Hike, bike, read, write, eat - repeat

The UP was an amazing time. It had been over 10 years since I was up to the cabin and there was a surreal feeling being back there and nothing had seemingly changed. Once I finally made it there, after passing the almost hidden driveway the first time down Ramsden Road, it all came back. The dark brown exterior of the cabin, with its large front porch facing the fire pit. There were several reminder of Aunt Vi and Uncle Ken, who own the cabin on little door hangers and yard posts. It brought back lots of fond memories of Aunt Vi. She had the softest hands of anyone I ever knew, amazing skin, and blazing red hair until the day she passed. She was a wonderful cook and baker and the kitchen had definitely had her touch.

I arrived just a tad before 4p after stopping at the IGA in town on my way. After bringing all of my stuff in and settling down I had the Pasty I purchased from IGA and got to work on making my chicken noodle soup. I spent most of the evening reading through the cabin journal, in which visitors leave notes and details about their trips. (A pre-Internet blog of sorts) It was great to read of vacations my family took, surprises from friends who came to visit. Honeymoons and anniversary trips, little get aways and first time visitors. It is such a great piece of our family history to have this journal and I happily contributed the adventures of my trip.

Over the course of the trip I finished the last few chapters of two books I was reading, read another cover to cover in one day (something I had never done before) and started a third. Organized my pictures on the new Macbook - love iphoto. I did some writing and typing of old journal entries I brought with me, but not nearly as much writing of 'new' stuff as I had hoped. I thought a bit about what my barrier is to actually writing most of the stories floating around in my head and came up with two. 1) Some things are still to close, in time that is and need more distance. However, this is a bit of a conundrum because with the passing of time, so does go the passing of my memory. I have started to writing the general ideas of the stories to came back to. 2) I do not have a theme, a central idea to keep coming back to. I think that knowing overall my story is about a 'single mom,' or 'a recovering addict,' makes it a little easier to have focus. None of the stories would really change, they are what they are, but their individual spin and the continuity of the whole would be easier. I am hoping to work on these two issues, well more the later, since I can't control time. I have found several writing groups in AA and hope to join one, even if just to have some accountability.I also spent sometime seeing a few of the local sites, including Kitchitikipi Springs. and the Pictured Rock National Lake Shore. Kitchitikipi is an amazing natural sulfur spring that is clear to the bottom, 45 feet below and is always 45 degrees. At Pictured Rocks, I saw several waterfalls and was a little disappointed that the trails between the sites, The Backcountry trail, was not bikeable. I should have looked in to that more. I was going to hike from Sand Point to Miners Castle, only 4.9 miles, but once I got on the trail and I came across a sign stating I had only gone just over a mile, I realized hiking was not going to be nearly as fast as walking 4.9 miles. I had a hunch once I was on the trail and realized how slow I had to go in portions that were wet, muddy, or just plain treacherous. Needless to say, once I got the map and my location straight, I realized I could just drive there - again, I was hoping for bike ride.

All in all, it was a great trip and I hope that in the future I don't have to drive 6 hours in to the woods to allow myself a few days to relax, although I'd do it again. After several days of self reflecting I am hoping to do some things different in this new chapter of my life. I have no regrets from before, but have, as one would hope, learned and want to grow from those experiences.

U.P. vacation #2

I said good-bye to Meredith this morning as she is completed her elective rotation and is on her way back to UofI. I made my first trip to Trader Joe in AA with her yesterday (as she had several 'orders' from Chambana to fill), and I must say just how amazed I was with the quality and price of the products; a place I defiantly will be frequenting since I do live there and all, which I had to remind myself several times during the shopping trip. We also seem to have found campus-bar-row and split a $5 pitcher of Miller Light after our roof top happy hour with $2.95 glasses of wine, cheese, and tapenade downtown.

