Since Brugger's folks in Midland, Michigan, are getting up there in years and
require more help than they did once upon a time, we do our best to venture
northward and spend time with them several times a year. This was the week for
our Spring trip, which coincidentally fell over Easter weekend.
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| Waiting for Del & Fern to pick us up from the airport as the rain pours down |
Friday, April 18, 2025
Because getting an even remotely reasonable rate for flights typically means traveling at the least desirable times of day, Brugger and I got up at 4:00 a.m. and drove to Greensboro for a 7:15 a.m. Delta Airlines flight to Saginaw (MBS) by way of Detroit (DTW). Both outbound flights were slow to get off the ground but made up time in the air, so we arrived in Saginaw right on time at 11:15 a.m. Shortly thereafter, Del & Fern arrived to pick us up, and so, off we zoomed to Casa di Brugger. Rain was coming down in blinding sheets, and driving proved kind of hazardous, but we thankfully made it to our destination damp but none the worse for wear.
Because getting an even remotely reasonable rate for flights typically means traveling at the least desirable times of day, Brugger and I got up at 4:00 a.m. and drove to Greensboro for a 7:15 a.m. Delta Airlines flight to Saginaw (MBS) by way of Detroit (DTW). Both outbound flights were slow to get off the ground but made up time in the air, so we arrived in Saginaw right on time at 11:15 a.m. Shortly thereafter, Del & Fern arrived to pick us up, and so, off we zoomed to Casa di Brugger. Rain was coming down in blinding sheets, and driving proved kind of hazardous, but we thankfully made it to our destination damp but none the worse for wear.
I'd had a miserable night, with less than three hours of sleep, so once we
were settled in, Brugger and I half-zonked out for a little while. We needed
groceries and other provisions, so once she and I had at least partly regained
our senses, we made our traditional first-day-in-Midland pilgrimage to
Meijer...which was a freaking madhouse. Usually, things in this town
are pretty mellow, but Judas Priest...I've never seen such a frenetic,
wall-to-wall, oppressive bunch of human beings seething and roiling in
confined spaces since I lived in Chicago. Oy! Anyhoo, we stocked up with
goodies, I grabbed a geocache, and back to the barn we flew.
For dinner, Ms. B. and I headed to
Molasses, where they smoke the best dead animal this side of Hillsborough, NC. The
Three Amigos sandwich—loaded with brisket, pulled pork, and bacon—may be the
finest concoction of smoked meats anywhere. The accompanying Maple Old
Fashioned didn't cause me any grief, either. Once done, I sought and found
another nearby geocache, and then we returned to the casa, to spend the rest
of the evening in traditional fashion: with the family in front of the
downstairs TV.
I didn't make it very late.
I didn't make it very late.
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| The Three Amigos sandwich with dill potato salad at Molasses in Midland |
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Having been seriously sleep deprived the past few nights, I slept in a little
later than usual this morning. Once up and reasonably refreshed, I set out
after some geocaches, the first couple of which were out on the
Père Marquette Rail Trail, near downtown Midland. The morning started out dreary and cold, with a
stiff wind blowing, but after a while, the sun came out and I warmed up very
quickly. Once off the trail, I parked the car at a fairly central location
near downtown and set out on foot after several more caches. Most of them were
quick and easy, but at one of them, I dropped the unique container as I was
returning it to its proper location, and...horror of horrors...I was unable to
find it again. I never like to be responsible for losing anyone's cache, so I
drove up to Meijer, picked up some implements to fashion a replacement, and
returned to the scene of the accident. It's not the world's most permanent
solution, but I hope the substitute container will hold up until the cache
owner can set it back to rights, if he so desires.
At the Jefferson Street overpass above Highway U.S. 10, one of the nationwide
"Hands Off!" protests of the current administration was going on, so I headed
over to support the effort; I didn't realize an advance sign-up was required,
though (I'm guessing because a limited number of people could occupy the
bridge at the same time), so I sufficed to drive by and offer some serious
honking and waving to show solidarity. I don't know how much good these
protests stand a chance of doing, but it is heartening to see the growing
pushback against the malignant policies of a narcissistic, moronic tool who's
done more damage to this country, our international relations/alliances, and
basic human rights than any other in my lifetime, if not ever. I'm glad to see
increasing resistance from official quarters as well, and it's more than about
time.
For dinner, Ms. B. slow-cooked a pork tenderloin all day to make Bahn-Mi rice
bowls. We'd made this dish at home a while back, and it was good, so the folks
were keen on trying it out. This time... it was even better. One of Brugger's
finest concoctions!
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| Art under the U.S. 10 overpass on the Pere Marquette Rail Trail |
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| The trail along the Titabawassee River |
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| The Currie Street suspension bridge viewed from the trail |
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| View of the "Hands-Off" bridge takeover (from the event's webpage) |
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| Brugger's pulled pork banh mi rice bowl. Delicious! |
Afterward, I spent some time writing, and Ms. B. had freelance work she
needed to complete. Eventually, we retired to the downstairs den for our
traditional family time, mainly watching some of Del & Fern's favorite
evening shows. A most welcome, mellow evening.
