Notre Dame

We try to go to one away game a year, and this year we picked Notre Dame! Once again, Kris informed me he wouldn't be able to go due to the corn...but once again, it all worked out and we finished the corn just hours before we left.

At 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, we picked up Andrew and drove to Notre Dame. The first hour, it was absolutely pouring, but then it tapered off. We had booked a pretty sketchy hotel using Expedia, but it was also somehow connected to VRBO. We went there first to check in and make sure it wasn't a scam. The sign on it said Studio 6 Extended Stay, and it was in Mishawaka. Please file away this information in your mind to never, ever stay there.

Andrew and Kris went in, and the clerk assured them that we did indeed have rooms. She set aside physical keys for us, Andrew, and the Rozens' rooms. She said we couldn't get them then, but we could pick them up later. We said we'd be back after the game, and she said there would be a phone number posted that we could call and she would come and give us the keys at the desk.

I found a place to eat called the Evil Czech, which delighted me because I knew Lisa's daughter had been the Czech-Slovak Queen. We all met up there - Gage, Elizabeth, Liza, Brad, Andrew, Kris, me - and Lisa informed us SHE ALSO had been the Czech-Slovak Queen! 

This place was amazing, and unlike other places I've been. It was a giant all you can eat buffet, but this is what was different - everything was on a little plate. There was no serving out of a bigger container - you would just walk and take a plate. There were no trays, so you could only take two or three plates at a time. It. Was. Fantastic. I loved it so much. I had an omelet, fruit, broccoli mac and cheese, beef on mashed potatoes ... and everything was about two bites. Five stars. Basically the opposite of our hotel.

We parked near campus and met our friends who were tailgating. We then walked all around campus - my first time there. We went into the cathedral and they were just starting a service! We saw the Notre Dame team there, and we stayed for the first hymn. The pipe organ, the lyrics, the music! It was incredibly moving and I was so, so glad we went.

We got all our raingear on to get prepared for the game. The forecast was that it would rain all day, and we really lucked out in that it hadn't rained at all. Then - it didn't rain for the game either! It was such great weather.

At the game, I was surprised they only had one screen, which I had to turn around and look at because it was behind my head. They made up for it with great music, so there were a lot of dance breaks. Kris and I got pizza at one point, which he thought was good and I thought tasted just like the cardboard it came in. It was an exciting game, the people around us were nice Spartan fans, and we walked back to our car. I was so happy Kris knew where it was, because I didn't check when we parked. We also didn't lock it. Great news, no one stole anything!  

Comparing to the last away game I went to - the Nebraska fans were SO nice and talked to us and thanked us for coming. The Notre Dame fans looked through us - they were not nice or mean, they just didn't notice or see us at all. I guess if we would have won or been a threat to winning it may have been different. 

Then, we went to our hotel. It was midnight. There were people milling around the front door, and we saw a handwritten sign taped to it. 

It read: "We are fully booked for the night. All reservation must be cancelled and refunded. We have no rooms available. - Studio 6."

The other people trying to stay at the hotel who had also already paid and had nowhere to stay in a city with zero rooms available voiced their frustration with us. I didn't want to stay and talk. I was like - let's get out of here, time's awastin'. We have a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us!

If it had been a complete surprise, it would have been a real bummer, but this had always been an option in the back of my mind. 

So! I drove us - Kris, Andrew, and me - home. We played games like Guess the 80s TV Theme Song, watched some more college football highlights, and had a good time. Great travel partners. They didn't even fall asleep! 

In bed by 3:00 a.m. A great, 21-hour day! Thanks Notre Dame! 

Guthrie, Oklahoma for Will and Charlotte's wedding!

Due to corn chopping, Kris told me he was not going to be able to go to the wedding. But, then amazingly the corn was too wet and he DID get to go! This made me really happy, because it was the first time my whole family was getting together in a long time - and for such a happy occasion!

