Twinsmania!: Michigan Part 2

The 2nd leg of our trip took us several hours Northwest to our former stomping ground in Mount Pleasant and the Central Michigan campus - on the way we stopped at Bronner's for a few minutes of Christmas and to score some ornaments

Back to school

Dad's former dorm (25 years ago) - the Fall 1996 room was down the short staircase to the 1st floor and the first door on the right from the stairwell

We caught a break and the dorm was open - a few nice RA's let us tour the old suite - Dad & Taylor pose in his former room

We realized after the trip we didn't take many pictures of the campus but we did take a bunch of family selfies

The Student Activity Center just behind the campus arch

We had a great dinner with another former College buddy, Chris Bootz (and family) - it was great to talk about the good ole days

After our afternoon at the CMU campus, we headed a quick 30 minute drive East to Midland and checked into the posh "H" Hotel - the girls caught a workout shortly after we arrived

Midland had a beautiful downtown

Midland Courthouse

The "Tridge" connects 3 land masses over 2 rivers (Chippewa & Tittabawassee)

The muddy waters from the Chippewa bleed into the Tittabawassee

Also downtown, the Christmas house looks very different in the day...

...and night - photos were taken after 10pm local time as we wandered the streets in our CMU gear - J&T became confused as a passerby delivered a loud "Fire-Up"

Taylor strikes a pose

Emerson Park/Leigeb Reunion

Saturday brought the focus of the weekend + Jordan & Taylor's birthday!

We scored a great spot in the group photo

The kids sneak away from the party to check out the park

While exploring the park, Dad and kids stumbled across a cool local piece of history - Currie Stadium, built in the 1950's it once drew hundreds of fans for competitive Softball games - now at almost 80 years old, it's scheduled for demolition due to several rounds of flood damage

Once the party was over we headed to Uncle Flip/Aunt Chris' house - the kids made the most of the pool

Even though we were out of town, local family picked up the slack and pulled off a nice party for the girls featuring singing, cake, and gifts

In May 2020 the Edenville and Sanford Dams breeched after days of heavy rains compromised their aged structures - the area may never be the same as litigation looms and the financials of rebuilding are considered - lush vegetation is beginning to take hold of previously submerged surfaces

Home Improvement

We enjoyed our 2nd vacation of the Summer and hope to get back to Michigan again soon...while we were away, what has felt like a year-long project was wrapping up in our backyard including an outdoor kitchen, extended/resurfaced patio, field turf surface, gas fire pit, lighting and hot tub!