Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, MI and Chicago, IL and the fateful end...

The Bean!!!

God's left handprint

The capitol babeee
do you see me? :)

Let me start this blog with the big news... It's over... Maander died and we aren't paying to get him fixed so thus our trip is over. We will either leave by train or plane to return to Sacramento. We are stuck in the city of DeKalb, Illinois. I never planned on staying in this town and so far it just seems like a normal random town off the beaten path. There is a college here though.

Cactus that looks like it is on fire
at the botanical gardens

Now lets throw back to where I left off and round out this blog with some sad optimism.

From Cleveland we went to Ann Arbor. It was my birthday and the night before we saw Bridesmaids which was excellent. We went to a breakfast place that had high reviews and I had the seafood omelet and Anna had eggs benedict. It was OK nothing special. We walked around the town which seemed nice. It was a college town with University of Michigan being there. People here are very proud of their colleges and either you are a big U of M fan or a Michigan State U fan. We went to a farmers market and after seeing stuff that didn't look all that tempting to buy we kept walking and soon found ourselves back at Maander and on our way to Lansing. The weather was nuts and was blowing us around quite a bit.

Looking cute gurl

this thing is carnivorous! weird

I found Michigan to be much more green than most places and the green was more vibrant than what one typically finds in California in the forest. Lots of dead deer on the side of the road and not too many towns gave us a feel that Michigan was not very populated. In Lansing we went to the capitol and found it closed on weekends and we quickly headed to a coffee spot where we basically spent the rest of the day because it was so cold there and didn't seem to have too much to do. The next day would be Grand Rapids and spending time with Kevin's parents at their home.

Tropical section

Magical beard tree
touch it and you get a beautiful beard
this is my secret

When we rolled into Grand Rapids we met Linda and Dave and their two daughters. We started talking it up and getting to know each other. It was a great little time out from being on our own and just having a place to stay that was a bed with some heat. We discussed good places to go in Grand Rapids and places we have been and some of the highlights. I felt a little bad because I felt a little worn out and wanted to just keep to myself in the room instead of being so social. I hope they don't feel like I wasn't very social, I was just in a funk.

Grandpa! Grandpa!

Quite large eh?

The dinner was amazing and I definitely ate my fill. The next day we went to the Botanical Gardens, a popular brewery and walked around a cool spot on Wealthy Street. The Botanical Gardens were expensive but very good. They had sculptures there and the greenhouses were well kept with interesting plants. The brewery was very good. We walked around Wealthy street and checked out an Antique Store and Anna had a Boba Tea that she really enjoyed at a coffee shop. We got home in time for dinner and had another amazing meal. We said goodbye to Linda and Dave and in the morning we left for Chicago.

What will this have besides many toll roads?

Before we made it to Chicago we stopped by the town of Holland where our former pastors Doug and Steve live and we visited with Doug. He took us out to lunch and we talked about everything we are doing and how we got there. It was a great time reminiscing and just talking about things we have realized thus far on the trip. Our time together was short and we hugged and were on our way for a long drive to Chicago.

Baha'i temple
only one in North America

Chicago cityscape

We made it through some traffic and to my Mother's Cousin's house in Wilmette, IL. This was an absolutely beautiful neighborhood that had brick roads and every house looked exquisite. Mary Beth and John welcomed us into their home and provided so much for us it was almost overwhelming. Once we got settled, we quickly started strategizing how to see Chicago during our very brief stay there. They ran and got us Lou Manelli's Pizza which is supposed to be top notch Chicago style pizza while we worked everything out. It did not disappoint and we once again ate more than what our body needs :) Mary Beth did a great job of getting things for our time in Chicago ahead of time so Anna and I didn't have to scramble to buy things like tickets for the train into town. This was an incredible help. Before the night was over we all headed down into the heart of Chicago to pick up her daughter Alexandra. This was a great way to preview the town and just get the general lay of the land.

having fun with the bean

more fun with bean

underneath bean this is what it looks like

In the morning we started early and jumped on the Metra for Downtown. The trip was relatively stress less and we soon found ourselves walking the street of Chicago. It was very drizzly so the weather just wasn't very conducive to what we were doing but we were determined to have a good time. First stop the Art Institute of Chicago. We got there too early, they don't open till 10:30 :) so we had to meander awhile before we headed in. Once in we enjoyed the art and I had never see any Van Gogh in my life before and I have really enjoyed his work when I studied art. When we were done with the Museum the weather had cleared up and we began to walk the streets of the city without nature posing a threat. With the clouds thick though it still wasn't practical to go to the Sear's tower and go to the top because all we would end up seeing is clouds. We decided that that was just a good excuse to give us a reason to return to Chicago sometime in the future.

