Happy Birthday to me! Today's my birthday and I spent most of the day driving south through the western part of Michigan, on my way to Indiana.
I received several text messages and a couple of phone calls today wishing me happy birthday. I got birthday wishes from all of my siblings and a few others. One of my sisters sent me a text with a video of her singing happy birthday. She sent it late in the evening, so she might have thought I was already in bed due to the time zone difference -- but I was still awake, so I called her and thanked her.
My first stop this morning was in Traverse City. There aren't any Planet Fitness gyms in northern or upper Michigan, and I didn't find any truck stops with showers over the past few days, so I've been washing with baby wipes lately. It felt good to take a shower at the Planet Fitness in Traverse City this morning and fill up my car with gas for rest of the trip south to Indiana.
On the way to Traverse City, I heard a couple of enviromentalists talking on the radio about the condition of the Great Lakes, and how important it is to take care of them. They encouraged people to get out into nature, and one of the places they mentioned was Clinch park in Traverse City, on the shore of Lake Michigan.
So I decided to take time to drive to the park. Traffic in town was heavy, and unfortunately, when I got to the edge of Clinch Park, the road next to the park was under construction and I couldn't turn into the park. I found a parking space a few blocks away and attempted to walk into the park, but the sidewalks were closed!
As I was walking back through town to my car, I came across a fresh pretzel shop named Petoskey Pretzels. The pretzels they make are the large, soft ones, and they make them onsite -- so they are really fresh! I ordered one of their originals, which comes salted and buttered. It was still warm, soft, and tasted really good!
The rest of the drive south was nice but uneventful. I passed by some roadside produce stands, and saw fields of sunflowers, but those were the only things out of the ordinary. Traffic was a little heavy through Grand Rapids, but even it wasn't bad. Actually, Traverse City had the worst traffic of the day, which really surprised me.
The Hilton Varsity Club South Bend timeshare where I will be staying for the next week is actually in the town of Mishawaka, which is indistinguishable from South Bend. You can't tell when you cross from one into the other, so I just say I'm staying in South Bend because it is well known. South Bend is the home of the University of Notre Dame and the fighting Irish, of course!
I checked into the Varsity Club timeshare around 6:30 pm. My room is on the second floor and has a nice king size bed and a living room with a kitchen. The kitchen includes a refrigerator but no oven or stovetop, but they were kind enough to bring me a portable stovetop and some dishes. Since I will be staying here for a week, those items will come in handy.
This definitely is Notre Dame country! The hallways and common areas in this building are full of Notre Dame athlete and coach photographs, jerseys, and other sports-related artwork.
The coffee table in the lounge even has Notre Dame sports trivia books.
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