The five of us flew from Grand Rapids to Oklahoma City, and we met Gage at Skydance Brewing Co. We sat outside in the shade, and the boys played cornhole in the sun. It was a nice place. We all piled into Gage's car and went to his house to hang out. Will and Charlotte were there, and the rest of his kids! We saw the property and the kids played Wii golf together.

 Gage drove us to our Airbnb in Guthrie, which was only two blocks from the Dominion House - the hotel where my parents were staying and the events were all taking place. We met up with my sister and family, parents, and we all went to the rehearsal and dinner. All pretty, lovely, and fun.

Everyone came back to our Airbnb and we played the games Headbands and Family. The kids wanted to watch a movie, so Gage, Tracy, Kris, and I went to downtown Guthrie for some karaoke! It was September 11, and the first song a man sang was Toby Keith's response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We sang karaoke and sang along karaoke - so fun. We took a great picture in the empty street. It was late!

The next morning, Tracy and I went running. We saw a river and a huge bridge, bales in a field, and lots of nice nature. We met up with Kris who had walked to get donuts at Missy's. He joined us on our walk downtown. Tracy got coffee and a breakfast sandwich at the Boxcar Bakery, and Kris got some at Hoboken Coffee Roasters. There were a lot of options for a little town!

We watched some football and got ready for the wedding. John made it into town, so now we were all officially there. Even though the venue was only two blocks away, we RODE IN THE CAR because it was so hot. I'm not used to being so hot. It was so hot! But inside was great.

The wedding was perfect. Beautiful, moving, special. The reception was AMAZING. So much fun, SO MUCH DANCING. It was one of those moments where you look around and you're surrounded by people you love and it's just joyful. I am so happy for Charlotte and Will! 

We didn't want it to end. Kris arranged that everyone would go to the Guthrie Brewing Company. We ate pizza and talked about how great the wedding was, and we had a wonderful time. I just love being with my family!

We woke up in the dark and my mom drove us to the airport. We had an incredibly smooth trip back, the boys returned to school, and we look forward to the next time we're all together.

Ludington, Michigan

I hadn't been to Ludington for awhile, and it was lovely. Kimmy spontaneously invited us to go stay with her inlaws overnight on Labor Day weekend. 

We parked at her inlaws' house and walked to the beach. They are less than a mile from Stearns Park! The water was warm enough to swim and the sand was white and beautiful. Kimmy's five kids and my one kid had a great time. The older boys walked to the pier, we made sand castles, we played football, we jumped the waves, we sat our chairs in the water - all the fun beach things to do. We stayed for the whole afternoon - no sunscreen and no sunburns because it's September!

We got all ready and drove downtown to eat at Andy's, which was such a cool place. It has a rooftop area with a glass floor, so when you're up there you can see the people below, and when you're on the bottom floor, you can see the people standing on the glass! Very fun. 

They had a level with a golf simulator, and we spent time in there, playing and watching the kids play. We tried to pay, but there was nowhere to pay and everything worked. I'm sure it wasn't free, but it sure felt like it!

We ate dinner there and then had dessert at a shining star spot in Ludington - House of Flavors. This is a famous and wonderful ice cream shop with fantastic ice cream. The line was out the door! We knew they closed soon, but they told us they just stay UNTIL EVERYONE IN LINE IS SERVED. That was nice.

We went home and Charli and Chandler put on a skit, which made me laugh so hard. 

Then we watched Western Michigan University get absolutely robbed in a football game. The sports world united against unfairness and cheating and U of M, and everyone loves WMU even more, which is the only good that I can glean from the incident.

Kimmy and I got up and walked to a bookstore coffee shop called Book Mark. We sat outside in the sun and drank our great coffees, and then we walked back. On the way we stopped to watch the S.S. Badger, which is a giant car ferry that goes between Michigan and Wisconsin. It was so huge and impressive, cutting through the water.

Max and I ate the delicious breakfast buffet Kimmy's mother in law made, and we went back home to cover the pool - signaling the end of summer. What a great way to finish it!

