Michigan 2024

 

Michigan

August 2024

 

Grandson Miles is doing a repeat 6-week camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts, but with a twist: he will return to Interlochen for his senior year of high school, as Anthea had done. We’ll repeat our trip out to see him and also visit with Russ’ brother Doug and sister-in-law Ann in Midland. Daughter-in-law Anthea will drive from Queens to join us; son Matt is otherwise occupied performing at the Tahoe Classical Festival. We’re sorry that Anthea’s parents, Pamela & Brian, also can’t join us this year.

 Thursday-Friday, 8/1-2: “Frogs and Balloons”

An uber reserved at 4am for our 6:15 flight to Chicago, but silly Marjorie made it for the wrong date! Change of plans, we drive and park at the airport. Airport’s all discombobulated by construction, both parking & terminal. Interesting art along a corridor. 

Michigan & Interlochen

 

Miles Takes Interlochen

 

 

           We’ve enjoyed watching grandson Miles dancin’ & singin’ since he started tap dancing at, what, 5 years old? That has broadened into a variety of musicals (e.g., Annie, Beauty and the Beast, The Music Man) at the 92^nd Street Y in NYC, a major cultural center where his mother Anthea was on staff for a while. He had some summer fun for a few years near us at Siena College Dance Camp (while brother William was at their Soccer Camp), as I was recently reminded by a Facebook “memory” video of him tap dancing 7 years ago. Miles’ path to Broadway has continued at Talent Unlimited, a high school in Manhattan specializing in the performing arts, where he’s headed into his junior year. Now another rung on the ladder this summer: Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan.

Since 1928 Interlochen has “offered an immersive arts experience . . . nestled between two pristine lakes and surrounded by quiet pines.” 3000+ students grades 3-12 participate in summer camp programming and education in 7 disciplines: creative writing, dance, film & new media, interdisciplinary arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. [Parenthetically, there’s also Interlochen Arts Academy, where “young artists find the high school they may only have imagined possible.” After Miles was accepted for the summer we reminded him that Anthea had gone there for the summer following her junior year in high school and wound up staying to finish high school. Miles response: “Yeah, but do you know how much it costs!” They have been trying to recruit him – tenors are in high demand. Should we start a GoFundMe for Miles?]

Midland MI

 

Midland

October 2022

            Haven’t seen Russ’ brother Doug & sister-in-law Ann in, well, way too long. Thought to drive with some other visits along the way, but too daunting. And we have lots of United miles accumulated during the pandemic. Reasonable connections, so flying won out.

 Tuesday, October 4: “Club Hopping”

            Our usual very early start, to Albany International Airport (sounds impressive!) at 4:30am for our 6:15 flight. Easy check-in and thru security, 1^st time with our TSA “Known Traveler Numbers.” Pretty sunrise at takeoff, early to O’Hare. 

Layover of 6+ hours! We have Lounge Passes thru our United credit cards to ease the stay. To the nearest Club, sign says “Not Accepting One-Time Passes.” Oh no! But Marjorie charms our way in. It is quite crowded, but clears out pretty quickly. We find comfortable chairs and partake of the breakfast buffet. A gate listed for our next flight looks to be a long walk to a different concourse (C to F) in a different terminal. We’re told there’s another Club Lounge near the F gate (nicer than this one, the agent says) and that it’s OK to “hop” to another. A 15-minute walk takes us underground (pretty lights) to F concourse, where it’s now time for the lunch buffet and watching planes take off.

Kansas City & Branson

Branson Bound

October 2017

          Branson? Really? Not exactly on our bucket list, it morphed out of a generous invitation from Marjorie’s sister Mary & hubbie Jeff to join them for a getaway using their Marriot Vacation Club points. First choice Hilton Head unavailable, also Washington and NYC. Then Mary advised that everyone age 65+ should visit Branson MO. Hadn’t heard of that gerontological pilgrimage , but M & J have enjoyed a couple of stays there, so we’ll trust their judgment. The guys can play some golf, the ladies explore shopping, plus many shows and other tourist fun from which to choose. We can fly to their home in Kansas City using our frequent credit-card United miles, then drive south to Branson. Not much Fall color around Albany yet, maybe we’ll see some in Missouri.

Midwest Connections & Icons

Midwest Connections & Icons

Labor Day 2016

Tues., 8/30:

          Early in the summer John Delamater, my dissertation advisor at Wisconsin, sent a “save the date” e-mail about his upcoming retirement and dinner to mark the occasion. We initially sent regrets that we would not be able to attend. But John’s reply  ̶  noting that I had been only his 3^rd doctoral student (we both arrived at UW in 1969) and one of his most accomplished (very nice of him to say!)  ̶  made me feel quite the ungrateful wretch. Plus: John has been a good friend as long as Marjorie and I have been married; and he seemed somewhat at odds about retiring, maybe needing some counseling from a social gerontologist who has been retired now for a year. So we refigured our schedule, cashed in United flyer miles, and arranged to combine John’s bash with visits to family & friends.