Now after finishing the laundry, a few loose ends with grant stuff and grocery shopping, I am ready and just under 12 hours away from vacation #2 to the upper peninsula (UP) of Michigan to our family cabin about 30 minutes outside of Manistique, MI on Thunder Lake. I stopped to the library again and this time stocked up on a few books for my time in the cabin and will have plenty of driving time to finish my fourth and final book-on-CD. I have groceries and supplies for a rump roast complete with carrots and potatoes, chicken noodle soup, and yes some Hamburger Helper which I needed to finally make. I'll have to stop to IGA in town, about 30 minutes from the cabin, to pick up some milk, lunch meat, and fruit.

View Cabin in a larger map

I made a stop over to Aunt Linda's this evening to get directions, keys, pepper spray for the wild animals, and a bike rack for my car. It was quite an amusing time her trying to remember the name of the roads and the exact directions as to her it is just second nature. I did plug the address in to the GPS and it came out with directions, so I think we will be all set. I have several maps and directions to Picture Rock National Forest and Marquette, which are the two travel destinations on my trip.

There is also a paddle boat on the lack and several hiking/biking trails around Thunder Lake I plan to explore. I have lots of reading and writing that I want to accomplish. My cell phone connection will be spotty at best and Internet will probably only be available in Marquette. I will blog as I go and then post when I return, so look for the weeks adventures the 1st week of August.

I was told that my family is just in utter amusement that I am going to cabin by myself for a whole week, I think they even were taking bets of a family baby shower last weekend for how long I'll last up there - I'll let you know in about a week (or sooner if they are correct).

"Ma'am you are in New Jersey, everything is full-service"

2,217 miles, 7 beds, $30+ in tolls, 3 books on CD, 2 countries, 7 states, 13 days, one train and ferry ride and probably more pounds than I want to know later - I am home.

I had just a remarkable time over the last two weeks driving around visiting friends and family I have not seen in awhile, some in 3 years. I am so grateful for everyone's hospitality and all the wonderful adventures I had.

Here are some interesting highlights and things I learned on my trip:

1. My GPS does not believe in Canada
2. In full walk, I ran into the door on Diana and Min-Yang's patio trying to go inside after only two glasses of wine
3. Books on CD - where have they been all my life
4. Boston is an even crazier place to drive than Chicago, and maybe even NY
5. I just love seafood
6. Massachusetts is a very beautiful state and looks a lot like northern MI with all its trees
7. Napping in city parks is a wonderful way to spend a few hours
8. All gas stations in New Jersey are full-service
9. The Island is a party every night
10. A bridge on I95 did not show up on the GPS and it had my car driving across water

The pictures are up on Facebook and I have some pretty interesting videos I'll try and get together before leaving on Saturday. Between now and then, there are bills to pay, laundry to wash, library books to check-out, and a few other odds and ends to take care of. I am hoping the weather will be nice next week while I am in the UP as I am planning several hikes, a kayaking trip and some other out-door activities.

American History

I went through the whole, well pretty much, the whole Freedom Trail today. It did not take as long as expected mainly because Boston is not nearly as big as I thought. It was a pretty warm day, but thankfully with the layers of sunscreen applied before embarking on my history-laden day, I am not as red as a lobsta'

I started out visiting the Bunker Hill memorial and USS Constitution in Charlestown. It was a very beautiful, quite area and the lay of the homes was what I would expect an old New England town to look like. (I have forgotten my camera cord to download pictures, so they will come next week.) Then it was across the Charles River to Copp's Hill Burial Ground. Most of the grave stones were so only you could barely read the first few lines. Then it was on to the Old North Church, where I was reminded of the fact that Paul Revere himself did not hang the lantern's, as he was already on his way to the country side. The church had old box-style pews, which I had never seen before and still hold two services a week.

