Maybe you can go home again... (Part 2)

The last of my summer vacation in Michigan...

After spending the first part of my week in Ann Arbor and Detroit, I had to head up to Michigania-the Michigan alumni family camp. I grew up going there with my family, as my dad was a faculty speaker for a number of years, and then got to teach horseback riding (and take out lots of trail rides) for three summers and change. I don't know many of the program staff anymore, but two of my closest friends are a part of the administrative team, so I had to get up there to visit them! Plus, camp had a very special family there this year-BJ, who was on staff when I was a kid, came back with her family to direct the riding program this summer.

Honestly, most of my time up there was spent simply relaxing. Obviously my friends had to work a fair amount of the time, so I spent some time just reading and walking around. It had been quite a while since I had no responsibilities and I didn't quite know what to do with myself! It was pretty chilly, so I didn't go in the water-at all-but it was still a wonderful week!

Julia and I got to belatedly celebrate her birthday with a lovely afternoon tea at the Inn at Bay Harbor-and to go to the fair! We didn't do much there, but it's always fun to experience the feel of a classic, small town, county fair.

I also briefly went out with James and the entire crew who was up for Jack & Kelly's wedding the next day-there's a new brewery, Beards, in Petoskey that was pretty good! I was almost persuaded to stay an extra day, but I knew I had to get back to the East Coast.

I also did manage to get in a fair amount of riding. Leslie and Michael (and her family) happened to be camping the same week I was visiting, so we got to do some of this riding together, which was just like old times! She was the director at riding my first summer, which was truly life-changing. She first paired me with Layla, the horse I worked with for the entire time I was at camp. Layla started out bucking when you asked her to canter, and now they can put kids on her! It's pretty awesome to see how she's continued to improve...proud "mama" over here, ha!

It's hard to believe that this was already several months ago...I'm happy to be where I am but reliving this definitely made me miss my home state! Hopefully I'll get to go back in the spring...until then it's all family-related travel with the holidays coming up-and we've all abandoned the Mitten State ;) 

xoxoxo

Emma