A trip to the Thumb

Twenty hours on the road. Thirteen hundred miles. Four adults. One toddler. One minivan. Kind of sounds like a bad Mastercard commercial doesn’t it? Actually it was my weekend. Some called it vacation, but had they been on the trip they would have known better. It was more work than staying home.

Nate, Jacob and I, along with his best friend, Ryan, and his wife, Dana, roadtripped to the guys’ college roommate's wedding last weekend. Both were groomsmen so there was little choice about going. After college, Nate and Ryan moved home to farm, but Scott went to graduate school at Michigan State. That’s where he met Crystal, a native Michigander. They decided to get married in her hometown which is located in the thumb of Michigan.

So Friday morning at somewhere around 5 a.m., we loaded up a borrowed minivan and headed toward the UP. I’d never been this far north, so I was eager to see the mystic places like Escanaba and Mackinac Island. Once it was light out, it was kind of a pretty drive. Long, but pretty with all the leaves turning to their fall colors.

We were in a hurry on the way there since we had to be at rehearsal by 6 p.m. With the time change stealing an hour from us, it was a rush. Once in Saginaw, we made a quick pit stop at a mall so the boys could grab their tuxedos for the big day. Then it was to the hotel with 10 minutes to freshen up before it was back in the car for another 45 minutes to get to the church. The whole way there, we passed church after church, wondering why they couldn’t have gotten married there. We almost got lost thanks to a slightly vague map, but found an alternate route before we were hopelessly lost in Michigan.

After a quick rehearsal, it was back to the reception hall for a little food and conversation. Since the DJ was blaring the next night, it was nice to catch up with everyone in a quieter setting. The next day, Jake and I hit the pool while Nate got dressed and on his way for pictures. We left later with a second group. On the way from the ceremony, Dana and I lost the caravan at a red light and ended up in a not-so-nice neighborhood. Thanks to cell phones, Scott was able to bail us out. Twice.
When we finally got to the reception, us wives were a little ticked at our husbands, but it wore off as the night went on. A few fruity drinks also helped take the edge off.

Jacob seemed to have a great time chasing balloons and crawling under tables. He did get a little confused with all the guys dressed just like Dad. He tugged on the wrong set of legs more than once. The following morning it was back in the car, but this ride seemed shorter. We also had time to stop for a real, sit-down lunch. As it turned out, it was great timing for a roadtrip with gas prices falling. The low price of the trip? $2.09 in Saginaw. What a beautiful sight.