Belleville, Michigan

With little time and many, many relatives to see in the Detroit area, 18 of us met for dinner at Carrabas Italian Grill in Belleville. Thankfully, Laura’s symptoms eased a bit as the day went along and she felt well enough to come. Heroic planning by Uncle Bob and my mom found us a table in the middle of the restaurant, with lots of space for all the hugs to go around. Just as people were getting settled, my dad gave the most touching, eloquent, generous toast I have ever heard (maybe they are all this good when given in honor of your wedding, but I highly doubt it). Something for which I am incredibly proud of him and a moment I will never forget.

The food was great, the service excellent, and the company exactly what we hoped for and expected. Both Laura and I felt so lucky for the chance to see everyone and wished we had several days to spend with each. Most of all, thankful that people were willing to drive out of their way to celebrate with us.

** Sue, Bob, and Beth (Mike, dissertating: we missed you); Barb, Roger, and Adam; Jennie and Pete; Eric and Mar; Bob and Eva, Dave and Steph; Mom and Dad, Laura and me.

A pretty slow day so far, filled mostly by errands and relaxing. Took M/D to the airport for a 10:30 flight and then to the Urgent Care facility to find something for Laura’s persistent cough/sinus issue.

In the UC waiting room live footage of “Kwame Kilpatrick Decision Day” played. A hilarious/heartbreaking scene. 25 or 30 sick/injured/old people glued to the TV as Kwame speechified and the judge lectured and ultimately sentenced Detroit’s former mayor to 1.5 – 5 years in state prison. The judge’s announcement was met with mild surprise from the UC crowd. No shock to me that some people are amused/relieved that a man convicted of lying, cheating, stealing, and cover-up gets thrown back in jail for violating the terms of his probation. That his treatment by the court and in the press is the latest fodder for the long running division between The City and The Suburbs adds a heavier and more depressing component to the story. I don’t much about the case, or about Kwame’s time in office, but it sure sounds to me like he is a crook. And a crook is a crook, no matter how connected, charismatic, or whatever.

Woah . . . sorry. No more of that. “This,” after all, “is supposed to be fun.”**

Speaking of fun, the afternoon’s big adventure centered on a stop at the AAA of Canton, MI. An hour later we left with two bound TripTiks, at least 10 national/regional/state maps, five or six camping books, and thousands of pages of trip advisor advice. Shout outs and Heyo’s to Michael, David, and Michaela for their help, advice, and motivation. Michael is on record as the first Trip Doubter (TD). In his seasoned, well-traveled view, somewhere around LA we’re either going to get tired of driving or of each other. “I’m pretty sure a plane – not a car – will be taking you home from LA,” said the TD. Gauntlet thrown.

After a welcomed bit of afternoon down time, Uncle Bob, Eva, Laura, and I sat down to a dinner of veggie lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and red wine. Toasts to marriage. As ever, the food was excellent, though I wish they would have let us do more to help! Mid-way through the meal Uncle Bob and Eva told us the story of how they met, their year or so of dating, and the wedding itself. The setting, the audience, and the sentiment behind their wedding brought tears to my eyes. I’m learning quickly that there is so much more to this stuff than that of the wedding industrial complex, e.g., registries, cake tasting, and really expensive Hugo Boss suits. [Editor’s note: We’re actually only doing one of those three things – and you’ll see which in the June 19th pics – but point taken. It’s easy for even the kinda non-traditional among us to get sucked into what a wedding “should be.” We welcome the continued reminders of what a marriage should be.]

** An early candidate for catch phrase of the trip. I regret that it has taken this long to mention it here. Originally said in exasperation as we were packing the car and pushing to get all necessary pre-trip work/crap done. As you may realize, the phrase can be applied liberally and never gets old (at least to me).