I can barely keep my eyes open right now. Nearly two weeks and two thousand miles on the road will do that to a girl. But my triumphant return to Michigan was amazing and well worth the lost hours of sleep because it meant I got to see my incredible family and friends. Essays about some of the best moments may or may not be forthcoming. But in an attempt to capture the moments, here are the highights:
- reuniting with my loudest friends and shouting inappropriate things in public. (I'm sure parents were not impressed with my refound talent of dropping the f-bomb every 30 seconds. But I was.)
- finding out that two of my good friends are having a baby. The downside? I received the news in a Pizza Hut and therefore I could not shriek, scream and do a happy dance. Instead I had to clamp a hand over my mouth and squeal quietly while my friends all delighted in my obvious discomfort.
- three words: Snuggie. Dance. Party. With my lovah. It was amazing. You would think that dancing to Britney and Adam Lambert couldn't get any better. You would be wrong. Try doing it with a Snuggie on, my friend.
- Zingerman's gelato. Holy. Freakin'. GOD. So smooth! So creamy! So good! And? So free since my friend's dad is a Zingerman bigwig. But even that paled next to seeing my amazing friends Christy and Nate. (Shout-out to them especially since they'll be celebrating their 5th anniversary this month. Hollaaa!)
- Ann Arbor is more amazing than I remember. I need to figure out a way to live there, like, now.
- sunsets on Lake Superior. Even better than I remember. That goes double for full moons rising over the lake.
- food. Wifey and I joked that any return trips to Marquette would be more like whirlwind food tours, but it's actually the truth. My to-do list for the city was a list of restaurants I needed to eat at: Togos, Border Grill, Vangos, The Vierling...the list goes on and on. I ate SO GOOD these past two weeks!
- family. I got to see my favorite aunts and spend quality time with my mom. It was such a huge blessing.
- fireworks. I don't know how, but Marquette has an Independence display that rivals the pyrotechnics at Disney World. It was awesome to sit among my friends, taking it in. (And making inappropriate comments the whole time, of course.)
- shopping. I'm, um, broke. But I prepared for that and I have some super-cute clothes to show for it, so I have no regrets.
- FLANIGANS!!! If we all get our own personal version of heaven, mine will be this karaoke bar, complete with my loud-ass friends, beer in mason jars, Lady Gaga and Journey tunes, and a dj that flirts shamelessly me the entire night. Because that basically describes my Saturday night. It was amazing. It was perfect. I have a souvenir jar to remember it by.
This list is by no means comprehensive. I had a fantastic time. And yes, I cried coming back to Minnesota because I miss Michigan and my friends and family THAT MUCH. But this vacation was incredible and even though I can barely keep my eyes open at the moment, it was worth every moment I didn't spend asleep.