Morgantown, West Virginia

Alicia suggested that we meet up in Morgantown, West Virginia, because it was a spot in the middle of the three of us. I’d been to West Virginia but couldn’t really remember anything I did there in particular, so I was excited to go – and of course to see Aimee and Alicia.

It was an easy six and a half hour drive of mostly highway. As I drove into town, I thought, I could live here. I saw a river, rolling hills, and a college town. As I drove into town to find a parking garage, I thought – never mind. The town seemed kind of run down. I didn’t want to drag all my stuff from the parking garage to the apartment since I would look very out of a place, and I didn’t want to attract the attention of the homeless people, since I didn’t know exactly where I was going. I also had difficulty figuring out the parking garage, because we were told to stay there by our Airbnb host, but the sign explicitly said that you couldn’t park there over 24 hours or you’d get booted. I parked there anyway and just took a bag into the apartment. It was easy to get in, after I got the key fob out of the locked box, entered a locked door, used the key fob to enter another locked door, and used a code to get into the apartment. They sure were into security!

Aimee got there shortly after I did, and she said, “Oh no. Alicia is NOT going to like this.” Alicia had booked the place, and although it was totally fine, it was not up to what I would call regular Airbnb standards. Like parts of the ceiling were stained and falling down, spots where things had been ripped off the wall and not repainted, places where the wall was coming away from the trim, and the like. But no matter! It was safe and dry. Aimee and I went out to explore while we waited for Alicia to get there. We walked around, went to Apothecary, ate dinner at the River View Rooftop along the river, and figured out where things were in town. Alicia arrived at the Airbnb before we got back, and immediately suggested going to a hotel. I assured her it was fine AND SAFE, and we went out to eat at Gibbie’s in downtown Morgantown. There were a lot of people out and it was lively.

The next morning, we went to the parking deck to see if our cars had been ticketed. There was a parking office, and we went in to ask if we could stay there overnight. The guy at the desk said, “What do you drive?” We told him, and he halfheartedly scribbled the name of our cars on a sticky note. “You just have to tell us you’re staying,” he said. It was completely obvious that no one was checking this parking garage, so we went on our merry way.

We ate breakfast and had coffee at the Blue Moose Coffee House, and it was perfect. Sunlight streaming in, lots of people to look at, and great food and coffee.

Alicia had a meeting, so Aimee and I went running along the river to the campus arboretum. We then ran around campus, which was really pretty. Lots of elevation and nice buildings. Everyone was wearing West Virginia-logoed clothing. I like the way the W and V fit together, and I was surprised to see their mascot is a mountaineer, which is a man standing with a rifle.  I stopped in the bookstore to buy a shirt, but it was the colors of our rival college, so I didn’t. Odd thing – there was no one in the bookstore and almost no one on campus. There was a public campus train that wasn’t running because school wasn’t in. The whole town was sort of empty. They were doing work on the main building of campus and adding LED lights to the outside – like the kind you see in a teenager's bedroom.

The three of us drove to Coopers Rock State Park, and it was wonderful. Right away you get a huge payoff of a gorgeous overlook. We then went on a six mile hike through the woods and saw really cool rock formations. It looked like ruins of buildings had been dropped into the middle of the trees. We went to solar slabs and saw where people rock climbed. We went on many paths, including rhododendron and rattlesnake and ridge and rock city. Aimee and Alicia are much better at maps than I am, and if they weren’t, I may still be out there. There were markings and signs and it didn’t seem to matter – I still didn’t know which way to go. Great park and great hiking! Highly recommend.

We stopped for ice cream at Mountaineer County Ice Cream and ate out on the porch, which was filled with rocking chairs and hanging baskets.

We headed back to the apartment to get ready for dinner at Tropics, which was great. They had tons of outdoor seating, beautiful tropical foliage, and a band! We danced and had a good time. People were really nice, too.

On the way home, our Uber driver had an LED light shaped like an assault rifle. Hadn’t seen that before!

