the window to my mind...

  On my last post I shared about the first leg of our 2018 family trip. We affectionately dubbed the adventure our "Great Lakes Tour" because the plan was to visit all five Great Lakes in a single trip. After two days, we had visited our first lake - Michigan. In actuality, we also visited Lake Huron because that is the lake that Mackinac Island is on and Mackinac Bridge stretches over the Straits of Mackinac that are the convergence of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. See...you're getting a geography lesson here too! However, I wanted to count each lake by taking photos of them from shores that I had not visited yet, or in the case of Lake Michigan, that I rarely ever visit. So Lake Michigan's photo was taken on its northern shore from the Upper Peninsula. Let's continue on with our journey, though, shall we? Day 3: Leave St. Ignace and head north to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. For me growing up, these were the most amazing waterfalls ever. Whenever anyone would t...

 In 2018 I planned the trip of a lifetime. Ok, well, kinda. For me, it was a pretty cool trip. For Maria, not so much. But regardless, Maria, Ben, and I headed out on the road in mid-May. The plan was to visit each of the five Great Lakes in one trip. This was especially exciting for me because I had never seen Lake Ontario...AND we were going to visit Niagara Falls in the process...somewhere else I had never visited before.  So, I guess I should probably preface this post by explaining that I am a Michigander by birth. I was born and raised in southwest Michigan and most of my family trips as a kid involved somewhere in the gorgeous state. But even more than that, we Michiganders have an abundance of state pride. And part of state pride is pride of the Great Lakes. I mean, we are the Great Lake state, after all.  My kids, however, are Hoosiers through and through. Even though all of my kiddos were born in Michigan except Ben, they were all raised in Indiana (well, except...

 Last time I posted, in May, I mentioned about wanting to become a writer. Well, just to clarify, I already am a writer. I have this blog, even if I don't keep up with it. I have journal upon journal full of entries dating back to my teens. I even have several started books. I AM a writer. However, I am NOT published and I have not really shared much of my writing with anyone, except for here in this blog.  So, that said, I have decided to continue this journey that I have been dreaming about since I was a kid. I am determined to become a published author. Now comes the hard work...and I don't mean writing. I mean deciding on what genre of writing and which topic to tackle. UGH! Too many decisions! Well, one friend mentioned that I should begin by just posting more frequently on here. She is wise. So hopefully you don't get too sick of me...and even more hopefully, you will share my posts with those you know who may benefit from what I write or who may be entertained by it!...