Shifting Gears

So things are here in Michigan are settling comfortably on our end. We're getting to know the area better everyday, learning more roads, short cuts and back ways to and from town. We’ve been trying to get into Traverse City most days, whether its to run errands or just simply walk around the streets to peak into shops. It’s not a terribly large town so it’s not like it takes a long time to figure things out, but it is a real pretty so it’s worth the trip just to walk around.

The downtown area sits in a little coobie hole on the bank of the west arm of the Grand Traverse Bay which flows into Lake Michigan about 25 or 30 miles north of here.


Seriously, doesn’t this picture look like it should have an advertisement for an exotic, and much needed, Caribbean vacation overtop of it. For a fresh body of water it’s hard to beat those colors…and the beach. I swear, that’s half the reason for moving here, just to be able to see this view almost everyday.

Boardman River also meanders through town, spilling into the bay at the edge of town. Some of the river has a slight feel of Amsterdam to it, with boats lining the canals as if they are the primary mode of transportation for those who own them…and probably their primary residence as well. The river is apparently also a decent little fishing spot with salmon as big as a toddler swimming around freely like they own the joint. Though the other day we saw a man fishing on the banks pulling out one of those suckers reinforcing the fact that they don’t indeed own the river after all. But, hey, it’s worth a shot, right? I have yet to get a fishing license, but I have the day off tomorrow so that may be the day. I mean it’s worth it. Especially if there are two foot long salmon cruising casually through nearby waterways, just waiting to be served on our dinner table. Mmmmm…you certainly can’t complain about that meal after a long day of work which, I might add, I just finished…the first in four months. Wow, that feels great to say. Both that I took four months off from working and that I started working again after four months. The whole cycle, for me personally, can be boiled down to a very delicate relationship between the two. Man I loved being on the road but, as sick as it sounds, it also feels good to be back at work, although I am only working part-time so I’m not really sure if that counts or not. But there is a part of RV life that I do truly miss, as there were also those things in stationary house life that I missed when we were in the RV. I guess that's the ebb and flow of life. Is the grass always greener? I don't really believe that it is but I do think that there are times that you need to take advantage of a very real opportunity that confronts you, even if only for a passing moment. I mean, after all, that is how we were able to sell the house and find our perfect motorhome in the first place. I believe that some things are truly meant to be and buying the Ultrastar was, from the first moment I laid my eyes on her, one of those defining moments.

Although we are no longer using her as our primary residence and source of transportation we are lucky enough to have the space to park her outside our cottage so not only do I get to look at that beautiful piece of machinery as soon as I wake up every morning, I am also able to open the door to her loving and welcoming interior anytime I want. To be taken in by her inner beauty. To be devoured in her round curves and the smooth lines of oak wood finish. To sit in her now is just as it has always been, comforting and warm, though we have emptied her out, taking out what we needed for our new home which deep down makes me feel incredibly unfaithful, like I'm cheating on her. I don't like to think of it like this but I feel like we've left her as an empty shell, just as we found her. Lost of a true personality, lost of her own identity. But I know this isn’t the way it really is and that she's not completely finished with what she was meant to do, where she was meant to go. And I don't feel like we're finished with her either. Let's face it…she's a 21 year old workhorse, tuned up and ready to spread her wings and fly on the endless highway whenever we need her to snap onto action.

For now, though, we'll let her rest on a soft sandy cushion under the shade of the pines and enjoy the life of the lakes just as we are. After all, even the most determined of us need to take a break once in a while. And, in our case, sometimes you need to shake out the cobwebs, dust off the boots and kick start the old engine to get it started again. But not without a true appreciation of what you've already been through, where you've been and what got you there.