Family Mellmann

 It is that time of year. We look back on our summer of adventure and stories and experiences, and we look forward to a new school year  with new classes, perhaps some new friends, and new experiences.  Katherine marches off to her sophomore year of high school. And Patrick flies off to his first year of college as a commercial pilot-to-be. This back to school picture doesn't look much different than all the pictures previously,  except that they look so much older now, but as they return to the routines of school they do so with  new memories and adventures, new stories to tell, and perhaps slightly changed by their experiences.

The down-side to going on an epic month-long road trip is that life doesn't stop simply because you're logging miles, making memories, and having a great time.  Back home the garden continues to grow and so do those little pests we in the gardening business call...WEEEDS.  Many of my bloomers are already done blooming so it's hard to tell where the perennials end and the weeds begin, but I still have a LOT of work to do. After an hour, I could barely see any progress although my trailer was getting full and my hands were starting to complain. Three hours, half a gallon of water, and a few rose thorn stabbings later and...you can still barely tell that I have done any work. *sigh    Let's call this my first run; a second run to come in a week or so. By that time I should have made it all the way around the gardens the FIRST time.  And from this angle it looks more accomplished. Unfortunately, the weeds have grown up so badly around my compost b...

After a day of sun and wind, water and waves, and lots of chatting, we end the day with a colorful fire and the quiet calm of an evening at camp.

One of the benefits of camping is that you can offset the inconveniences with perks. Inconvenience; build your accommodation before you sleep.  Perk; now you can listen to a symphony of snoring, not just the sounds of your own spouse. Inconvenience; hike to the toilet during the night...three times.  Perk; enjoy the serenade of over-tired crying children. Inconvenience; sleep on the hard ground with rocks for a pillow (unless you've given up the pretense and bought yourself a cot and air mattress).  Perk; you wake early (to hike to the bathroom again) and get to hear the peaceful sounds of nature waking (birds singing, crickets chirping, and nocturnal creatures heading off to bed) and see the sun rising over a mist-covered lake.

Once my tent was up and camp ready, I could chill on the beach until the others arrive.

My new tent (you might remember that my former tent went down in a windstorm on the shore of Lake Michigan) went up very easily...not bad as a solo job.  The old tent *required* two people but was more manageable with three; this almost put itself up.  Okay, not really, but it was no problem doing it by myself.  And now I get the whole thing to myself!

Slow drivers, beautiful scenery, high winds, heat and cold, dirt roads, driving rain and "dry" heat, new smells, bison detours, horseback speeds and "a river runs through it", tents and hotels, beers in the garage overlooking a sea of BMW motorcycles, family, and time with a dear friend. A month of driving, hauling, riding, visiting, relaxing, and vacationing is coming to an end.  Home is in our sights.

This is it, our last day on the road.   Our last night was clearly designed to make sure we were eager to get home; the air conditioner barely worked so it was actually cooler outside than in our room, but the portion of the window that would open wasn't even large enough for Katherine to climb through much less move any volume of air.   Around midnight I called the front desk to see if they had any fans, but...no. We "slept" spread eagle, with cold wash cloths, and on top of the covers.  Our (my) restless sleep was interrupted by random hallway noises from a partying crowd of conference-goers who can't hold their liquor. This morning we beat a hasty retreat to the car where the air conditioner is blasting, the music is playing, and the engine is humming as we cruise through the Canadian countryside toward the border. The sun is shining through low fluffy clouds as we roll past farms and homes doing life; mowing, bailing hay, playing in the yard, weeding the garden, f...

Sometimes when you plan an adventure road trip you end up with more of one or the other.   Last night we got both. After logging a good day in miles we found a nice (although crowded) campground in Gladstone MI.  We set up our tents and relaxed as a storm front moved in.  Eventually the mosquitoes drove us to the shelter of our tents where we read and chatted (and texted), and tried to stay cool (which was actually not too hard with that lovely lake "breeze" blowing in with the front). Around 21:30 the rain started.  By 22:00 the wind was causing quite a flap outside as branches started falling from the trees and a couple of RV awnings were ripped from their rollers.  It wasn't long before the first big gust pushed our tent down startling Katherine.  But tents are built for this so I stood up and pushed the tent back into an upright position.  Piece of cake.  Then the wind got stronger. I stood in the center of the tent holding up the windward side against the...