WordPress has dropped the “classic” editor. I have to relearn my process.
Dinner was excellent baked salmon made by Deborah. She complained that it was overdone, but I thought it was good. She steamed carrots in a pan with maple syrup and also made plain rice. It was good. Deborah’s aunt had stopped by earlier, and a lemon pound cake was thus available for dessert. It was excellent (but heavy as its name implies). Liam and Donovan joined us at the table (and Zelda the dog kept her nose on my leg for part of the meal, hoping for a mistake or a treat; I wasn’t intimidated).
Soon the dishwasher was running, and I was petting the two dogs, Zelda and Trixie. Deborah moved the dogs, found a spot on the couch, and we watched two episodes of Elsbeth. It was an excellent night to enjoy a meal together and then watch a show. We are usually rushing off to catch the next thing, but today it was slow and easy.
Deborah, who starts early, was tired by 9, and I headed back to the hotel. I did some church emails and checked a few things on the internet. I was in bed about 10:30 reading. I would turn off the light for about an hour and then start again. Read, roll over a few times with the light out, get up and prove hydration, and repeat. I finally got up at 2 and packed my suitcase. Sleep finally took over at 3-4. I just slid unaware into dreams and woke with a start to my alarm.
Returning to the start of Sunday, I rose late, around 8, and immediately showered and dressed. There is no coffee in the room, and meaning that on the other side of getting dressed is coffee. I am motivated to move! The time shift is only survived by coffee.
With the blog done, Deborah finds me at the hotel, and we spend some time together before heading to Dogwoods, a restaurant in Pontiac. There I have salad, and we are both dragging from the late night before.
After lunch, and the memory fades (it is now a second day) for me, I took Deborah back to her house, then petted the dogs, and I returned to my hotel for a bit. A small nap might have happened. I also reviewed some transactions in Quicken (I have gotten too sloppy, and there are many issues), and hoped my room would get cleaned (nope). The IHG is full, and most of the staff is new to me. Things are running a bit rough, I think, with lots of construction and engineers at the hotel for weeks of training. I met at least three people at breakfast or in the elevator who had been at IHG for more than a week.
And I was busy on Monday and did not have time to write the Sunday blog.
Here is Monday’s story told Tuesday at the DTW airport.
Monday finished with me dropping off Deborah at her house and saying a difficult goodbye. At the start of 2026, we were together for weeks at a time, but after July we had three months of separate travel. Even this birthday trip is only a long weekend. But I will be back on Christmas Day and into 2027. We plan a week in New Orleans in April 2027.
I rose early on Monday, Deborah’s birthday, and grabbed a banana and coffee from the hotel, then hit the road, taking 75 North and then 69 Southwest. The highways are mostly 70 or higher, and this slightly indirect route gets you to Lansing from Detroit in only 90 minutes.
Deborah texted me at 7 to see if I had time for breakfast and to be together. Oops, already on the road. I am running early, but I do not want to miss a chance to see Linda (my sister), Jesse (her husband), and Mom Wild. I also have a noon connection with Leta at Panarea Bread. The coffee helps, and I manage the drive without issue in the huge SUV, Air Durango, black with dark windows, looking like ICE or Men in Black, ready.
I am surprised when Nav has me leave 69 at the Laingsburg exit (Laingsburg being my hometown), but I head the opposite direction, and after a few right-to-right turns, I am on Grand River headed into Lansing. I find the place, Anna’s House, but I am 90 minutes early.
I tried to get back to the blog, stopped at Biggby Coffee to get another hit of wake-up juice (with cream), and Linda asked me to pick up Mom Wild (originally, I planned not to see Mom Wild as she gets confused when I call or see her, but Linda thought it was worth it), and I packed up and headed to Haslette Pointe Senior Center and surprised Mom Wild in her room.
We managed to reach the breakfast place before Linda and Jesse. We had a nice breakfast, and Mom Wild was delighted to share a meal with her children and Jesse. Linda and I stayed on neutral topics and Mom Wild stayed calm and less confused.
Parting was sad with tears. But travel means that every hello is also a goodbye.
Lansing, Leta, and Mom.
Leta and I just chatted and enjoyed our company. It seems strange sometimes, as we miss our third, Susie, when we are together, and it is just us. We both try to pretend that we are not missing Susie, but it goes without saying. Still, I had a small bowl of soup and an iced tea; we enjoyed lunch, and it is always good to see each other.
After seeing Leta, I headed to Downtown Lansing, near the capital, and noticed the area seems to be coming back. A Great Harvest has opened, suggesting that at least one corporation thinks the downtown area is worth the risk. Also, the parking now allows for hours of parking. Before, it was no more than an hour, preventing me from even having lunch there. Better.
I parked near the gaming and comic book store and found two comic books to read (they are now $5.99; they are not cheap anymore). I stopped at the Nut Shop, always remembering Dad Wild going there for peanuts, and got a small bag. I ate them while sitting on a bench and read my comic books. I passed on heading to East Lansing and hitting the Curious Bookstore; I have a pile of unread books from my last visit, plus books from New Orleans. It was warm and sunny. A man went through the trash next to me, hazarding the wasps, and I surprised him by giving him a dollar. He thanked me and said that the wasps had just started to be a problem. I saw him collect two cans to turn in for money.
I headed back. After a short stop at the hotel and gas station to top off Air Durango (I had filled it in Lansing too; it is a large SUV and expensive to drive compared to my EV), I returned to Deborah’s house. Donovan made wonderful steaks (I asked him for advice on making steaks; I will have to try his method), and I joined him, Liam, and Deborah for her birthday dinner.
I am time-boxed (my plane will be called soon). I will finish that it was a wonderful trip and quieter than our usual rushing from one side of Michigan, or Utah, or California to another. Thanks for reading!