We got up and got our bikes out of our cars. I saw they had both brought helmets, and I hadn’t even thought of that. We had to ride through the city for a few blocks to get to the river trail, and boy did I wish I had one then! We rode along the river trail for 14 miles. I rarely ride a bike, and I never go that far. It was so fun! We saw so much, it was overcast and perfect weather, and it was a great ride.

We stopped at a statue of Colonel Zackquill Morgan, the founder of Morgantown. A city employee was landscaping around it, and we chatted with her. She said she’d seen a painting of him, and this statue made him look way better than he did there. Alicia sent at picture later and sure enough – no chin.

Mostly what I will remember about this trip is laughing with Alicia and Aimee. It doesn’t matter where we are, how nice our place is, whether we know where we’re going on a hike, or what we’re doing – we’re always going to have a great time together. And maybe the Uber driver.

Summer in Michigan

I love living in Michigan, and I love all there is to do especially in the summer. Here are some places we've gone so far!

Brighton

My college roommate Joy lives in Brighton on Crooked Lake, so my WMU friends decided to get together there! I'd been to Brighton once or twice, but never really experienced it. It is such an incredibly nice town. We ate out at a Mexican restaurant, enjoyed the pretty lake, and on Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market. There was also a different market in the downtown, and both were nice. We also went into an adorable bookstore that had basically everything you'd want in a bookstore, and nice surprises like a really old turtle there(?) Joy just moved there with her family less than a year ago, and I can see why she chose it! 

Chihuly at Meijer Gardens

Julie and I went to Meijer Gardens to see the Chihuly exhibit, and we both loved it. We learned more about him (do you know he wears an eye patch?), we walked all over the gardens to see his exhibits which were worked into the nature landscape there, and we are really bad at directions so we walked a little more than other people would. We've been there before, but the addition of the Chihuly made it even more special. There were also many more sculptures we hadn't seen before. Highly recommend! 

Elberta, MI

Shhh. This place was exactly what I want in a lake Michigan beach - close and free parking, white sand as far as you can see, a pier to walk out on, giant sand dunes, and best of all...no people. It was like we had it all to ourselves!

Each year Kris' parents get a house for us to all go on vacation together, including Kris' sister Meghan, husband Jon, and their three kids. We loved Elberta Beach - that was my favorite. I liked the cliffs at Frankfort Beach, but there were more people there. (My friend Emmie said that Frankfort was like Elberta 20 years ago. Eventually I think it'll also be touristy there. Quick, buy a house!)

On Monday night, they had a free music in the park at an outdoor amphitheater, which was well attended. We kayaked on the Platte River, and the company we used was so chill and made it so easy. They even had tubes so we could pull the kids on the kayaks, and they just scrambled in between our boats or floated along. At the end the river goes into the lake, and it was warm and shallow and fun to hang out there and skip stones.

We went to Sleeping Bear Dunes, where I have been so many times, but this time had a very different experience! There is the 'Big Dune' that's 450 high at a 45 degree angle to Lake Michigan. They have a sign there warning you that it's really hard to get back up, and it someone has to rescue you it's like $3000 or something crazy like that. 

Meghan, Jon, their kids William and Anna, Max and Cole wanted to run down it to the lake and come back. It was foggy and you couldn't see anything, and I didn't really want to do it. I didn't see the payoff. 

Cole and Max got back up through the fog and said their hearts were beating fast. It didn't take them long...like 18 minutes. 

Then suddenly a wind came up. And with it, the wind blew the sand. It was the kind of wind that makes people run for cover, plus the wind was whipping the sand on your skin. I grabbed Benjamin, my four year old nephew, and he, Max and I headed for the car. I remembered I left my sandals and went back to grab them and got a facefull of sand in my teeth and eyes. We got to the car before it started raining.

