It’s true! One day we were just hanging around Saugatuck, when all of a sudden Spider Man and Barbie took control of the boat! Well, not just those two, but Buddy Bear, Bun Bun, Too Many Monkeys, color crayons, board games, about 10,000 Legos and all the other paraphernalia that seemed to just come along for the ride. Our normally neat and tidy boat looks as if hurricane Irene has passed right through the salon…and we could care less!
The good news is that Spidey and Barbie also brought our grandson, Ben, and granddaughter, Lia (and their parents) along from California with them as well. We hadn’t seen Dina and her husband, Darrin, or the kids, since late June when we all attended Jackie’s wedding in Oregon. Boy, did I miss them a lot. I know, I know, it’s supposed to be the grandma’s role to miss the kids and grandkids. Carrie does; I just whine about it more.
One of my favorite guys, Ben
Three of my favorite gals: Carrie, Lia and Once Around
We have a lot planned for their short visit. They arrived Wednesday afternoon after a 3-1/2 hour flight from Sacramento to Chicago and a 3 hour drive to Saugatuck. We spent some time catching up, and then took a long dinghy ride around Lake Kalamazoo. We had dinner at Butler’s and the kids began to fade. They must have been running on straight adrenaline, because they made it till about 9 before crashing.
Our view from the dinghy
I love this one!
Daddys little girl
We would have liked to stay in Saugatuck for another full day, but as usual, Lake Michigan had other ideas. If we wanted to get to South Haven, our next port of call, it was Thursday or never. When Once Around travels, as Judy from Moonstruck will tell you, everybody always gets moving early. Well, almost always. It seems in this case as if sleepy grandkids take precedence over the captain’s wishes…happily. Besides, we only had a 20 mile stretch planned. So, much to Judy’s surprise (they were docked next to us), we finally slipped our lines at about 11:00 AM.
Lia and Dina
The Admiral had willed good lake conditions, and I think the weather gods were just plain scared to screw with her. We had absolutely the flattest water we’ve seen in four months on the loop. Of course, the little guys were interested in the whole thing for about…uh…15 minutes, although they kept busy looking for pirate ships on the two hour trip to South Haven, MI. We pulled in and were tied off and sipping Margaritas by mid-afternoon.
Ben schools me at Legos...
My grandkids are no strangers to the beach. They have a motor home and spend a lot of time on the California shores. I have never seen a kid enjoy digging in the sand as much as Ben. He will work on a sand castle, mote, river or dam for hours if he can. Since both his grandpas are underground contractors and his dad operates heavy equipment, maybe it’s genetic, I don’t know. But, it cracks me up every time. Lia is just quite the beach princess. She’s even learned to pose. Both of them swim like fish. They wore Carrie and me out in short order.
Ben the excavator...
...and Lia the beach princess
Kathy and Garth: Our water bucket gets put to real good use!
We have not one, but two birthday boys on board. Ben and his dad share September 2 as their special day. We had barbequed pork loin, baked potatoes, salad, sourdough bread from the local baker, and…oh yeah, peas. Remember, the Admiral always insists on the green stuff. Afterwards we enjoyed a Dutch apple pie and ice cream to celebrate Ben’s 7th and Darrin’s 38th birthday. The pie came courtesy of Paul, Jackie’s father-in-law, who hails from Holland, MI. He had met us for lunch Wed. and brought it and some other delicious Dutch pastries as a gift for us.
The birthday boys...
Fishin' from the dink
As I write this post, the kids are at the beach. Carrie just finished up some laundry and we now desperately need to find a supermarket. We need about 27 loaves of bread, 14 gallons of milk, 9 dozen eggs, and some cinnamon for the hot cocoa that is grandma’s tradition for the kids before bedtime. Oh yeah,…we’re out of vodka, too!
Still, Life is good!
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