Michigan Memorial Weekend Family Vacation
In January we began to plan our Michigan Memorial Weekend Family vacation. We called the 800 number to reserve almost a whole corner of Sugarloaf State park, in Waterloo Recreation area in Chelsea, Michigan. There was me, my two grown children, my brother, and his wife, and his children and grand children. We also invited some of our close friends, so the whole corner was taken up with people we knew and loved. A Michigan Memorial Weekend Family vacation of this magnitude requires planning and executing like a general regaling his troops. My brother was a military man, a cook in the army. In January we made many phone calls planning menus, activities, and the layout of how we would camp together without getting on each others nerves. I tried to explain to them this was a Vacation, but they maintained it must be organized. I did tell them since I didn’t fish; I didn’t see the necessity of my group arising at 4am to get out on the lake. I was met with stone cold silence, a renegade in the ranks.
With military like precision my brother, his family and friends all caravanned in and set up camp Friday night. We pulled our trailers in a circle and used the center courtyard as our place to eat meals together. His family pulled out their awnings, put the carpet and chairs under it, and set outside a bucket of water to drink from. I looked and saw every trailer in the circle but mine identical. They even had cute little signs with the family name on it. I have a conversion van; my awning is broke so I set up a canopy. I don’t have any carpet to put down, because I don’t care to kill the grass anymore than necessary. It was apparent, how different the two families where. Unfortunately, my group didn’t seem to get that we were to arrive together or it would throw everything into chaos. I waited and at about 9pm my friends and family pulled in. Luckily they were all tenting so we could put them anywhere within the circle of trailers. But my brother and his wife were upset at the military operation not going as ordered. The Michigan Memorial Weekend Family vacation was starting off on the wrong foot. I had to sheepishly ask him and his family to help set up the tents, because my family had just bought them, and were having trouble setting them up in the dark. My brother was awesome. He collected his son, and his friends, and by 9:30 we were all set up, and fixing dinner. Yes dinner, at 9:30pm, I told you my family was rather strange.
Our Michigan Memorial weekend family vacation, from then on was awesome. Staying up all night talking around the campfire and drinking wine was a bonding experience for all. As scheduled my brother and his family were up and fishing at 5AM. My family rolled out of bed about noon. We were on vacation after all. The rest of the weekend went off without a hitch. We had pot luck in the center, eating the fish they caught, and whatever we could rustle up. Every night we sat around that campfire. In the day we often went on boat rides with my brother’s family. My brother has been dead for years now, but I will never forget that special Michigan Memorial weekend family vacation, and how in spite of our differences we felt close like a family should.