After this I was in search of lunch and was in a just the area of find it; The North End. I strolled down Hanover Street a bit of the red brick that denoted the Freedom Trail. I must say this was a most brilliant idea - having a big red line running on the sidewalk pointing in the correct direction of the tour. I walked past several shops and then found this great hole-in-the-wall seafood joint and walked right in - The Daily Catch. The whole place probably wasn't much bigger than my college dorm room. The 'kitchen' was in full view and the 'dishroom' was covered by a half wall curtain. There was one waiter and probably seating for 16, maybe 20 at most. I had a black pasta dish and calamari and vegetables - delicious (sound of kissing my fingers). Then as luck has it, I was across the street from Mike's Pastry, a must see sight according to Andy. I walked in, and took in all the smells and sights of this authentic Italian bakery and walked out eating a chocolate mousse canoli.

I strolled around the North End a bit more and walked over to Christopher Columbus Park and took a lil' nap under the tree in the shade. Then it was off to venture through Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (where I found Vicki a birthday present). After passing the site of the Boston Massacre and the Old South Meeting House, it was on to Boston Commons for another lil' nap in the park. I made my way back to Faneuil Hall, took in some street performances, read a few pages of my book and then met Peggy and Klemen for dinner at Mother Anna's. Erik met up with us and we had an enjoyable seafood dinner - yummy crab cakes out on the patio.

Tomorrow I am taking the Duck Boat Tour around town and down the Charles River, then it is off to Vicki's and out to the Vineyard.

Bean Town

I'm in Bean Town...now off to explore!!

My police escort

I saw in the Long Island Newsday, as well as heard from several sources that there was a fire on the Throg's Neck Bridge the other day and that access was closed from several parkways to get out of Long Island. Of course this was the intended way to Massachusetts, so I needed to look for alternatives. Thankfully this same Newsday article offered such choices graciously pointing out several different detours one could take from different points on Long Island. I confirmed my plan with uncle Howie and wrote down the directions on the newspaper page and tore it out for the trip. Given the troubles with the GPS in Canada, I wanted to have some good ol' fashioned directions as well, because with some my express-ways and parkways on Long Island I wasn't sure what the GPS detour would be.

I was driving along the LIE, keeping up with traffic, and yes, doing a little weaving, but nothing that would have been noticeable had I not had out-of-state plates. I figured instead of continually glancing to the passenger seat at the newspaper clipping I would hold it on the steering wheel so I could make a (quicker) glance down to see the next street. I was doing this for just about 5 or so minutes when I heard a quick siren sound, like from a police car. I quick looked around and in the mirrors and did not see any official vehicles and thought nothing of it. Then it came again within a minute or so, again a quick glance, but not cars. Finally the Jeep Cherokee behind me turned on its police lights and was motioning for me to pull over. But where!! There are no shoulders on the LIE.

I pulled to the right lane and slowed down planning on going to the next exit, I did not want him to think I was trying to evade him (right Stuart). Then he pulls up, and yes there was a large curb, on to the grassy-shoulder-piece of land; I followed. He pulled to my passenger side and I rolled down my window.

"You are not seriously reading the newspaper and driving?" he questioned.
"No, I am following my directions for the detour on the Throgs Neck."
"That still closed from the fire?"
"Yes, that is what the Newsday article said yesterday, and I can't trust this thing for detours," I remarked while pointing to the GPS.
He radioed someone and was talking with several people about the best way to get there.
"Stay on the LIE to the Clearview, it's not closed from there."
I asked him about having to go on Grand Central Parkway, as the paper instructed.
"No. Just follow me, I'll get you there."

And that is how I got a police escort to the Throg's Neck Bridge.

Mets won

Spent most of the afternoon at the new Citi Stadium where I think most of the stimulus package has gone. It was a beautiful park and we had amazing seats, 5 rows back from the visitor dug-out. It was a tad bit warm outside and I got some sun, finally. We had an amazing lobster roll for lunch with some great seasoned fries and a toasted lager.

Tomorrow I am off to NEW YORK CITY!! I will spend the day in Midtown shopping and seeing whatever sights I come across, as well as lunch with my now-found-long-lost-cousin.

I am really embarrassing and starting to enjoy the spontaneity of this vacation. I have no specific plans for tomorrow and still haven't planned my exact trip home and surprisingly enough I am totally OK with that and am not worried. What, me without a plan? and not worried to boot! I know, I know, don't worry I didn't lose myself in Canada while without GPS, I am just really soaking up my current life-on-vacation.

