Michigan: Part 1

holiday weekend in Holly and estate sale preparations

We arrived in Michigan on Friday, May 24, leaving most of the mosquitos behind us. (I think a few hitched a ride in the trailer, but fortunately my sister gave us one of their bug zapper tennis-racket-like swatters, so they were decimated pretty quickly!) Our campground was in the cute little town of Holly, although we didn’t have time to go downtown on this trip. We were on a mission.

The first night, we settled in to our campsite above the Jumping Pillow (a big pillow for kids to jump on) and main playground. It was Memorial Day weekend, and the campground was full of families with children. I love watching them play, but what year was it that they all start screaming so much and so loudly?

That was just a short sample; the screaming went on all day until quiet time at 11:00PM!

Saturday was the first day to go to Papa’s condo and assess the estate sale setup. Within minutes, we all had our designated rooms of stuff to sort, organize, price, and stage. Ron and his brother-in-law were mainly in the basement with all the tools. His sister took on the office and master bedroom/closet. The living room and loft were already filled with furniture that had price tags. I tackled the kitchen (for which my sister-in-law was very grateful).

This estate sale was difficult not so much because of the work — which was extensive — but because Ron’s sister was trying to maximize profit on everything. Ron and I shop at second hand stores often, so we know that people won’t pay what she wanted to charge, especially for big stuff like furniture, tools, and pricey knick-knacks. Still, we went along with her plan for day one of the sale. More on that in Part 2.

We were for many hours. They went home (a mile away) and we drove the hour it took to get back to our campground.

Sunday was more of the same. Before we left for the condo, I put to use our brand new Cuisinart coffee grinder that our friend Kahle had purchased.

The grind was perfect for my decaf pour-overs! Then it was time to make the morning commute and get to work. Ron and I did leave the condo early to go visit with a few family members. It was well worth it. I am especially attached to his aunt and uncle, so I love spending time with them. Here is our family photo.

L to R: Ron’s nephew Mike, uncle Dave, moi, aunt Patty, Ron’s niece Delainey, and Mike’s wife Kate with little Noah and Will.

The evening became super-fun when Ron took out the ukulele and Mike gathered a couple of string instruments as well. Noah loves music!

There was a whole session with the rain stick that Ron purchased at a Love’s travel stop somewhere in the Plains states — which Noah became obsessed with — but we didn’t capture any footage.

We needed to get back to camp, have dinner, and prepare for a big Monday. On the way, the weather turned bad, and this time the weather forecast was correct. Ron and I ended up driving super-slow on the I-75 in a near white-out downpour:

It took way more than an hour to get “home.” But we arrived safely, dried off, made dinner, cleaned up, and hunkered down to prepare for three more days of organizing at the condo prior to the three-day-long estate sale.

Then a [small but good] change in plans came along, and that’s where Part 2 will begin with my next post. I hope you have enjoyed reading thus far!

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Interesting Note: Today — the day I am writing and uploading this post — has been the shortest drive of the trip so far. Because the maps app told me our drive would be 313 miles and it turned out to be only a little over two hundred, we ended up at our scheduled campground a full twenty minutes prior to official check-in time. Which never ever happened before in ANY of our trips, this one included! What that means is: I have TIME to do something other than slam through a rigorous routine that has had to happen in order for this trip to occur. I am not complaining; rather, I am reveling in the fact that I can complete this post (and maybe even Part 2) in the same day. That’s how crazy this trip has been!

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As always, I wish you excellent health, well-being, and maximum love, joy, and life-affirming creativity!💖