Cole and Mike waited for Meghan, Jon, William, and Anna - who were about halfway up the hill! Cole said it felt like the skin was being ripped off his body by the sand. Cole took a video and it really shows how miserable it was - like 60 mph of sandstorm. But they made it just fine!

Later I felt like I really missed out on going on the Big Dune. I asked my mom about it and she said I'd gone on it at least three times that she remembered. But I didn't remember, so I made plans to go back. She and I talked and she said, "No, not that one! The one that goes up from the parking lot. I have never gone on that big one." So I hadn't ever done it!

On the way out of town, Max and I went there. It was a clear, beautiful day - the exact opposite of the foggy one! Max said he'd watch me from the top. As I ran down I thought - wow, this is really far. This might actually be hard. The view from the bottom was gorgeous. I started climbing back up, and you have to bear crawl due to the angle. I enjoyed myself, took my time, took some pictures, and made my way steadily up. 

Once I got near the top - probably 60 steps from the start - Max greeted me and said, "If you hurry, you can beat Cole's time." So I quickly walked to the end and finished in 16 minutes. Very fun if you don't mind a bear crawl! I'm glad I went back.

We also golfed 18 at a really pretty, hilly course. I rarely if ever play 18 or different courses, and it was really enjoyable to do both! 

There's also a lot of hiking around. We did a little hike with the kids, but mostly a lot of walking and running around where our house was, just a mile away from Elberta Beach.

I love that there are so many new and different things to do just in one little state in one little summer.

 

Indy 500, Indianapolis, Indiana

The Indy 500 is called the greatest spectacle in racing, it's the largest single-day sporting event in the world, and the winner celebrates by drinking an ice cold bottle of milk!

This is a long tradition, started by driver Louis Meyer in 1936.

Each year, two Indiana dairy farmers carry out the 'Winners Drink Milk' tradition.

A rookie farmer is selected each year to deliver bottles of milk to the winning chief mechanic and team owner. The following year the rookie becomes the official milk person and is given the honor of handing the bottle of milk to the winning driver. (They also do a ton of interviews and videos and publicity!)

Kris is an officer of the national promotion board, so we along with other farmers from across the country got the chance to support dairy at this event!

I've never seen a race before, and all the traditions and pomp and circumstance were so great. The race itself was incredibly exciting, and the atmosphere was electric. And - it was the closest finish in race history! Watching Ashley and Brian present milk to Felix Rosenqvist and his team - and the fact that the milk celebration is the crowning event - was amazing. Winners Drink Milk! And pour some over their heads too.

Great job to the Indiana and DMI promotion teams, who pay attention to every single detail.

Here’s a little rundown.

Friday

We drove to Indianapolis and had dinner at St Elmo’s with our group of dairy farmers and staff. St Elmo’s has a special place in my heart, because it’s where I started eating meat after 18 years of not liking it. We listened to the past Milk Presenter, farmers, and staff, and 2013 winner Tony Kanaan. He and his wife Lauren talked afterward, and it was apparent what family-type people they are.

Afterward, a group of us went to the Slippery Noodle, which is a really popular place in Indianapolis.

Saturday

Kris and I walked around White River State Park, which had nice sculptures and pretty pools of water. We had a meeting with everyone to discuss current dairy issues and solutions. In 1984 in the Netherlands, farmers were limited on the amount of milk they could produce, so many of them moved to the US. I particularly liked hearing from the Dutch farmers on how they consider the US the land of opportunity and now have some of the largest farms in the country.

We had some free time, so Lotte, Tyler, (cool Michigan farmers) Kris and I walked to the park to rent bikes – and they had a 4-person surrey! It was pretty funny, because all of us could pedal, but there were two steering wheels. One worked, and one didn’t, but it was impossible to sit in the passenger seat and not try to steer. We rode all around the White River State Park and had a lovely time.

We caught the (very) tail end of the parade, and we ate lunch at Encanto Alebrije, a Mexican restaurant. Lotte took a call from her family during it and it was really fun listening her switch from Flemish to English, and listen to Tyler speak Spanish to the server. (She was born in Belgium, and Tyler speaks Spanish with his Mexican team members.)