East Coast Tour - Leg 1

Well it came as a surprise to me that my Garmin (GPS) did not work in Canada. As I was approaching the Detroit/Winsor boarder it kept telling me to turn on every side street to turn around and then when that was no longer an option, it was telling my to make a U-turn. Needless to say, I am glad I still have the trusty Atlas in my car. There are only two main express ways in Ontario that eventually configure in London, ON and go on to Niagara Falls. I did finally get on the 401 after about 15-20 minutes of following signs through side roads. Once pulling in to Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side) I stopped to eat at the first local place I found - Taps Brewery. I had a really delicious pulled pork sandwich with a homemade slaw on top served on a chewy rolls along with a vanilla stout. The place looked very new and my waitress, a recent college graduate, was very helpful and informative about The Falls. I walked the few miles to The Falls and took about an hour to explore around before I left on my way to the Rochester area.

I met up with Peggy and her boyfriend, Dave, outside of Rochester in Victor. She seems to be doing very well there and it was go great to see her and meet her wonderful boyfriend. Stopped for supplies, drinks and snacks, and took off to his parents place on Canandaigua Lake for an evening of boating and tubing. We spent the evening on the lake and then to a local establishment for dinner. We had to rise early this morning for Peggy to get to her boaters safety training and for me to get on the road. I arrived to aunt Mindy's in Long Island shortly before 3pm, about 45 minutes after anticipated and given the traffic on the bridges in to NY, I figured I made good time.

I am still working on the plans for the drive home. Vicki and company are staying on the vineyard until Tuesday evening, but at the latest I'll need to leave Tuesday AM and get on the road. Originally I had planned to drive all the way back to Ann Arbor, but given the extra time for the boat ride and how freakin' tired I was after the 6.5hrs today, I think I'll stop half way on Tuesday to arrive home Wednesday. I am going to look in to staying at/near a winery in up-state NY; I did not realize how many there were until I drove through today.

Finally, books on tape!! How have I missed this! I am about 3/4 of the way through my second book and I am loving it. Thank goodness for the library.

VACATION!!

I'm all packed and ready to (officially) start my 2 months of vacation!! The grants are submitted and bags are packed. I have several books-on-CD selections for the driving along with my trusty iPod.

I have been looking forward to and planning this vacation for quite sometime now that it is hard to believe it has finally come time to set-off. I am very excited to see some friends and family I haven't seen in a few years as well as see some recent former-Chambanan's in their new homes. I am looking forward to exploring Boston and the Freedom Trail, seeing a Mets game, roller-blading with Diana again, and finally making it back to Martha's Vineyard.

A quick itinerary:
7/10 I'll stop at Niagara Falls on my way to visit Peggy in Rochester
7/11-14 I'll be staying with the family on Long Island, going to a Mets game and in to the city
7/14-15 I'll be visiting with Diana and Min-Yang in Plymouth, MA
7/15-18 I'll be in Cambridge staying with Erik, dinner with extended family, meeting up with Peggy and Klemen, Freedom Trail Tour, Duck Boat Tour, and who knows what else
7/19-21 Out to Martha's Vineyard with Vicki and family for her 30th birthday

This will be the first time I have traveled this extensively on my own. I am actually really looking forward to this opportunity and will do my best to up-date as I go.

Sprinklers, sinks, and spiders

It has officially been a week now and, well there are a few things that are a bit vexing.

