Back from Michigan

Well I am back from my long weekend in Michigan.

Friday:My sister (Denise/Aunt HeHe) headed out Friday morning after I completed my spinning and power hour classes. We rented a really nice car. It was a NEW CAR and quite nice with all sorts of bells and whistles. ! Off we go....and the eating begins. Despite having had a bowl of oatmeal with fresh blueberries, I consumed a biscuit and some sausage gravy before we were even out of town. Who would have thought that a gas station would sell killer biscuits and gravy! Ymmmm. About an hour down the road, Denise says what kinda of snacks did you bring. I tell her, pretzels, blueberries and cherries and diet sodas. She did not look impressed...she asked if that was it and looked for sad when I said yes. She sighs but perks up at the first sight of a yard sale. Lo and behold we found several yards sales on way out of town on State Road 26. So of course we have to stop. Picked up a few baby toys here and there and heart healthy cookbook (which no one in my family will want me to use). Once we made it thru Rossville we were good to go till we got close to Fort Wayne and then....OUTLET STORES! Stopped did some shopping, found a great place to eat lunch (Clay's Family Rest.) To sum it up quickly due to the many many outlet stores on the way to Michigan it tooks us 12 hours to make a 5 hour trip to Milford Michigan. My Aunt called and said "Aren't you guys here yet" We had to tell her ...welllllllllllll there are ALOT of outlet stores. We made it into town....hotel not all that great for the money but adequate. Checked in and then went to Aunt Connie's house and played a really fun card game called Ziggity. Stayed there till about 11:00 pm then headed out to find something to eat. Warning NOTHING is open in Milford after 9:00 even on the weekends. We finally found a Big Boy Restaraunt on the highway. The food not good, service not good but they had a yummy Oreo Mud Pie! Late late when we got home and I had a 6 mile slated for the next morning. I was not to sure about running in the area as we were right on a highway, so I had earlier (before going to Aunt Connie's) checked out the gym across the road in the strip mall. They sold one day passes and it was a ONE room gym with treadmills so close to each other my sweat would have probably dripped all over the other person.

Saturday: Got up at 6:00 a.m. Ug late night and my body was protesting the early time and the thought of running. Mentally scolded myself and got my lazy butt out of bed. Decisions decisions decision...risk my life running MI-59 or bore myself to death by doing six miles on the treadmill. Decided I would risk life and limb over the boring treadmill. Lucky Kim...MI-59 had a semi sidewalk running along the side of the highway....that was it...no six miles of treadmill for this girl. I thought it would be a tortourous run but it was awesome. I only had to walk 2 five minute segments. I think it might have been that I was in a new place because it certainly wasn't because I had enough rest, water or good foods. Now mind you I don't break any speed records but I was steady. People were staring....haven't you people ever seen a little fat woman run along the highway???? After that I was so HOT that I VOLUNTARIALY SWAM! However before swimming the pool had to be cleaned because the drunks had gone into the pool the night before and threw all the chairs, chaise lounges, table umbrellas, rugs, small tables and beer cans into the pool. When I first walked in I could see the chairs in the pool but then it sort of looked like a reflection so I walked over to the pool...nope pool filled with lawn furniture. Told the front desk...they were NOT happy....so they got the pool clean ( I helped) and then I could swim. After that went back to the room to get my sister and we went to the continental breakfast where I proceeded to eat my weight in biscuits and honey. Then it was off to some YARD SALES...yes we went to another state to yard sale! I got some awesome baby toys! During the yard sale my eyes began to burn and fog up because I had not used my goggles when swimming. Was it the chlorine or did all the drunks pee in the pool and I had Urine burned eyes? Who knows? I keep telling my self it was probably just the chlorine but I am still slightly sickened by the thought that I may have been swimming in a cocktail of chlorine, budwieser and urine. Anyway we stopped to get me some drops for my eyes because by this time I was darn near blind and upon my SISTER'S SUGGESTION I got some Clear Eyes AC which I enthustically dropped into my eyes,...and HOLY MOLY it burned like crazy. I thought my retinas were being burnt right out of my eye sockets...I am moaning, tears were streaming down my face...I had my eyes clenched shut because when I opened them it felt like flames were shooting out of my eyes (sort of like the guy in Xmen)...Denise is laughing. She says, "Oh yeah that stuff burns really bad when you put it in" After I recovered my sight it was time to head to Aunt Connies, for fun and food. My cousin Daniel was there. I have not seen him since he was a very small boy. I also saw my cousins Gayle and Darla. I also got to meet Gayle's son David and of course I had already met her husband and Darla's husand and Darla's two itty bitty girls. We also were introduced to Dan's girlfriend, Julie. We played a great game of scrabble which I lost (not my fault I got 1 and 2 point letters the entire game....okay maybe some poor playing on my part). We had to keep track of the words we made because then we used the words to play a sentence game...which again I lost...sigh...then we played another sentence game and I LOST again. Aunt Connie's kids whipped us bad on games. They are very intelligent people I think they got all the elite genes and we got the "factory second genes". Oh well we might not be smart but we are sneaky and crafty...(surely that has to be of some value), however, it won't get us a Porsche (well maybe those skills would help us steal a porsche). After our family day, which was filled with laughter, Denise, Aunt Connie, Uncle Dan and myself headed to a town where they were having a fair. Woooo HOOOOOO we got to play BINGO!!!! Foreigner was playing, but the tickets were $35.00 and I was not paying $35.00 to see aging rock stars...unless of course it was someone like hmmmmm John Mellencamp or Jon Bon Jovi. Okay back to the hotel where Kim falls into bed.

Sunday: Woke up thinking I should run...laid in bed decided noooooo I will just lay here....it was almost 2:00 before I had gotten to sleep and it was now 6:30 a.m. Finally decided that I could swim a little. Did some laps...wearing my goggles this time. By the time I got back and showered Denise was getting up. I am a bad travel companion and told her I was not waiting for her to shower I was going to go have coffee...which turned into having coffee and mulitple donuts. Checked out of the hotel and stopped by Aunt Connie's to tell her goodby....read her paper and EUREKA! There was an IKEA ad. If there is an IKEA one must go...so we went and spent like 2 1/2 hours in IKEA. Would have spent more time but we went with Aunt Connie and Uncle Dan and they are not professional shoppers like Denise and I so we went easy on them. After that it was off for a Mexican lunch with Aunt Connie and Uncle Dan. Bid them farewell and we were on the road for home. Just a few pit stops on the way home. Denise and I were punchy from lack of sleep and kept laughing about things that my not have actually been funny...well no now that I think back they were actually funny! Denise do you remember: Pets for Melissa, a certain song on the radio, paint scrapers, being late to birthday parties, and chain saws? Thanks for the fun and all the laughter...there is NOTHING like a sister!