You can't make this stuff up

Oh, where to begin?

 It was a week like any other. We were planning a nice weekend get-a-way with some friends. A group of gay men that get together occasionally for a little fun. This was a camping trip. With a casual float down a river in a pretty yellow tube. What could go wrong?

To back up a bit, I thought I'd wrap up some business on Thursday before we took off on Friday. When I stopped by my Dad's, I noticed that his left side of his face was a little droopy and he found it difficult to smile. After bringing up my concerns with my sister and a member of the medical staff at his home, I was reassured that he was fine. Still, I'm not convinced. So that was on my mind all weekend.

Also a young friend of mine who has autism, had been missing for over a week. No one knew where he was and he wasn't answering his phone and there was no signs of him using the internet. So that was on my mind all weekend.

We had two funerals scheduled for the weekend and I was nervous about leaving the hearse in the hands of someone that I didn't know from another company to handle the task. So that was on my mind all weekend.

Since my husband had to work Friday morning, we got a late start for our 4 hour drive to the middle of no-where.

When we arrived, there was only a small area left way over at the end of the line of tents for us to set up. I thought to myself." It will be quieter over there..... That's nice." The campground mowed extra space for us all to be together. 

I was exhausted Friday evening. I had worked Thursday night and only slept for a couple of hours while my husband worked. Then drove over there. So I headed off to bed early.

Saturday rolled around and I was ready and willing to float down the lazy river. You can see here my husband came prepared with a cooler-in-tow and a daisy umbrella to shade him from the sun.

 When we reached an island in the river, suddenly the whole group of 32 guys and 2 girls pulled out cans of shaving cream and proceeded to have a little shaving cream fight. No one escaped without being covered.


We then sat up quite late playing games around the campfire and getting to know each other better.
I was starting to relax a little.


Then a smaller group of us headed over to Saugatuck, Michigan for a little pampering. We stayed in a gorgeous old bed and breakfast.
We've stayed there before and find it to be a beautiful home away from home. Definitely nicer than a pop-tent in the woods. We enjoyed the hot tub, pool and an amazing dinner at a local restaurant. Breakfast in the morning was one of the best that I've had there.

I was forgetting about my worries at home.

Sunset over Lake Michigan was nothing short of amazing again. There was a strange cloud mass coming across from the Wisconsin side that made it spectacular. Hanging out at the beach with friends. Who could ask for anything more.

 You can even see a calm smile on my face.

By Monday morning, we were ready to explore the town. Saugatuck is an artsy little hamlet on the shores of Lake Michigan a few hours drive from Chicago. It's known for it's galleries, shops, and restaurants. And of course, it's very gay friendly. They call it the Provincetown of the Midwest. Having been to Provincetown, I'd say that Ptown has nothing to worry about. 

 The town is divided by the Kalamazoo River. You can either drive around to the bridge outside of town or you can take the ferry to the beaches.

Now, at this point, I couldn't be happier. But, what's this? Why is my arm itching so badly? What are these bumps? Is that a rash?!
Thank you! campground for mowing down those thistle and poison ivy, so I could set up my tent in the middle of it. I've never had a response to poison ivy like this before. I believe that the fact that they cut it all off, just made the chemicals in the leaves more juicy and worse! By the time I got home, it had spread to multiple parts of my body.

Then, as we were leaving Saugatuck, my husband got a phone call. His Dad was panicking. Saying that my brother-in-law had burned down his old camper that he lives in in the woods. He has burns all over him and is "acting funny". We encourage him to call for an ambulance.

Then while we were driving home, we found out more of the story. This didn't happen just a few hours ago. It happened two days ago. He knew that he was not supposed to be living in the woods behind the house anymore. So after fighting the fire, and watching his "home" burn to the ground. He went and sat under a tree for a couple of days. He didn't want to get in trouble. We'll deal with that, when the time comes. Right now, he's been transferred to a hospital in the center of the state that could handle his 3rd degree burns. Since he's an alcoholic and already has had a stint through his liver and multiple other health issues, the hospital is actually giving him beer because they can't let him go through detox. We'll see how this plays out over the next few weeks.

So you can imagine how happy I was to be home to "The Pugz". The poor little guy misses me when I go traveling. We always have great babysitters for him, but nobody compares to his Daddy.

The following is a spoof! It is NOT a real ad for the city of Saugatuck and is NOT a real Pure Michigan ad either.

Enjoy!