SFO–>DTW: autumn nostalgia
last thursday night we took the red-eye from SFO to Detroit. a little bit of uncomfortable sleep on the plane and then we landed just before dawn. my parents picked us up and we went out for an early breakfast, joined by jay’s mom and step-dad. in 12.5 years, it was the first meal we’ve ever had with all 6 of us around a table.
the weather was glorious and we stayed up for the rest of the morning, finally laying down for a nap in the early afternoon. 3:00pm wake up and prepare for the festivities: the nephew’s 4th birthday. an afternoon of tacos and presents and cake and complete overstimulation, and then at dusk we all drove to the Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village for a night time Halloween walk through the gardens and grounds. the production values were slightly underwhelming for anyone over the age of 8, but a gorgeous warm evening to stroll.
saturday morning woke up and had breakfast with my parents before they headed back north, and then the rest of the afternoon was spent wandering outdoors in the little downtowns of Novi and Plymouth. standard midwestern downtowns, a few blocks long with brick bank buildings, protestant churches and trinket shops in the process of modernizing, slowing replacing five-and-dimes with espresso cafes, wine bars, yoga studios and sushi restaurants. a gorgeous afternoon and trips down memory lane. later in the afternoon jay and i opted against sitting inside to watch the big college football rivalry, Michigan (our alma mater) v. Michigan State, and took a long walk around the suburban neighborhood and basked in the autumn breezes. saturday evening we made dinner at home and went to bed early.
sunday morning we slept in a while and then the family headed to Kensington Metropark, a beautiful park full of hardwood forests and inland lakes and streams. we relaxed in the grass and put our feet in the cold clear freshwater. the summer’s lingering heat had stalled the turning of the leaves, but some of them were aflame. early in the evening, we headed to the airport and were back in Oakland just in time to go to bed before Monday.
Filed in autobiographical, travel | Tagged with family, michigan | Comment (0)UP and away (in memory of my grandmother)
today is the anniversary of my maternal grandmother’s death on 7/21/2003. she was a loving mother of 8 children, 20+ grandchildren, and now a number of great-grandchildren i can’t even count. many of us grandchildren lived with my grandparents for various reasons for different lengths of time, and i lived with them in Harbor Springs, MI the spring-summer of 1991, when i was 14 and finishing the 9th grade. it was a rather tumultuous period of my family life, but Grandma was always there and having that safe place to go to was invaluable. i can’t write much more about her and the memories now because it’s too hard. we all miss her dearly.
when i saw the Pixar movie “UP” for the first time, i cried during the first montage of the old man and his wife buying their house, growing old together, and the feeling of loss when she died and he was left alone to ponder their lives and things they’d never done, including her lifelong dream to go to South America, and his fight to save his home – the place that held all of the memories. it reminded me so much of my grandparents, and of my grandfather, who still lives on there in that quiet little town. unfortunately, the farm house they built together and lived in for decades burned down shortly after i moved to California and my grandfather lives somehwhere else now. but in my mind, that is always where they lived, and i know that house was full of memories and dreams.
part of the reason i am going to South America (on August 2) is because of that film. i want to grow old with Jay and not have any regrets about what we dreamed of and didn’t do. i want to make sure that we don’t put aside things like travel until it’s too late. i know in the film the wife was perfectly happy with the life they ended up living, and i know the same is true for my grandmother, who loved her home and her children and her church and her small town. i don’t even know if she ever really wanted to travel, but i do, and if i have a fear of anything – it’s regret, and so this trip i’m taking is, in part, in honor of the memory of my grandmother, bless her soul.
Filed in autobiographical | Tagged with family, pixar, wanderlust | Comment (0)MSP again
dessert, originally uploaded by amyleblancdotcom.
(see: Spoonbridge: It’s art, but is it good art?)
back from weekend in minneapolis @ family wedding.
hot. sticky. white.
ate far too much bread and cheese.
drank a fair number of martinis.
tried to explain our way of life to midwesterners.
noted that the only times i’ve been in a church in the past 2 years have been for weddings in minneapolis
called security on ridiculously loud hotel neighbors once, almost twice.
wandered the warm summer night streets with the drunken masses at 2:00AM.
went to sculpture garden. Notable: Design for the Other 90%:
Of the world’s 6.5 billion people, 90 percent have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted. In fact, nearly half do not have reliable access to food, clean water, healthcare, education, affordable transportation, or shelter. The exhibition Design for the Other 90% features more than 30 projects that reflect a growing movement among designers, engineers, and social entrepreneurs to create low-cost solutions for everyday problems.
the end.
Filed in art, autobiographical, photos, things you can do, travel | Tagged with family, minneapolis | Comment (0)