We met up with the larger group and went on a factory tour at Dallara, which is where all of the Indy cars are made! All the car exteriors are exactly the same, and then they have a choice of two different engines. They showed us how they try to make them as safe as possible. We saw the driving simulator for the drivers, which is one of three in the world.

Then we did our own driving simulation in public simulators, and it was so exciting and nerve wracking! I was actually sweating! It did work, because I had the pedal to the metal the entire time, and I still didn’t win, which honestly showed me a glimpse of what it was like for the drivers. (Lotte WAS one of the winners though!)

We stopped at Daredevil Brewing on the way home. They had a band playing outside and it was pretty warm out.

Saturday

Indy 500! This was an incredible day and experience. First of all, there are 350,000 spectators. The speedway is so huge that all the NFL stadiums can fit into it at the same time. It is 560 acres. It has golf holes in it. The track is 2.5 miles and has seating around it, so the other side of the track alone is so far away!

We left the hotel at 6:30 a.m. and the party was already happening. There were so many cars and people. We explored the grounds, including the tons of vendors. We watched race celebrities come in on the red carpet. We people watched. Our friend Andrea was there with her friend Amber, and we met up and kissed the bricks of the finish line.

We had pit passes, and we went right down on the track, right next to the cars! It was incredible how open everything was – you could bring chairs, coolers, food, whatever you wanted, because we were basically just outside. I loved the atmosphere so much.

We saw Ashley Stockwell (Milk Presenter) and Brian Rexing (Rookie) being interviewed on the track.

“Do you want to see the milk?” Ashley’s husband Kyle asked.

“Yes!” we said. They pulled it out of their mobile cooler and showed us. We oohed and ahhed. How fun! We took pictures with it and them.

At 9:00 a.m., they started the trophy march, and there were leadup events the entire day. There was a military appreciation lap, winners lap, historic car lap, driver introductions, etc. By noon, everyone was watching, and it was God Bless America, military address, prayer, taps, America the Beautiful, National Anthem, flyover, Back Home Again in Indiana, second flyover, they said “Drivers, start your engines,” and then Blackhawk helicopters flew over the cars INSIDE THE SPEEDWAY. It was all such an amazing spectacle – just as promised! There was so much ceremony, tradition, excitement…and it wasn’t even the main event!

Then…the green flag, and the race started!

It was loud, just like everyone said it would be. You had to wear earplugs or these amazing headphones that let you listen to the race broadcast OR you could tune into hear what the drivers and pit crews were saying through their radios! It was fascinating to hear things like “I can’t keep up with him” from the guy in second place.

Almost immediately, there was a crash, and everyone got out unhurt. Then there was another crash. They would have a delay, and then they would start again, and every time it was amazing how fast they went!

We were halfway through the race – I couldn’t believe it – and I wanted to go to the Snakepit, where there was a concert going on. But I didn’t want to miss any of the race! Happily, it started sprinkling and they delayed it. Hooray! Tyler, Kris, and I walked over. The atmosphere was so energized. I loved it! So many people, music, and a track around it all.

We couldn’t get in because it was sold out, but it was totally open so we could just see the people dancing to the DJ. We turned around and went back to the race.

The end of the race was also wild. After another crash (six cars total over the race!) there were suddenly only eight laps left. Then another racer hit the wall…and the field lined up behind the race car. The entire race was going to be decided in a single lap. Can you believe it? After 199 laps, only one really mattered!

They raced at 230 mph, we cheered, and the cars jockeyed for position. It ended like a drag race, with two cars side by side - the closest finish in Indy 500 history, with Felix Rozenqvist winning by 0.02 seconds.

What a rush! Then the culmination – the milk presentation! We watched Ashley and Brian on the big screen giving Felix the milk. He drank it and poured it over his head, and then they passed it around. What a fun tradition.

