Arrangements had been made long ago that Mike and I would drive to the first destination in Michigan (with a pit stop in Chicago), stay in a hotel for the two days of the tour there, drive to Blue Lake on the other side of Michigan, meet up with the Herths who decided a year ago to take their family vacation in Michigan during the mini-tour, finish up the tour duties, and spend a few days with the Herths and Zeislers before heading back toward home.
We left Tuesday afternoon. Except for a bit of heavy rain leaving St. Paul, the drive went very smoothly.
We stopped for a little snack in Wisconsin.
We reached Chicago around 8 pm, thankfully missing the heavy after-work traffic. Our friends Sutina and Will graciously let us stay in their apartment in the city for the night. It already being so late and we needing to leave rather early in the morning, we were only able to visit for a very short time. The four of us would spend more time together on the return trip.
The remaining five-hour drive to Tecumseh, Michigan the next day was monotonous (Indiana, you know), but went by quickly. Tecumseh is a small town in the south-eastern corner of the state with an Arts Center that could host the Blue Lake International Northern Winds Band. As soon as everyone and everything (percussion equipment and such) arrived, Dennis ran the group through a short rehearsal. It was also a trial-run of the concert program for me, as I had to fill in for the parts of the German percussionist who was not flying out to Michigan for the mini-tour.
Afterwards, we took a walking tour of the city before heading off in our separate ways: the kids to their host families, us to our hotel, and the Zeislers to their son's home in Ypsilanti.
A couple of the boys in the band left Mike a nice note.
One of the host families held a barbeque at their home for the campers and counselors, but other than that, our next obligation with the campers was not until the next evening to play the concert for the community. Mike and I had to entertain ourselves in small-town Michigan!
Our hotel was in Dundee, a village about 20 minutes east of Tecumseh. Fortunately, there were a few things to check out in the area: a Cabela's store, an outpost of St. Julian Winery, and a Russell Stover store. We especially enjoyed the wine tasting at St. Julian's. The people there were very friendly and helpful and we bought a few things to enjoy back at home.
For dinner, we stopped at the local Big Boy restaurant to pay homage to our friend Kurt.
The concert that evening went fine. In the percussion section, I made fewer mistakes than I had at the rehearsal the previous day. The last thing everyone did before heading off was load the truck so that all of the equipment could be brought back to Blue Lake for the final concert. The truck is normally driven by Mike, but because he drove to the tour this year, the responsibility had been passed onto one of the other counselors. Unfortunately, when the camp rented the truck for the Northern Winds, they were given an unusually large one. So large that the original counselor driving it might have had an incident involving a fence and some handicap signs when backing out of camp to go to Tecumseh. And said counselor decided not to drive the truck any more.
As a result, Mike (who was originally supposed to ride on the bus with the kids while I followed in our car) got to drive one of these to the other side of Michigan. And, no, a 22-foot long truck is not necessary to haul percussion equipment. It was hardly 1/4 full with everything packed away.
It did mean, however, that Mike and I could leave before the rest of the Northern Winds group the next morning. It worked out quite well because we could then check into our hotel in Muskegon, Michigan (about 20 minutes away) and unload our things before the final portion of the tour.
One of Mike's responsibilities after each international tour is to run the buses into camp upon their arrival carrying flags. When the campers were getting close, we headed back to Blue Lake where I dropped Mike off with other counselors at the end of the long drive. Because of some confusion with two different groups arriving at camp at the same time, Mike actually got to run twice (actually 1.5 times because they only went back half-way for the second time). It was a lengthy distance! But the Northern Winds kids enjoyed and appreciated it.
Hannah and Mike a bit winded after so much running.
Once the kids unloaded the bus, everyone headed to the outdoor performance shell and got set-up for the final concert of the tour (this involved Mike driving the giant truck through narrow, winding paths and backing up the truck down a dirt hill without running over campers, counselors, wooden posts, and buildings). We had a short rehearsal (even fewer mistakes the third time around for me!) and then the kids had dinner while Dennis and I drove out to the RV Camp Grounds where the Herths were staying to pick them up for the evening concert.
After the concert (which went quite well), everyone said their goodbyes, packed up their things, and the kids headed home with their families. The Herths, Zeislers, Kayla (another counselor), Mike, and I had a nice dinner together before we went our separate ways. Kayla headed home (near Chicago), but the rest of us had plans to spend the next couple of days together.
Most of Saturday was spent at the Blue Lake camp grounds. Annette, having hosted Blue Lake groups three times now, was very interested in the facilities. I also had never been to the camp grounds where Mike had spent so many of his summers.
The camp is huge. Even after walking all day, we had only covered half of the camp's area. Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp models itself after a camp philosophy of sheltering young people from the outside world so that they can concentrate on their areas of study in a natural setting that encourages creativity. My favorite sight around was various instrument cases stored all around camp at the base of trees.
One of the most impressive sites we visited at the camp was The Rose Theater, a newly built theater built in the style of Shakespeare's Globe.
The Rose from the outside.
View of the stage from the lower lever seating.
Benjamin and Carol put on quite a show for Jo, Dennis, Mike, and me. First, there was Romeo and Juliet.
A nail-biting sword fight.
An important announcement!
The king has arrived! Or is it really the court jester?
Buccaneer Benjamin makes Carol walk the plank.
An action-packed fight scene between Batman and Carol!
And they take their bows.
After touring Blue Lake, we had a little time to rest before having a very nice dinner at a place called Hearthstone in Muskegon. We sat at a table that circled a fireplace (fortunately not turned on that night -- Michigan got all of Minnesota's extremely hot and humid weather) and had locally caught fish for our meal. It was a lovely evening.
We checked out of our hotel on Sunday and met up with The Zeislers and Herths in a nearby harbor town called Grand Haven, Michigan. Our group spent the morning walking the boardwalk towards the lighthouse where the Grand River meets Lake Michigan. When we hit the beach, Mike and Benjamin went for a swim while the rest of us enjoyed the sunshine. It was a peaceful way to spend our last day together.
Mike helped Benjamin ring one of the many bells along the boardwalk.
After having a last meal together and saying our goodbyes, Mike and I took off for the last leg of our journey: westward bound towards Chicago!
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