In a sweatshirt and good company.

Since we’re now on day five of this glorious fall-like weather in July, I think it’s safe to say the heat advisory has been lifted. My autumn-loving soul is reveling in the opportunity to sleep in a pile of blankets and lounge about in socks and sweatshirts drinking gallons of coffee. Apparently the water fowl who reside in the park I run through every other day are also enjoying the temperature reprieve. Ambient temperature seems to have an inverse relationship with the number of geese that ominously guard the path through the park. I thought I had recovered from the trauma of watching geese eat my father’s shoes off his feet as a child, but I don’t know that I can blame the run for the spike in my heart rate as I near those long-necked monsters.

The cooler weather and sporadic rain hit us just as I was heading up to Big Star Lake for some frolicking in the sunshine. Even though this visit was without beach volleyball and tubing, the quality of the Spauldings’ company made for a beautiful start to the weekend, full of good books, great conversation, and some overtly competitive euchre.

The rain held off long enough for me to take a short walk around the cottages to explore some places I hadn’t been on my last visit.





Grateful for the sweetness of friendship today.

Back to my duties as an enchilada dealer. Happy Monday.

A flurry of friendship.

Surprise! I've snuck back a bit early to share photos from my adventures with Becca and my time on Big Star Lake. Upon further consideration, it hardly seemed fair to force the entire city of New York to share face time. So upon my return, my week in the Big Apple will get a post all to itself. Plenty of room to stretch its long limbs and breathe clean air free from taxi exhaust.

But before I hop in a van at 6am tomorrow and ride across the country, here is a summary of how I "rested up" and "prepared myself" for New York.

On Wednesday night, Becca arrived shortly before I got home from my New York pre-trip meeting. There was jumping and hugging and excitement and smiles, all the appropriate hoopla necessary for welcoming a friend you've been separated from for over a year. After hours of catching up and a couple Woodchucks, we headed to bed to get some sleep before our three-day adventure exploring the wonders of Grand Rapids and introducing Becca to life as a Turner commenced.

I took advantage of finally having an intrepid companion and took Becca only to restaurants I had never been to. I realize this strategy could have been catastrophic. Thankfully, it was quite the opposite and we enjoyed incredible food. We made stops at The Electric Cheetah, Parsley Mediterranean Grille, and Cherry Deli. The Electric Cheetah pulled ahead as the favorite in no small part due to the root beer list. Becca is quite the root beer connoisseur, so a root beer selection boasting 30+ brews from all over the country was right up her alley. Definitely recommend a visit if you're ever in the area.

We reveled in the beauty of the Lake Michigan shoreline and dared predictions of thunderstorms to come true.

We enjoyed a stroll around Reed's Lake and Gaslight Village in East Grand Rapids.

We watched my sister perform as Mayzie in Seussical the Musical.

And the next morning, it was time to send Becca off to continue her tour of the Midwest. So grateful for the opportunity to reunite with a dear friend. Hopefully I'll be able to sneak over to her new home in D.C. sometime this fall. A year is far, far too long to wait to see her face.

Right after Becca hit the road, I went into work for a short shift, came home to pack, and was off to Big Star Lake to spend the rest of the weekend with Alec and his parents at their cottage. It was just over 24 hours of great food, even better friends, beach volleyball, karaoke, water sports, and sunshine. It was the perfect way to relax and fill up my cup before embarking on what's sure to be an incredible week of spilling the contents of my heart all over some awesome high schoolers and New York City.

So glad you came to visit, Becca. Can't wait to see you again. And Spauldings--you da best.

Mmk. Time for a handful of sleep before I'm off to New York. See you in a week!