Tomorrow...believe it or not...we are going to church with the folks.
Sunday, April 20, 2025
There's a bing-bonging clock in the house that chimes the hour, starting
at 6:00 a.m., and it usually doesn't wake me up, but today it did. I lay
there for a while but didn't go back to sleep, so when the chiming started
again at 7:00, I staggered on out of bed. It was as well that I did
because I wanted to start prepping our midday dinner fairly early. Fern
had very kindly prepared some breakfast for me—waffles and sausage, which
were delicious—so once I'd laid waste to those and fortified myself with
coffee, I commenced to chopping up steaks, browning the meat in the
skillet, and dropping it in the crock pot. If all goes as planned, it'll
turn into Beef Stroganoff somewhere around 1:00 p.m.
I still had plenty of time before getting ready for church, so I went
walking after a couple of newer geocaches less than a mile from the casa.
I found those with no problem and then hoofed it back home.
So, off to church we went, and Del & Fern saw many of their friends
they hadn't seen in some time, many of whom knew Kim. The services there
are "contemporary," with a band that plays modern Christian music. Today,
it was an uplifting, to-the-point message with lots of rocking Christian
tunes. If you follow me, you probably know I'm not exactly "of the faith,"
but I grew up in it, and my experiences were generally positive. I know a
lot of people who can't say that. For today, the only thing that has
really pissed me off was Trump's disgusting, wholly false, and
inappropriate Easter message. "Unfit" is a gross understatement. Whatever
failings this country has ever had in the past—with our policies, our
politicians, our relationships—Trump exemplifies everything that we as a
country should never be.
Thing is, in that church we went to this morning, that awful human being clearly has an awful lot of devoted fans. I do not approve.
Thing is, in that church we went to this morning, that awful human being clearly has an awful lot of devoted fans. I do not approve.
The Beef Stroganoff turned out to be fantastic. As with most of my
concoctions, I'll probably never quite reproduce it since I rarely use an
actual recipe, and when I do, I usually turn it inside out before all is
said and done. And dammit, I forgot to buy parsley, which I like to throw
on top of the dish, both for garnish and because parsley is delicious.
During the afternoon, I put in some serious writing time and a bit of
fussing on Facebook. Ms. B. had to work on some more freelance projects,
but after she finished, we needed to make another provision run to Meijer.
I found some oysters, so I made oyster stew for my supper—which was fantastic, no matter what any of the non-aficionados of snotty shellfish
in the house (which is all of them) might tell you. And we ended the shopping outing by
hunting a geocache, which was marginally challenging and a lot painful,
given the particular variety of greenery sheltering its hiding place.
I may have overtaxed my brain "debating" some contentious points with
people on Facebook, but sometimes, it's what I must do. Apart from that,
for the rest of the evening, we spent our traditional family time in front
of the television. And that's all kinds of perfect.
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| Midland Nazarene Church |
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| The plated Beef Stroganoff (sans parsley). Delicious! |
Monday, April 21, 2025
I woke up before dawn to the sound of crashing thunder and heavy raindrops on
the roof. The storm didn't last long, though, so I went back to sleep and
remained oblivious even through the bing-bonging of the living room clock
until I crawled out of bed about 8:00 a.m. Coffee. Coffee! COFFEE!
Midland is full of squirrels, more than anyplace I've ever visited, I'm pretty
sure. Gray squirrels, black squirrels, red squirrels, and big brown fox squirrels. In
Virginia, we have lots of grays, mostly small and skinny, but here, like most
of the wildife, squirrels grow big and chubby. And most of them
are tamer than our skittish little guys back home. Once Ms. B. got up and
going, she went out to the backyard to feed critters, and one big fox
squirrel came around and immediately made friends with her. This one didn't
eat out of her hand, as some have been known to do here, but he was perfectly
relaxed and ready for Ms. DeMille to take his close-up.
Sometimes, one finds odd things when out geocaching. The rain appeared to have
let up for a while, so I headed out mid-morning to seek a few caches. I found
all but one of them, which appeared to be missing; I found only a wire hanger
where there should have been a container. At the base of its host tree,
though, there were two dead little critters with a few rocks and sticks placed
around them. I'm guessing one or more youngsters found the poor animals but
also found the cache and removed it. I notified the cache owner, who indicated
he'll replace it.
On Ashman Street, there's a house whose yard, every Halloween, is decorated
with about a hundred skeletons, including one of the twelve-foot-tall variety.
Looks like the big fellow has become a permanent fixture there. Fun stuff.
After lunch, the rest of the family went on a shopping excursion, while I
stayed home to work on my current novel-in-progress. It was a productive
session.
For a long time now, it has been clear that telemarketers have mercilessly
targeted my in-laws. Because their landline rings every five to ten minutes
all day, every day, I've recommended that Fern turn off the ringer and let the
calls go straight to their answering machine; however, she doesn't much want
to do that because they also receive a handful of legitimate calls each day.
