By Jennifer Trend, Staff Writer
From June 27 to July 10, my family and I went to Michigan to visit my dad’s side of the family. It’s been only a few years since I last visited, but it was a great shock to see how different things are over there than they are here.
The moment we stepped out of the airport in Michigan, we were amazed by the amount of greenery. In California, you usually see palm trees or a bright green lawn wherever you go. But no matter where you turn in Michigan, there are forests of dark green hues, and so much nature growing everywhere. And because there’s a smaller population, they only need two and rarely four lanes on their highways, where you’ll only see a handful of cars.
Another shock we encountered was the amount of wildlife that will run in front of your car. On the first day alone, we saw at least five deer run across the highway, and almost ran over an unsuspecting raccoon.
We went to the Lansing area to have dinner with one of my aunt and uncles, but on our way there, we made a stop at a small Japanese store, similar to Mitsuwa (located in Costa Mesa), but on a much smaller scale. After dinner, we headed up to the Petoskey area where my dad’s family lives.
The next day, Thursday, my grandparents and family went up into the Upper Peninsula to visit one of my great aunts who owns and runs a cow farm with her family. Along the way, we stopped at multiple small towns where my dad used to live. Both he and my grandparents pointed out where they used to live and shared interesting stories.
We arrived at the farm Thursday afternoon and left Saturday morning. Between that time, I got to know three of the six cousins better. One had just graduated high school, and he mentioned that his class consisted of only thirty kids- I later found out that my other cousins in Petoskey (who were in kindergarten through second grade) had an average of seven kids in each class. It was hard to understand that, given that at Fountain Valley High School, we have an average of thirty plus kids in each class.
The next week was spent at my dad’s sister’s place, where my brothers and cousins spent the majority of the time playing video games (a form of bonding some would argue), while I talked with my aunt and did some summer homework.
On July 3, we went to a small trail where past loggers had worked when they had first settled in the area. Afterwards, we went to a beach of sorts on Lake Michigan, and collected rocks from the shore, a common sight to see.
Some more cousins and families came to visit over the weekend, and it was nice to see how their kids have grown and to be able to talk with them. It turns out that a common topic of conversation that came up with everyone I talked with was where I plan on going to college and when I’m going to start driving.
We then spent the rest of our time at my grandparent’s place not doing much other than visiting Harbor Springs, a nearby town that had a very novelistic small town vibe to it which sets it apart from the quiet small towns across Michigan. There was also a deer park where one could watch and feed the deer that were being rehabilitated after being hit by a car or injured by abnormal circumstances.
We also went to the Soo Locks, located in Sault Sainte Marie, which is right next to the U.S. and Canada border. The locks are used to transport boats of all sorts from low to high water or vice versa. Overall, it was a great experience to be able to visit family and interesting to see the differences between California and Michigan.