Van Gogh - Drinkers
I liked this a lot and have never
seen it before

Folk Art I particularly enjoyed

It is official I have been to ^^^

Some of the mandatory things you have to do in Chicago is eat a Chicago dog, have an Italian Beef, Deep dish and go to the sculpture park. Glad we did all those things. We went to Portillo's for the Chicago dog and Italian beef. We decided one would get the dog the other the beef and we would eat half and trade. I was very disappointed when I finished my half of the Italian Beef and had to hand it over to Anna. It is like a Philly Cheesesteak without the cheese and with much more flavorful spices. It was simply amazing. The sculpture park has this one sculpture which is this chrome bean that is huge and it was tons of fun taking pictures with it.

Cool!

Wig or hat you be the judge

After walking awhile and doing some shopping, for me, shoes, for Anna, something else, we were pretty exhausted. I thought we would be going till late at night but we ended up crashing out and found ourselves on the Metra back to Wilmette by 6:30pm. We were happy with Chicago and ready to call it a day. Reflecting on Chicago I feel like it is much like NYC just not quite as crazy and bigger than life. I felt like it was analogous to Miami and Key West, similar feel just one has the volume turned waaaayyy up.

Now the downfall of Maander... you ready. :(

Maander in Intensive Care

We left Mary Beth's in the morning and after many hugs and gifts, I was pleasantly surprised by her generosity, we were out the door. We were going from Wilmette (North of Chicago) to Des Moines, Iowa. I expected the trip to be the longest yet on our journey. We hoped to get across the great plain as quickly as possible mainly because I am pretty sure there isn't much there and it is tornado season. Well we were rolling along just fine and dandy until about 1.5 hours into the drive there was a snap and the bus lost all power. This was the first time that Maander stranded us on the side of the freeway. I went through and tried to trouble shoot everything I could but Maander wouldn't come to life. I called Tony, who helped me build the engine, and everything he told me to do didn't get Maander going either. We called the tow truck and after 2 hours beside the road we were in a tow truck and to a mechanic.

His heart... Dead

They took a look at Maander pretty quickly and the mechanic voiced his concern that it may be compression. I knew that if the bus had no compression that there was no chance we could afford the type of repair it would require. I hoped that it wasn't compression and we waited in the waiting room. Pretty quickly he came back in with a look that told me that it was indeed the compression. He brought us out and showed zero compression ... the trip has ended.

The cam is broken and I called Tony to let him know and what he thinks. He said it was likely from using crappy oil and the poor performance leading up to this is likely a sign that the cam was wearing down. Sucks but this is reality and facts are facts what you gonna do? I would like to think of myself as knowledgeable about cars but I truly don't have a deep knowledge and I suppose this cements it in. I think I am done with old cars for awhile.

Now I sit in a Best Western with all of our possessions here and in our rental car. I decided before leaving on the trip that I wouldn't cut my hair the entire trip and once the trip was over it all would come off and I mean all off!:

I must begin anew
what did I get myself into??

Evidence of my sasquatchiness

shaver ran out of batteries at this point so I had some fun while
it charged

Weeeeeeee

So a dramatic change and now I wait for a train to come and pick us up and take us over the Rockies, the desert, and finally the Sierras. Our lives will begin again. Anna will look for a nursing job and I will look for??? either schooling for x-ray tech, or college again or who knows there may be a job out there that I may find interesting and someone will be willing to take a risk on me. The future is wide open and I hope and pray that it is nothing but good things. The pessimist in me loathes that which lies ahead of me but I wish to push through and make a life for myself that I can be happy with.

After we got our room at the hotel we headed out to get some food. We went to a highly rated sports bar and we ordered whatever we felt like and didn't hold back. We received our mound of food and bowed our heads to bless the food. As I prayed I prayed that God blesses us as we start our lives again, I prayed that we wouldn't see this as a defeat but merely part of the story of our journey. I prayed for many things and as I prayed for these things tears came to my eyes and I got all choked up. Here I sit, in a freakin' sports bar, praying, crying and mourning the end of the trip. This has been an emotional day and truly feels like a death. I must be honest and say that right now it feels like we have failed or we are defeated. I imagined coming over the Sierras and just coasting Maander down the foothills triumphant as we made our way to Sacramento. I wanted a party and a celebration and a triumphant entry. This will not be and probably for good reason. God constantly humbles and I am in constant need of that.

The goal wasn't the destination. We will never reach our destination till our lives expire. We must live life and live it to the full as we make our way to the destination. I pray I don't get so consumed by different ultimately empty goals in life that I rob myself any joy in the present. Life is about the present so live! I must scream that at myself continually and I hope this trip has etched that into my soul. I know falling back into routine and how life once was is so easy and I fear that snare the most at this point. If you have followed this blog or know me personally I exhort you to remind me of these truths that I have uncovered. If you must slap me or scream at me do it, I want the difficult truth presented to me. So many hide their honesty from us for fear of change or hurt feelings when ultimately it will bring us even closer together or a deeper appreciation of the friendship.

There have been peaks and valleys on this trip geographically, emotionally, and relationally. I pray the valleys that have lingering sourness in our mouths fade quickly and we are left with a beautiful memory. I have heard of studies that your memory usually only remembers the good stuff in general so that gives me some encouragement :) heh me nerding it up sheesh.

This ugly mug is coming your way Sacramento!