He kissed the bricks, did a victory lap, and was interviewed. We went back to the suite and hung out for awhile until the traffic died down, and then we went back to the hotel.

In the lobby, we stayed up talking to the other farmers about – you guessed it, farming!

We went from knowing very little about the Indy 500 to telling everyone we’d totally go back. Go dairy!

Congaree National Park in Columbia, South Carolina

Julie and I love national parks. We each have been to 22, but only one together. This year, one of her resolutions was to go to Congaree National Park in South Carolina, so I asked if I could go too!

Friday

We took the 7:20 a.m. flight from Detroit to Charlotte, which was quick and easy. Since I'd picked up Julie at 3:30 a.m., I was tired and slept on the flight. I asked Julie if she did too and she shook her head and said, "I don’t want to brag, but it is my concentration that keeps the plane in the air."

We then had a car rental experience that is exactly what I always WANT in a car rental, but rarely experience. We walked to the rental garage, Julie tapped the Hertz app, and it told us what number spot was ours. We walked up to it and it was a Ford Bronco, which is even what Julie drives in real life. We drove out of the parking garage and were on our way. Car rental companies take note! We didn't have to wait in line at a desk or produce insurance papers or ride a shuttle. It was incredible.

We drove straight to the University of South Carolina. We walked around the pretty Capitol building, the Horseshoe on campus, and admired all the students getting graduation photos taken. (This is also when we found out it was graduation weekend!)

We parked at Savage Craft and ate lunch outside in the sunshine. We walked to Hideout Coffee, got our coffees to go, and walked toward the Riverfront park.

We went to cross the street at an intersection, and the cars coming from our right stopped. The driver waved us to go ahead of them. As we crossed, a driver in a black truck, seeing the cars had stopped, screamed forward to make the turn. He apparently didn't see us, because he accelerated right toward Julie and me. There wasn’t enough time for us to react. He slammed on his brakes just inches before hitting us.

He was close enough for me to see him, and he was just as shocked as we were. The drivers to the right of us honked, and one of them had a siren whoop as a honk.

Julie and I, shaken, stopped on the other side of the street. A woman in a car paused as she drove by. "Y'all okay?" she asked.

We were. We both sloshed but did not spill our coffees. I want to emphasize this – we were almost in a terrible accident. I have never been this close to getting hit by a car, and I’m a runner. This would have put quite a damper on the trip.

We were incredibly relieved, discussed our near-miss, and headed to the river.

"If ever two girls needed a bench!" Julie said.

The bridge on the river was beautiful. We (very carefully) returned to the car and visited some great art. Julie had made a list of things she wanted to see, so we were checking them off. We saw Tunnelvision and Neverbust Chain by Blue Sky. (That’s the name of the artist. No, it is not his given name.)

We drove to Sesquicentennial State Park for a hike around the water. Beautiful trees and water and peaceful place. Really, really nice.

We ate outdoors at Three Notch’d and again enjoyed all the graduates celebrating with their families.

Then we headed to Congaree National Park for the fireflies.

The week before Julie and I left, we both saw that there was a lottery for getting into the park starting on May 13. We were there only May 8-10 and we were both really happy with our good fortune. We didn’t need a lottery to get to the park – in fact, the park is free! We figured that we could see the fireflies just days before the lottery started. The site told us that the fireflies will blink synchronously.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw that there was black tarp around the trees for a huge area to protect from car lights. We walked in the pitch black into the park, kind of just feeling our way and hoping we wouldn’t run into anything, because we weren’t allowed to use lights.

We saw lots and lots of fireflies, similar to what Julie sees in her backyard and what I see over the creek in the summer. They were not blinking synchronously, though. They were definitely blinking asynchronously. We asked at the park and did some more online research and it turns out there is one of 24 firefly species in the park that blinks at the same time. But they were pretty and magical anyway! Just a bunch of insects that light up – amazing.  

