Trip To Grand Rapids

So Stephanie and I set out on a grand adventure that began on Friday, September 24th. Stephanie had mentioned that she wanted to go to Grand Rapids for the Art Prize competition and asked me to come along. Originally, the group was larger and we were going to take the bus, but then it dwindled down to the two of us and we were going to take my Mercury Mystique, Feminine. However, Feminine started acting up so after a flurry of phone calls, an estimate on a rental car and some more phone calls, we ended up taking The Bus. It was a whirlwind 3 day trip, and we ended up driving all 3 days, sleeping one night on The Bus and one night on a fold-out couch.

Least Awkward Picture I took of Stephanie that night

The Bus is not a bad place to sleep, somewhere between a camper and a tent. Not as wet as a tent, but not quite as comfy as a camper. Although way better than a car. As far as sleeping. Riding in it for three days, there was enough vibration to turn my joints to jelly. Also, you realize how loud it is when you're going down  the highway at a blistering 55mph. There were a lot of firsts for The Bus this trip. First time it was slept in, first time Stephanie rode in her bus and first time I drove The Bus. I would do it again, but it does not rate first on the list of vehicles I have driven as far as the driving experience. Although I did spend an incalculable amount of time grinning from ear to ear and shouting  "I'm a bus driver!" over the engine. I do recommend everyone try driving The Bus at least once (provided Stephanie lets you and you have your driver's license...)





On the second day, we made two stops, one at an abandoned farm complex where both Stephanie and I took a lot of pictures. This was interesting because we were in the same place, interested in it for the same reasons, but came at it  from very different angles. In my not-so-old age I have come to find that the pictures I like most are the ones I have with people in them. To me, it is the relationship of the person with the environment that is interesting, not the environment as a stand alone. I would much rather a landscape of Yosemite with a person in it than one of just the place. As a result, I have a lot of pictures of Stephanie being a photographer on an old farm and she has a lot of pictures of an old farm. And me goofing off.

The inside of the building we saw from the road

View up of Stephanie looking epic from a basement. There was wind too, but somehow I only managed to get shots of her jacket in the relaxed position, none of the flapping ones.

One of the few non-macro pictures without Stephanie, probably because she didn't walk over here. It's just one wall of a building left standing.

The next place we stopped was a cement statue garden where much fun was had by all. There were pink elephants, yellow lions, Snow White and the dwarfs, a blue tugboat among other things. It was ridiculousness in general and a place my parents would have never ever ever never stopped when we were vacationing.

I have no children or pets so I take pictures of a Power Rangers toy I found head-first in a snow bank. Her name is Ranger Brooke and she has never seen the Titantic, but she is still king of the (cement) world

There was also this...thing...whatever it was. Creepy. That's what it was.

We did finally make it to Grand Rapids where we met up with ex-Finlandia student Tommy. We did a quick tour of the city, but HOLY METROPOLIS BATMAN does Art Prize attract a lot of people. There were hoards of people EVERYWHERE in the city. After looking at some out door exhibits and one gallery our tolerance for being smushed about like beanbag chairs in a wood-paneled basement was at its limit. We retreated to Kendell where Tommy gave us the pallet-knife tour of the campus, only to emerge for Mexican food and Tommy-foolery.

At this point, our waitress is doubled over laughing.

Sunday was full of bus driving and hard-core bus driving. By the time we got to The Pines (which is maybe 45 min away from Houghton/Hancock) I had lost my mind.

"Stephanie?"
"Yeah?"
"You know what's really far away?"
"Yeah?"
"Hancock."
"Yeah."
"You know whats really really far away?"
"Yeah?"
"Calumet."
*mocking laughter* "Yeah, yeah it is."