Pittsburgh and Fallingwater

Pittsburgh & Western PA

June 1999

Hmmm, is Pittsburgh Midwest?  Close enough to add in here.  This is actually my Mom’s account, but I will present it here (w/ my editing) in her memory  ̶  I’m sure she would be excited that we’re coauthors and her writing appears in a blog!  Her very detailed trip diaries (including the cost of meals, lodging, etc.) have inspired the trip journals written by my brother and me.

Midwest Road Trip and More Midwest

          We’ve traveled pretty widely thru the Midwest: Marjorie grew up in Wisconsin and we lived in Madison while I was in grad school; we have family & friends in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Springfield IL; professional conferences have taken me to cities like Chicago, Cincinnati, and Detroit. Following is the account of a driving trip back to Wisconsin for Marjorie’s high school reunion. Our other travels in the Midwest have mostly entailed family visiting or other not so much “trip journal” stuff. But I’ll include some of that after the reunion trip journal.

The Great Reunion Road Trip

Summer 2010

          Marjorie has been a regular attendee of her Portage HS class reunions, I’ve joined in a couple of times.  When Year 45 was coming up she suggested making a road trip out of it.  I was skeptical – nearly 2 weeks with lots of driving!  But she put together an itinerary of good friends and family (also good) to see to & fro, and I’ve gotten to be friends with several of her classmates, so I concluded (to get in a Wisconsin mood): “You betcha, Marge!”  We could be guided by some MapQuest directions and Penelope (as we call our GPS voice); I’m more a map person, Penelope & I would have a few run-ins along the way, but we learn to accept each other’s quirks and I come to appreciate her soft entreaties (“take the motorway,” or “turn around” if I’ve gone against her wishes).  I wasn’t going to bother with a trip journal a la our European and other jaunts, but changed my mind a few days in – we’ll cover a lot of ground, see a lot of folks along the way, so there’s lots to remember (for us anyway; I suppose this has less cachet than my accounts of European travel).

Minnesota-Wisconsin Family Visits

Family Fun in Minnesota & Wisconsin, You Betcha!

July 2015

 

          We’re off to Minneapolis to visit our nephew Andy, wife Staci, & children Abigail & Henry. Auntie Marjorie has visited before, but Uncle Russ is especially looking forward to finally meeting Abigail & Henry. Adding to the family reunion fun, we’ll be joined by grandparents: Marjorie’s sister Mary & hubbie Jeff (aka Mar-Mar & Pop-Pop). And we received in the mail a ♫Message in a bottle♫: a bottle w/ enclosed message inviting us to Abigail’s 6^th birthday party w/ a luau theme; to get us in the right mood, the bottle also contained some shells & plastic flowers. Staci is legendary for her themed BD parties, so we’re all a’twitter for this one. We’d been tipped off earlier, picked up appropriate luau shirt for me (or “Hawaiian bowling shirt,”as son Matt called them during our Hawaii trip years ago) & dress for Marjorie on previous travels. This comes as a nice midsummer break, especially for Marjorie, who’s been very busily in charge of organizing a summer art camp for kids that took place the last week of June. In turn, I’m so exhausted from my grueling heading-into-retirement regimen!: playing golf for the 1^st time in some 20 years and starting my travel/photos blog. We’re also still coming down from a wonderful July 4^th: a bus trip to see the NYC fireworks, not getting home until almost 3am. No guidebooks & maps for this trip, have to rely on the locals; tho Marjorie speaks pretty good Minnesotan, you betcha!

Thursday, July 9:

          Easier travel than usual, flying Delta direct out of Albany. But very early (6:42am). My colleague Dave & wife Nancy on our flight, headed to their own family reunion in Rochester MN. On-time departure, we enjoy our small splurge on “Comfort+” seats (Whoo-Hoo!). Arrive Minnespolis 8:10, sunny w/ views of Mississippi River & Twin Cities skyline coming in. Picked up by Staci & Henry. After a stop to watch the end of Abigail’s tennis camp session,

to their beautiful house & yard in Mendota Heights. We meet their very friendly (& well-behaved, after first ignoring him per Staci’s directions) English goldendoodle “Dasher” (named for his Christmas origins, aka “Dash” or “Dasherdoodle”). We get a house tour, including their famous TV bathroom (remodeling was featured on “Bath Crashers”). 

We enjoy time with Abigail & Henry and tours of their colorful rooms, with big connecting closets. After lunch the usual routine: nap for Henry & quiet time for Abigail; and Auntie M naps on the patio.