riding solo, which was pleasant as I took to the open road with good music.

Thanks for having me, Pennsylvania

On both the drive to DC from Cincinnati and on the way back to Michigan, I was surprised by how beautiful the landscapes were as I cruised through West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. No stranger to the drives through these states before, these weren't necessarily new sights to me, but rather after not having cruised the great American highways in a while, I had a new perspective on them and a greater appreciation. As a child, making these road trips, through West Virginia for example, were rather boring to me. A land of hills and endless forests, there wasn't much for a 12 year old kid to get excited about. However, with age and some time out of the country, a deeper appreciation for the natural beauty during this drive was obvious.

American sun rays

The open road

After arriving to Michigan I had a day or two to spend in my childhood home in Grand Blanc, Michigan, which over the years has held less and less for me there as I've moved further and further away geographically. It is a quaint, middle class town that holds a very special place in my heart. Comforting to see the establishments and neighborhoods that have been there since my childhood and exciting to see the few new developments, I took an afternoon to drive by the many places I frequented as a youth. I was fortunate enough to swing by my elementary school while some staff were working during the summer hours, and was let into the building to take a quick walk down the hallways I once roamed from the years of 1990-1995. Fortunate again, I stopped by the Middle School to find it open for Summer School classes and was thus able to let myself in and again roam the halls as I did when I was 13-14 years old. Of course given the growth of Grand Blanc the past 10 years, the building I called the Middle School is now housing the 9th graders and serves as the Freshman Campus for the High School, while they have since built 2 brand new complexes for the Middle School aged children.

It was amazing to me how quickly the memories came flooding back. Not that I had forgotten much from those days, as it is only a mere 13 years in the past, but little things popped up around every corner. Simple memories of the the math class I had in Room 213, the time the computer lab opened for the first time in the library (still there!), the countless lunch conversations among prepubescent boys, the friendships that were started and cultivated here...

Indian Hill Elementary School (Where it all began)

An extra free day around the south-eastern Michigan area allowed me to make the 40 minute trek south of my hometown to visit Ann Arbor, where I attended The University of Michigan from 2003-2007. Walking around campus on a pleasant Michigan summer day was exciting and many memories flooded back as I walked through many libraries, buildings, and restaurants I used to once frequent. Not quite bustling with activity as it normally would be during the school year, there were more than a handful of students enjoying campus during the summer and I even caught a glimpse of some incoming freshman students taking campus tours. Immediately I felt as if I was back in the summer of 2003, wide-eyed with the hopes and excitement of what lied ahead for my college years. Although more than happy to leave those golden years behind as precious memories, I couldn't help but be tempted with the idea of pondering what it'd be like to enjoy it all over again...

In perhaps the closest thing to reliving those college days, I was to be reunited with my college roommates and friends in a couple of short days for a wedding ceremony in northern Michigan and certain to party like it is 2007 all over again.

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! (ad nauseam): Part I

Given the 4th of July holiday, I feel it appropriate to touch on my recent trip back to the greatest country on Earth, Amuricah!

Happy Birthday, America

My first time back in the great U S of A since moving to Guatemala in January, it was a doozy of a trip and had no shortage of good times and great friends. The original plan for the trip spawned from the nuptials of two good friends from the University of Michigan that would happen June 25th, and in order to make my ~$600 plane ticket worth its price I set out to see as much as I could while back in my home country.

The first leg included a flight back to Detroit, Michigan via Ft. Lauderdale. Scooped up from Detroit Metro Airport by my father, we made a late night run to my childhood home in Grand Blanc, where my parents still reside. Along the way we stopped for some great, American, late night, fast food in the form of Taco Bell. Humorously enough, my father asked me while I chowed down a taco, "Well, those tacos you're eating down there in Guatemala must be quite different than that, huh?" which I couldn't help but snicker at given that I eat my fair share of Taco Bell even while down here in Central America. God Bless corporate America.

I spent a little time the next morning running a few quick errands in the greater Grand Blanc/Flint area, which was more charming than I remember leaving it. Taking a 6 month leave of absence from the Flint area in Guatemala has certainly boded well for my former home city. Admittedly, Flint has cleaned up nicely in the past 10 years and certainly the fine summer weather makes for a pleasant backdrop, but it is undeniable that things look nicer after being surrounded by the shotty masonry, cracked sidewalks, and metal siding shacks of Guatemala. Don't get me wrong, Guatemala has impressive landscapes, natural beauty, and a charm all its own. However, it certainly puts things into perspective back home for places you once thought were dumps (*ahem* Burton).

After some friendly chit-chat with the Flint locals I was given some odd looks and slight tilts of the head when I exclaimed it was "great to be back in Flint, Michigan." All the zeal and gusto of being on vacation and back home must have gotten to me, as the friendly ladies behind the bank counter gave me an odd look and simply asked, "really?"


I then took off on a 4-5 hour journey due south to Cincinnati, Ohio where I was to reunite with my two best friends, whom I've known since the days of Little League baseball and Middle School. As any good Michigander would do, I chose to stay at the friend's condo who lived on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River so as not to actually sleep in the state of Ohio. A fine American barbecue with pork ribs, buffalo wings, and macaroni & cheese was devoured and washed down with fine beer. All to be followed with a night of sipping on fine whiskeys at a local watering hole while soaking up a fine dose of Americana and re-hashing the good old days with old friends.

Fine, American cuisine

A good night's sleep and I was on my way to Washington DC to spend the Father's Day weekend with friends in the city I called home from June 2007-January 2010. Home to some of the finest years of my life and still home to the many friends I left there, DC was certain to be an amazing time, even if the summer humidity makes sitting in an oven sound like a pleasant release. 

After a good 9 hours, I arrived to DC and immediately met with friends for a special treat that I had been craving since the first day I left: a Chipotle burrito. Yes, a 1/2 chicken - 1/2 barbacoa fajita burrito with all the fixins was a welcome greeting the Nation's capital. Followed up with a night on the town with old friends, I immediately felt back at home. A perfect weekend with scorching DC summer weather was capped off with an American ball game at National's Stadium on Father's Day complete with some Papa John's pizza at a friend's apartment close to the DC Navy Yard. Good pizza, a baseball game, a walk along the Anacostia River with the Capitol Building in our sights, and a night viewing of the Miss America Pageant on a large, flat-screen TV made me feel as American as ever and I relished every second of it.

As my friends returned back to work after the weekend passed, I saddled up in the car for another 9 hour drive back to Michigan where the wedding festivities would soon commence and I'd be reunited with old friends from my University days.