Ups and Downs

[Dia]

W and I did schooling in Mt. P.
I love the water. Ocean, lakes, it's all good.
I'm looking forward to the apple orchards next month. We generally go as a family for a hayride through the orchards in October. We get cider and cake donuts. Mmmm. I wonder how that will work this year. W may want to go all together. Maybe she'll take S and go w/ her GF's family.

I've wanted to get out of Michigan for a long time. This was really the "trigger" that started this. W went along with the idea of moving for 12 years. When we put the house on the market though she decided she wouldn't go through with it. After leading me on the whole time.

I've realized that compared to my marriage, where I live just isn't as important as I once thought. There are a lot of things I do like here. I'll just have to travel a lot. Especially in winter.

I'd like to make it to the west coast some day.

If you drive from Midland to Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw, there's a place called Farmer Baynes (?) or Bayne's Apple Farm. It's on the right hand side of the road before you make the big left to go to the mall. They have it all: cider, caramel apples, apple fritters, peanut brittle, pies - but the best things ever are these sour cream cake doughnuts they have, either plain or rolled in cinnamon sugar. They don't have holes, so they're about the size, shape and heft of a baseball.

If you're ever there, eat one for me!

And out on M-20 is the u-pick place where we'd go for blueberries. There's one particular row where the bushes are taller than your head and the berries are the size of quarters. You strap a bucket to your waist, bend a branch down, lightly stroke and the berries fall straight into the bucket. Our top take was 26 quarts in one go.

And sweet corn. Illini X-tra Sweet. I've never found its equal. I even ordered seed to grow it out here.