MI Trip (Part One)

It has taken a few days for me to have time to sit down and type this out. My trip to MI wore me out and I haven't been myself for a few days. A week ago Monday, Gram drove me to the train station in Galesburg. My first train was about 30 minutes late due to bad signals. The ride to Chicago was uneventful. I had about 5 hours layover in the Windy City so I eventually found a locker to stash my suitcase and went sightseeing. Hurricane Sandy made it colder and windier than I had expected, so I stopped at a Caribou Coffee near the station to have lunch. The woman who took my order complimented me on the crocheted scarf and headband I was wearing, which I crocheted myself. That was nice to hear. I ordered the Gouda turkey pesto sandwich. It was heaven. The rest of my stay in Chicago was quite boring: I sat in the lobby and rolled a skein of yarn into a ball.

Horrible pic and I can't get it to flip. 

My second train left nearly on time, though we had to stop to let other trains pass. For some reason, the train was booked and I let somebody sit next to me. Her name is Sierrah and she is AWESOME. She was on her to MI to visit her dad, and we spent the entire trip talking. The guy across the aisle was going home with his son and it turns out he is an amateur science fiction writer. It's not everyday that you can converse with people who have seen Firefly! Sierrah even shared her Nitendo DS 3D. That was awesome! She worked with trains and knew everything about the one we were riding on. I told her about Morocco and she looked through all of the pictures I had on my phone. We exchanged phone numbers and have kept in touch so far.

My mom and stepdad met me at the station in Lapeer, MI and took me to Tim Horton's (pure heaven) for a doughnut and cappuccino, and to Arby's for "real" food. Then it was another (almost) 2-hr drive back to their house. We arrived home to find out that we lost power. Hurricane Sandy struck again. I can't even begin to tell you how disheartening that was. I was looking forward to never-ending hot water, laundry being done, and actual light to search through my things around the house. It was even more disheartening when the power company said that restoration wasn't expected to take place until the end of the week. Shortly after getting home, we went to bed. Obviously, there wasn't any heat so I woke up extremely cold. At least my parents have a gas stove, which I was grateful for. Most people who know me well, know that I'm never at my best when I'm freezing. This was my vacation, and I wasn't planning on having to rough it! But at least I had my mama...

Harbor Beach

My stepdad had to go to the other side of the state for business so it was just Mama and me. We went to the library (it had power) and then to town to go shopping and get something to eat. I was so tired that all I wanted to do was eat and go home. I nearly fell asleep sitting in the lovely warmth of Pizza Hut. We still didn't have power the next morning so I had to heat water on the stove for a bath. Mom was at work and I took advantage of what little light we had to get stuff around the house packed up and put into my car. (The sun refused to shine the entire time I was there.) There was just enough light to play Candyland and Dominoes by myself. Mom came home and we went to the library again. I didn't have reception, but at least I could use the library's Wi-Fi to get online. We went to town again and I was feeling better to do some shopping. There wasn't any reason to sit at home in the dark and do nothing. 

As soon as we got back to the house, the power came back. What a huge relief! Mom made her delicious tuna noodle casserole for dinner. I let Mom take the first real hot-water shower after it warmed up. Mom even did my laundry. I had done a lot of complaining when the power was out but I was greatly humbled by some of the stories told about Hurricane Sandy. An elderly widow's house had burned down after the storm. She literally had nothing left and was walking around in a pair of flip flops. The news reporter was helping her sort through the rubble and the elderly woman found a piece of a broken plate that wasn't completely burned. This woman was extremely grateful to have what most people would consider to be trash, and she made me realize that I didn't have it so bad. I don't remember her name, but I hope and pray she has family to take care of her. 

Mom had to go to town the next day so we drove separately, as I had to leave for Kalamazoo that afternoon. We did a tad bit more shopping and went out to lunch. My friends were counting on me to arrive at a decent time, but it was hard leaving my mama. 

Thus ends the first part of my narrative. Until next time,

~Staci~