1. The sprinklers come on 3-4 times/day seemingly regardless of the previous night's weather. They have no regard for the walking paths that lead me to my car or the clubhouse (with the workout facilities). With all that said, probably the most agitating trait is that they spray on my car providing me with not even a full Polish carwash daily making it not only impossible to ever leave my windows cracked but also necessary to wash the water spots nearly every time I drive.
2. My kitchen sink has only one compartment. Now I do have a dishwasher, but given the minimal amount of dished I accumulate even after a night of cooking and the amount of water the dishwasher uses, I have only used it once (when the family was here). So I am left with a bit of a conundrum: what to do with the dirty dishes before they are washed? With only a few, it has not been a problem. However, once they start to pile up and it comes time to either rinse a dish or two or to wash them all, I am at a loss. I have been piling them up on the counter until I get the wash water ready, which is sort of remedy, but then comes the issue of rinsing. The sink is pretty deep, so if I start washing dishes while filling up the sink I can use the running water for rinsing, but at times the water just gets nasty and then defeats the whole purpose. I know the simple solution is to use the dishwasher and maybe once I have a more regular schedule after my 2 months of vacation, I'll see if the dishwasher option is worth it.
3. In addition, the kitchen sink does not have a sprayer. This has not caused nearly the dilemma as the one compartment, but it does make it difficult to rinse food particles and clean the sink.
4. I do not seem to know my own strength and snapped the blinds in the dining room last night. I was pulling them up and the right side of the top frame piece, where the roller balls sits, snapped. Thankfully they did not come down from the wall and after some finagling I was able to coax them down. For now this will work; they still open, just do not retract.
5. I have some pretty fierce spiders on the balcony. I tried to kill them last night with bug spray and ran out and thankfully they did not come in the night to attack me, although I had a dream which presented a different scenario. I purchased some more spray today, which is floral scented (who knew) and sprayed it everywhere. They only seem to come out at night and I really do not want to have to actually be out on the balcony at the same time to see where they are to kill them, but this maybe the case - we'll see.

All in all though, these nuisances are cloaked by the washer/dyer, sitting outside eating lunch and reading, covered parking, and the Plum Market.

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Meredith and I made a trip downtown to explore last night. We found free parking and great brew pub, Blue Tractor Brewery which had a really tasty 5-beer sampler for just $5.95!! It included all of there current selection and the seasonal, which was actually a guest apperance of Luciernaga "The Firefly" from the Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, in Dexter, MI. In addition, we had a basket of the green chile cheddar muffins - yum! This selection from Jolly Pumpkin was my favorite, and this brewery is a total of ONLY 6.2 miles from my apartment, so I will defineately be making a visit in the very near future. The rest of downtown was beautiful and just about every establishment had outdoor setting; it felt a bit like Europe in that regard. Most of the places we strolled by on Main Street were resturants: mexican, several seafood joints, steak houses, Indian, Ethiopian, BBQ, Cuban, Japanese and other asian grills. We did not see too many places there were just bars, but again, we were only on a few streets. There were lots and lots of good happy hour specials and one in particular at Vinology that we will stop to tomorrow.

I also discovered a grocery store/wine cellar/butcher/chocolate shop/deli/organic home & body boutique/everything else gastronomical one could desire within walking distance from my place - The Plum Market. They had lucious fresh berries out for tasting and some delicious homemade lime chips. This place is way more than a grocery store; they have thier own wine room, king crab legs, pizza oven, and a deli bar spread - I think this maybe the death of my wallet. I didn't look too closely at the prices, but did purchase a box of Kashi cereal on sale for $1.99!! I am not sure how they will compare since most of the brands looked like niche, small organic producers, but I will take advantage of the produce, fresh meats and cheeses, deli, and specialtiy items. Thankfully the Kroger and Meijers is also close for my pantry staples.

The Michigan Secretary of State took a furlough day yesterday so I was not about to get my license and registration changed, however, this ended up being good, because I still have to get my paperwork from AAA for the MI auto insurance. I did however make it to the library and am now a proud owner of an Ann Arbor public library card. I rented some books on CD for my upcoming trips.

Today I'm meeting with Alan and will hopefully get everything done to get the grant submitted today or tomorrow. I have several other things to accomplish before I head to Rochester on Friday.

Lunch is now served on the balcony

I have been here just shy of a week and thankfully everything is unpacked and just about everything is up on the walls. Still a few pictures to figure out what to do with and some furniture re-arranging in the near future, but all in all, it looks like I live here.

