Randy Walker

I went home Friday night so that on Saturday, I could go with the family to the 50th wedding anniversary of Great Uncle Ronnie and Great Aunt Wava. Minda called in to work at the last minute and was able to go with us. Aunt Renee, Travis, and Chelsea rode with us. On the way up, we stopped at Gaylord. Dad wanted to stop at Jay's Sporting Goods, then we went to dinner at Bob Evan's. Minda wanted to go there because she's a hostess at the one in Midland.

Their blackberry lemonade was good. The chicken-fried steak was not. Afterwards, we went to Wal-Mart and bought some munchies.

Back on the road, Minda's new "boyfriend" called (again). Something funny was said and I started laughing. When I laugh hard, I start to hiccup. After hiccuping for a long time, I start burping. Then comes the gagging. Then the vomitting. I grabbed the garbage can, Aunt Renee jumped out of her seat (next to me) and went up between the mom and dad (bucket seats). Minda, Travis, and Chelsea (in the rear seat) started gagging. Mom was gagging. She pulled over at the next exit (which happened to be Sea Shell City) and pulled into a gas station that looked abandoned (it wasn't, but there were some trucks at the pumps that looked as if they hadn't moved in several months).

As soon as the van stopped, the doors flew open and I was left alone. Mom and Aunt Renee ran into the station, Minda, Travis, and Chelsea were behind the van puking themselves, and Dad was just standing around. I tied up the garbage bag (I puked in it, remember?) and tossed it out to him. After Minda bought a toothbrush and she and Travis brushed their teeth, we were on the road again.

The rest of the trip to the UP was pretty un-eventful, except that the Mackinaw Bridge had a lane closed. We had to drive over the metal grates. Tires make a weird noise against them and if you look down through them, you can see the water hundreds of feet below.

After we crossed the bridge, we drove to Great Aunt Mary's house.

We chilled at Aunt Mary's for about a half an hour then left for the party. When we got into Pickford, we went to the Co-op grocery store. We bought their entire stock of Korpua (a dry, hard Finnish bread). I dropped the few bags I was carrying onto the conveyor belt and went out to the van. I felt stupid buying so much of it. After mom and dad came out, we drove around the corner to the church where the party was being held. The basement was sooo hot!

We only stayed at the party for about an two hours. After all the introductions to all the family I hadn't seen in two to twelve years, there was just enough time for a glass of punch and a plate of food before it was time to start the good-byes. I slept all the way home.

On Sunday, I cooked dinner while mom and dad planted their garden. I came home this morning.