Saturday

We left our Vrbo house and went to the Soda City Farmers Market. (Cola came from Columbia, then the nickname Soda City.) They have this every Saturday, and it was giant and really good. Bakers, coffee, artists, a great mix. I got a permanent bracelet from two nice girls. They asked what we were doing, and we told them we came to see the national park. One girl said, “Here? In Columbia? I’ve lived here my entire 18 years and I’ve never heard that we have a national park, or that it has fireflies.” The other girl had heard of it, but had never been. Funny! We bought a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread to eat for lunch on our hike.

We drove to Congaree, and we went on four hikes:

Boardwalk - This was especially good, because they had a little brochure with numbers on it, and you could stop at those numbers and it would tell you what you were seeing. Great information and so cool. It identified trees, told us different historical facts, and even pointed out an old illegal still left in the woods.

Westlake – The tree knees were my absolute favorite. The tree roots made this park different than any other I’ve seen. We saw a snake and little lizards and a heron.

Longleaf – This was just a quick walk to the campground with totally different topography.

Forks Swamp – We drove 17 miles to another part of the park, and we were the only people on this hike. No cars, no people. I walked toward the water and came close to stepping on a huge snake which was right in the middle of the path. We didn’t have any service, so we couldn’t look it up to see if it was venomous, so we gave it a wide berth. We then watched it climb a tree. Later we found out it was a rat snake. We walked more carefully the rest of the hike.

All in all, we hiked about 8 miles, and it was great. Different sights, really great smell like leaves in the fall, so many birds, really interesting.

We chose to eat at War Mouth which had a great outdoor area to sit, but it wasn’t that good, so we went to Handel’s Ice Cream afterward which was.

We walked around downtown Columbia some more, and then we met up at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral for a tour: Lanterns and Lunacy of the Lost, a tour of the shocking history of Columbia. We were the only two on a tour with a nice guy who used to work at the museum, and you could tell he loved history. We walked around to a few sites and he said a lot of really interesting things. I particularly liked the cemetery at the church, since it was incredibly old. He also told about the legend three-eyed man, which I’d never heard before but seems to be a South Carolina staple.

Sunday

We hit up a drive through coffee on the way to Congaree National Park and met up with the kayaking company: Carolina Outdoor Adventures. We took the Cedar Creek kayaking trip. I can’t say enough good things about this company and tour. The owner Billy was there, our guides Julie and Paul loved it all so much, and it was really great.

Practically every stick over the creek they’d point out a snake. So. Many. Snakes. I wouldn’t have seen even one of them if they hadn’t pointed them out. We must have seen 20 snakes. They even pointed out one in a tree and Julie and I kayaked directly under it just for kicks. It was not venomous, of course. 

We actually only saw one venomous snake, and it was a water moccasin eating a skink! It was so cool to see something like that in real nature. The guides were delighted too – even they took pictures. We saw so many turtles, birds, a giant fisher spider, and of course the snakes.

Julie the guide said, “Now we only need to see a barred owl.” A few minutes later, we saw two!

Our guide Paul said, “You guys have had a magical day. That’s the most species I’ve seen in one trip.” I said, “Oh, you say that to everyone.” He said, “No, really! I saw four different species of snapping turtles alone!”  

If I had been by myself, I would have seen so much less, and probably not one snake. It was a wonderful 3-hour tour.

We drove back to the airport in Charlotte and boarded the plane. We went to the very back row of the plane and were happily surprised that there was an empty seat between us!

“Will Carla Wardin please ring the flight attendant bell?” I heard over the intercom.

I quickly rang it, wondering what was wrong.

The flight attendant came over.

“I’m Carla,” I said.

“Oh, we just wanted to make sure you were on the plane,” he said.

In all my time on planes, that has never happened to me. Thanks for making sure I’m making my flight, American Airlines!

The entire trip was full of southern charm – the people, the parks, the animals. All so welcoming and interesting and beautiful, and all with a great travel partner who is the reason I went in the first place! It's an added bonus that she's keeping the plane in the air.