Travelled up North for Mother’s Day

I travelled up North to spend a few days visiting with the family during the Mother’s Day weekend. They are located near the small town of Hessel in Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula, about a 300 mile five hour drive from my house. Hessel is part of an area that includes 36 islands and is known as Les Cheneaux (pronounced “Lay-She-Know”), which is French for “The Channels.”

Saturday afternoon my Dad grilled up a few rib eye steaks, while my brother Mark separately cooked some asparagus, mushrooms, and onions. I made the pasta salad with a creamy horseradish dressing, and my Mom didn’t have to cook at all. Everything was delicious.

Sunday was Mother’s Day, so we crossed the Mackinac Bridge and went out to eat at Darrow’s restaurant in Mackinac City. Afterwards we took a short stroll near the beach by the Mackinac Bridge, but the wind was too strong and too cold to stay for long. My brother Mark and I each gave our Mom a Fuchsia hanging basket plant for Mother’s Day. She hangs them up just outside the windows of her sun-porch where they attract hummingbirds all summer long.

On Monday I helped my Dad plant potatoes for a few hours, and on Tuesday I helped my Mom and Dad transplant hundreds of onions and leeks. I was feeling a bit sore and stiff the next day.

Wednesday I travelled back home to Whitmore Lake with a car that was jam-packed with transplants my Dad grew for me from seed. I brought home hundreds of transplants that included Cabbages, Broccoli, Bok Choy, 3 kinds of Herbs, 4 kinds of Peppers, and 7 kinds of Tomatoes. My car was so full of plants that I couldn’t even bring my suitcase home; I had to leave it up North!

Labels: Family