After a persistent, infuriating series of bell rings this afternoon, Fern
finally yelled at the caller, "No, I'm not interested, I'm tired hearing from you, and why don't you just
go into your bathroom and play with yourself?!"
You tell 'em, Fern.
Family time and bed. And g'night.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Coffee and bacon and eggs, oh my! What a fine breakfast!
Kimberly had to take her mom to a doctor appointment this morning, so I spent the morning getting in a couple of miles of walking and then writing. Again, I made decent progress. Once they got back, we went out and helped her folks with some yard work that needed doing.
Ms. B. wanted to visit an arts & crafts store in Saginaw, about thirty minutes away, so after lunch, we drove over. She headed into the store, and I headed after a couple of nearby geocaches. One of the containers was a 3-D-printed tiki figure (at left), which was kind of cool. About 30 minutes after I dropped her off, Brugger called, so I returned to pick her up. From there, we went after a couple of more hides, my favorite being one that was about 20 feet up in a big pine tree. Tree caches are among my favorite kinds, and it's been a long time since I've had a good tree climb, so this one really hit the spot. I didn't even fall out and go boom!
Kimberly had to take her mom to a doctor appointment this morning, so I spent the morning getting in a couple of miles of walking and then writing. Again, I made decent progress. Once they got back, we went out and helped her folks with some yard work that needed doing.
Ms. B. wanted to visit an arts & crafts store in Saginaw, about thirty minutes away, so after lunch, we drove over. She headed into the store, and I headed after a couple of nearby geocaches. One of the containers was a 3-D-printed tiki figure (at left), which was kind of cool. About 30 minutes after I dropped her off, Brugger called, so I returned to pick her up. From there, we went after a couple of more hides, my favorite being one that was about 20 feet up in a big pine tree. Tree caches are among my favorite kinds, and it's been a long time since I've had a good tree climb, so this one really hit the spot. I didn't even fall out and go boom!
L: Starting the ascent; R: Hey, where's the old dude?
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| Oh, there he is! |
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| At the cache |
That pretty much did it for the afternoon caching, and so, from there, we returned to Midland and decided to visit Whichcraft Taproom, one of our semi-regular bar & grill hangouts in downtown. We enjoyed a couple of refreshing beverages, and then we hauled ourselves out for dinner at Fuji Sushi, the best of the Japanese/Asian restaurants we've found in Midland (there are some newer ones we haven't tried, so we'll be giving them a go on a future trip, no doubt). The sushi was very, very good, though—as with so many restaurants now—instead of a large variety of fish, you get three pieces of three different fishies. Definitely tasty, but I much prefer having several options on the plate.
Back at the casa, I had a Lovecraft eZine book discussion podcast to attend. Tonight's story discussion was "The Dunwich Horror," which is one of my favorite H.P. Lovecraft tales. It was a good discussion, as we all had unique perspectives on the story, and several of us rated it very differently in the "HPL Favorites" column. Tonight's discussion was for Patreon subscribers only, so if you have any interest in Lovecraftian horror—or cosmic horror in general—you might want to consider supporting the eZine. The amount of content and entertainment that Mike Davis provides is exceptional.
The usual family time in the family room followed (and I worked on this
blog). Tomorrow is the last day of this Midland trip for us, but our flight
doesn't leave till early evening, so we'll have most of the day here before
we leave. Hopefully, we won't have any flight delays; the late-night
arrivals back in Greensboro have tended to be problematic in recent days.
We'll see. For now, nighty-night.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The family had a few guests pretty early this morning—Kim's cousins JoyAnn and
Rosemary, and JoyAnn's husband, Bill. We spent a good while having enjoyable
chats, largely about cats. Following that, Kim had to take her Dad to a doctor appointment, so I
put in my daily steps and made some forward progress with the current novel.
Late in the afternoon, we packed up to leave and headed out to the Saginaw
airport (MBS). Our departing flight was slightly delayed, but it wasn't
significant enough to impact our connection in Detroit. I must say, they make
very good, very spicy bloody marys at the single little bar & grill at
MBS. Once in Detroit, we found that our Greensboro flight was also delayed,
but again, not significantly. We had just enough time to grab fair-to-middlin'
sandwiches from Subway for worse-than-extortionate prices.
We arrived back in Greensboro around 11:00 p.m., less than an hour later than
our scheduled arrival time. And wonder of wonders, by the time we got down to
baggage claim, our single suitcase was already there waiting for us. Hooray!
Anyway, we hit the road for Martinsville and got home just about midnight.
We'd found some hot red-pepper stuffed olives in Midland, and I couldn't resist
having a martini nightcap with a couple of those. HOOOO, YEAH, they is
delicious!
All in all, it was a nice trip to see the folks, and I'm especially glad that
we've been able to give them some help (Kimberly doing a hell of a lot,
of course), particularly with things that have become more physically
challenging for them. I so hope that we'll be able to keep this arrangement going
for the foreseeable future.
A new cache in Martinsville awaited my attention once we returned. A nice
first-to-find on Thursday, April 24, at 8:15 a.m. Yay!