I have most all the essentials near my apartment in the Westgate Shopping center, including, Kroger, Chase, Rite-Aid, Dollar General, K-mart (yes folks, there are still a few around), the west branch of the library, some restaurants, and lots of other lil' shops I have still to discover. Meijers and Lowe's are also not too far. I am on the far west edge of town and there is a little township that butts up to Ann Arbor, Scio Township, so for reference, it'd be analgous to going to Wal-Mart in Savoy, if one lived say off Prospect and Kirby.

Today I also established a local for my bottle returns (in the laundry room), used the work-out facility in the clubhouse, and had lunch on the balcony.

This week I need to take care of changing all the paperwork for my car and getting a new drivers license at the Secretary of State (which is also close in the Westgate center) and go to the library and rent some books on tape for my impending drive out east. I reserved my ticket for the Duck Boat Tour in Boston and still have a fews plans to figure out for that leg of the trip before I leave on Friday. I'm also hoping to meet up a with a few friends I know in town before I head off, and Kelly and I are meeting for dinner on Thursday to catch-up, since I am so close and have the opportunity to do that now.

I am meeting with Alan (the new boss) on Tuesday to finalize the grant proposal, as I have to submit before I leave since due dates will be when I am on vacation. He emailed me his revisions yesterday about 5pm - and I thought I was a work-a-holic.

Meredith arrived about an hour ago. She'll be staying this month for her elective rotation at UofM hopsital. It works out well for both of us; she a place to stay pretty much to herself, and me a cat sitter. It'll be nice to have a friendly face around for the next few days, and hopefully she'll be up for checking out a few places downtown.

Settling in

For the most part it looks like I live here now, and I would say I am about 90-95% settled in. There are still a few pictures to hang and sorting out of things, especially boxes from the Freund lab. Most of those items will stay in the spare room closet until I get started in the Saltiel lab in August. Some moments it does not feel that weird because I am surrounded by all of my stuff and it is now just in a new and much better apartment. I have already begun to enjoy the ammenities here, including the laundry room and dishwasher. I doubt I will really use the dishwasher all that often, since I am used to washing by hand and, well don't ditry that many dishes to begin with. The laundry on the other hand; I just love it, especially since it is an actual room and not a laundry closet. All day to day when I was running errands, every time I got change I smiled because I no longer have to worry about saving quaters for laundry.

Lily has adjusted well and has yet to try and escape, but I am sure she will. The front door opens directly to the outside, so we'll see. At least there is a window so I can see if she is there. I'm not quite sure what she'd do if she got on the balcony; I would hope she wouldn't try to just off, however with her, one never knows.

I went to lab this afternoon to sign paperwork etc. and Alan asked me to come to lab meeting. It was strange sitting there thinking this is my lab now and seeing how things go. There were some jokes and small talk, but nothing quite like the Freund lab meetings. There are definetly things I will miss about the Freund lab, and not just the pizza during lunch lab meetings.

All in all, the strangest feeling so far is being back in Michigan.

Things I will have to get used to again:
1. Motorcycle helments
2. Bottle returns, got to start saving those pop cans, and now beer bottles
3. Ridiciulously bad roads...grr
4. Hearing local news etc. about Detroit, and it is even worse when what they say on the national broadcasts
5. Not being smoke-free. I have heard rumors that it is in the works, and I sure hope so
6. Eastern time zone, especially the TV schedule
7. Being much closer to my family is just such a blessing. Marissa already wanted to spend the night when they were helping to move me in

With having the next two months off to travel and relax I do not really feel the weight of having to start over again. I am hoping this time will serve as a good transistion to this new chapter and will enable me to somewhat get used to this new life without such an abrupt change. I know once I get to working again and have more of a routine I will miss the Chambana groove I have had for the last 5 years. I hope to see everyone very soon and welcome all visitors.

I have attached a video of the new place for everyone to see and pictures are up on FB.

I'm here

I made it and about 90% settled. Finally got the internets up and working today and will up load some pics and videos on Facebook later today.