The scuba group (Luke, Melissa, Jason, and Clarissa) had left around 6 in the morning...Fil had another amazing breakfast in store for us on Sunday...butterscotch oatmeal...crepes with toppings ranging from apple pie filling to nutella to bananas...more bacon and turkey bacon...girls slept in...the four guys ate and we got tired of waiting...we decided to just drive down to the beach...old guy watching parking lot, sitting in a golf cart...gave us a ride...asked if we were here for the wedding...four swans on the lake...plenty of geese...we got a little lost...walked past two black squirrels, a retreat center, over the bridge of a river...got back at 11:30.
The girls were already inside, waiting for us...we left for Glen Haven...I rode with Bill, Laina, and Manish...could not find my sunglasses and the sun was blinding...B, L, and M took a bike ride...I hung with Natalie, Fil, Mike, and Andrea...checked out the "Aloha" an old small fishing boat that was used 100 years ago...went into the cannery...old boats and rescued boats...we walked half a mile to the Maritime Museum...old boathouse...lookout point in the shape of a cross...blacksmith barn...guy made a bear head out of just pounding hot iron with an anvil...air and coal heat the oven.
Five of us crammed into the convertible...Mike drove, Fil was in the passenger seat...Natalie sat in back on the far right, Andrea was in the middle, I sat behind Mike...I scooted up to give the girls some more room...the driver's door was open...I moved my hand up on the open frame to prop myself up on the arm rest...as I raised myself up, I felt the three middle fingers of my left hand crunch...Mike had slammed the car door on my hand...
My middle finger immediately started to bleed...I could at least bend my fingers so I knew nothing was broken...during the ten minute drive, I just tried to keep my hand still and flat...I stormed out of the car and into our condo where Melissa and Jason were standing by the sink...rushed right past them and turned on the kitchen sink..."Adam, is everything okay?" Melissa asked..."No" I said firmly, and without emotion...I ran my hand under the coldest water I could for a few minutes.
We watched the first half of "Warrior"...drove to Traverse City around 5 with Mike, Bill, and Laina...we talked about dating, babies, Wheaton connections, financial aid...Laina said I was evil since I'm a cog in the financial aid wheel...I talked about how when a guy loves a girl, it's way to go above and beyond and to do the little things for them...Laina asked "Is Andrea one of them?"...we got there in 30 minutes or so.
At the site of the cruise, Andrea bought this dark gray T-shirt that said Traverse City on it...I got some brochures for mom...We boarded the schooner...I got to help raise the sails...Sampled four beers from Short's...their beers are not available outside of Northern Michigan...my favorite was the Nicie Spicy, a seasonal wheat beer...they brought maybe 18 pizzas on board...all of them were pepperoni...I'm sure the vegetarians in the group were overjoyed...Andrea doesn't eat red meat, so she picked it off...I guess she had to look for the slices with the least amount of meat on them...I ate nine slices...they also had a couple of veggie trays...maybe the most boring party food in the world.
The orange and purple sunset framing the picturesque shorelines was a sight to behold...two hours...I mostly kept to myself...I wanted to take in the sounds, sights, and smells...I talked with a couple from Grand Rapids and they mentioned Moomer's Ice Cream...I remembered that one of my brochures I had picked up was just for Moomer's...so I suggested to the group that we pass on the bonfire and head for ice cream instead...drove 15 minutes west from downtown Traverse City...backroads...total darkness....Manish asked "Adam, where are you taking us?"...I admit I was feeling a bit nervous...I did not want to screw this up...all of a sudden, we could see light beckoning...we drove to where E Long Lake Rd dead ends and we could see the barn right across the street from the dead end...
They have their own dairy, so I figured the quality was going to be good...and for an even better sign, the line was out the door at 9 pm on a Sunday...forty people in line and barely a space to park...as I took my place in the back of the line, I noticed the distinct aroma of waffle cones...sign of an ice cream place that cares about the ingredients it uses...tried the cherry cheesecake...it was pretty good, although I wasn't sure I wanted a couple of scoops with such large chunks of cherry...went with the regular sized cinnamon in a waffle cone...amazingly fresh taste...One of the best waffle cones ever, it was really thick, unlike what Cold Stone serves...Went back home...finished "Warrior"...Said goodbye to Jason and Melissa...they were leaving early the next morning to visit their families in Michigan...in bed at 1 am.
So Labor Day was our last morning...Fil did pancakes with Shocktop Belgian ale beer...sausage patties, much to Natalie 's chagrin...eggs with tomatoes...I finished off the OJ with pulp...left around 10:45...five minutes in, Mike said we had to turn back because he couldn't find his cell phone...it was under his seat...so that cost us 15 minutes...M-22 Store in downtown Glen Arbor...gear with M-22 and they also have wine tasting...I didn't get anything, I just didn't want to spend $25.00 on another shirt....on a personal level, a very strange situation is developing...feels like three guys want one girl...actually, I take that back. Luke doesn't give a shit about Andrea. He just cares about stroking his damn ego, nothing more, nothing less. But if she could have any interest in a guy who's so full of himself, I can't see that ending well...in reality, I don't think I want to date Andrea...she seems quiet, likes art, doesn't eat meat. I'm not saying these are bad things, I just don't know if they're compatible with my lifestyle...to quote Chris Rock, I'm in the friend zone!
While we were driving down the west coast of Michigan on Route 31, I played "Stay Gone" by Jimmy Wayne...hadn't listened to this song in a couple of months...it reminded me of how I'm really starting to feel about Jean the deserter...lines like "All my tears have been cried" really seem fitting right now...pictures in front of dinosaurs and in this little teepee in Empire, MI...Manistee looked like it had a nice downtown, even though the population is only about 6,500 people...Green Acres stand...peach cider, maybe a half a dozen varieties of honey...Mike got five pounds of blueberries...I thought about getting a small pie or some muffins, but I passed...eight bucks for an individual pie was just more than I was willing to pay.
I just didn't speak after the first hour except when I was giving driving directions...I just didn't feel like talking...part of it was I wanted some time to myself for a change...another part of me wondered if I had really made a good contribution to the group...not that I was a deterrent, but I hope I'm more than just a finger injury and an ice cream parlor...or maybe it's just my own old fears of being rejected and deserted again...I slept for maybe 20 minutes two different times...we didn't stop for lunch, so I all I ate between breakfast and dinner at home was half a bag of trail mix and five pistachios...we arrived at Luke's place around 6:15 and I got home right at 7 pm.
As I type this in my basement, it's nice to finally have some time to myself...it'll feel good to sleep in my bed tonight.
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