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I live by the little town of “Greilickville” on the water just north of Traverse City. The dotted lines to the Islands are the ferry routes.

(Click on a picture at the bottom to pull the full sized gallery up!)

In my essay on my trip to New Zealand I spoke about a paradigm shift in how I thought of travel after adventuring with Fabian there, and how it made me feel more spontaneous even in my everyday life. Well, a similar thing happened to me when he came to visit Traverse City after our trip to Costa Rica. It was the end of January, full on winter, which is fierce here, and I was trying to think of what we could do. After all, Traverse City is a summertime destination. The population increases from about 20,000 in winter to 200,000 in summer. I live only 25 minutes from a fantastic national park, the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  So, I said to Fabian, “Gosh, it’s too bad it’s not summer…we live by a great park on the lakeshore.” Then he asked, “Are you not allowed to go there in the winter?” Doh. So we dressed up in long underwear and coats (we wear the same size in everything) and headed out. We even borrowed snowshoes from a friend. Well, I will never forget this day and how it made me feel differently about where I live. Turns out we didn’t even need snowshoes because the sand and snow blow over each other, layer upon layer, making the surface hard. Another thing we did was to drive out to the lake where my family had a cottage when I was growing up. This lake freezes over with a thick sheet of ice in the winter because it is so shallow. As we walked out onto the ice Fabian mentions how much he’d had always wanted to ride a snowmobile. I told him we had six when we had the cottage. Then, lo and behold, a neighbor and her partner came cruising by on their snowmobiles. I flagged them down, engaged in some friendly conversation, and then asked if there has any chance they’d let Fabian ride on of their machines. They said sure, and were probably a bit scared when Fabian took off at full speed across the lake.  Later, Fabian came back in early September, this time bringing two friends with him. We drove to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where we stayed at the cottage (“hut” to them) of the same friends that gave us the snowshoes before. Veit was fascinated by the country music on the radio. Hiking through the Pictured Rocks on the Lake Superior seashore, I was seeing it through their eyes. They were amazed at how the lake, in the middle of a continent, looked so much like an ocean. And I was having a revelation: Wow, this really is as beautiful as a place like New Zealand. My own home. Not all of what they noticed was entirely positive. Driving up the street I live on, which I think looks quite nice (see the last picture below) for the first time with them, I remarked something like “Isn’t the craftsman style of each house and the bright colors nice?” Total silence. So I asked Fabian what was wrong, and got a very unexpected response. “All of the houses have American flags out front.” “Hmm, what’s wrong with that? ” “Well, the last time all the homes in Germany had German flags out front…it didn’t turn out so well.” Wow. We have had to deal with our legacy of slavery in the US, and it has affected our entire history and struggles. What must it feel like to come from some place where the Nazis ruled so recently and the patriotic shame that one might feel about that?

Later, another German friend, his American wife, and a mutual French friend came to visit. I thought I’d take them to a minor league baseball game. The local team has a gorgeous stadium here. Jean Baptiste (French) and Dirk (German) were utterly amazed that we all stood up to sing the National Anthem before the game (Laura, Dirk’s wife, who understood both sides, smiled discreetly – she knew they were appalled). For me, it got even more interesting when an American serviceman appeared on the huge screen in the bleachers to thank everyone for our support of American troops while they fought for our freedom in Iraq.  They were speechless at this. Oh, I almost forgot. They were not speechless when they each received a big red Christmas stocking (it was August) with decks of cards inside that had Bible verses written on them (both Dirk and JB are atheists). JB said to Dirk “Hey, what am I suppose to do with only one sock? Dirk, give me your’s and then I’ll have a pair.” Also, we had arrived early at the game and volunteers were going through the stands looking for participants for the quirky games they played between innings. We were approached to see if any of us would like to play the game “Win the Toyota truck by hitting the baseball through the net over it.” They said “No” But I said “Oh, yes they will!!!!” and I utterly insisted and told the woman that they could come get Dirk when the time came. Dirk is very athletic but had never even seen a baseball game before and wasn’t keen on looking like a fool in front of 15,000 people. But I explained all the details of how to hold the bat, etc…, and off he went between the fourth and fifth innings. He threw the first ball up, swung, and the bat breezed right by the ball as it fell to the ground. The bat barely touched the ball the second time. But on the third try, Dirk connected. The crowd gasped…it was headed right for the net!!!…and just missed.

Another friend of mine, Tobias, also from Germany, came for a visit near Christmas time. He had heard that Americans decorate their homes wildly at this time of year with all kinds of lights and Santas and Christmas trees and giant snowmen (pagans!), but he was unprepared for what he saw. Indeed, one house nearby surely creates 50% of all global warming (my Mother loves this), but I told him that America was a country that has energy without end. He said a friend of his had seen a house in the US once that had two giant Santas, one that was higher than the house.

Not everyone has the resources I do to travel so much. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to show pictures from my own home and how beautiful it is once I take off my “take it for granted” glasses. You are all invited for a visit!!! I have a really comfy guest room.

Imagine a foreigner coming to visit you at your home. What might they see that you have never even noticed?  Comments greatly encouraged!

I live by the little town of “Greilickville” on the water just north of Traverse City. The dotted lines to the Islands are the ferry routes.

Wintertime picture of my house on the left, the colorful houses on my street, and the west side of Grand Traverse Bay; taken from a hilltop

My house from the front.

My house from the back right after construction. The top is my floor; my bedroom on the right, den in the middle and guest bedroom on the left. Mom and I share the middle floor with the porch. Mon lives on the bottom, reachable by an electric chair.

Kayaking with Miranda on the Platte River.

My actual camp spot. Little did i know, but there was poison ivy under my sleeping bag. But I didn’t get a rash…until the next year when I slept in it on my den floor when Dirk, Laura and JB visited. I googled and found the chemical can last 30 years on fabric.

The sunset from my camp spot on North Manitou. The streaks on the sky are contrails of Europe bound jets. I pondered the totally different world up there, and one I knew so well. And how very different from the complete solitude of where I was.

One summer I took an overnight solo hike to North Manitou Island. I was only one of 16 people on the island including the rangers. Total length of the hike: 17 miles, 30lb. backpack.

I now know where you can find Heaven. At Lake Manistique in the Upper Peninsula.

Another picture of Traverse City from the air, only this time right after taking off from the local airport, clearly seen.

A picture I took of Traverse City on a beautiful day, 35,000 ft up coming from London to Chicago. My house is located at the brown spot (construction project) in the middle at the very bottom.

My friend Greg on the right, his friend Jim on the left, with Jim’s dog. What’s wrong with this picture besides being November and not the best time for a visit? It was deerhunting season and Jim’s dog looks like a ……

A picture Miranda, at five, took of me on the seashore on our way back to the ferry. It leaves at 4pm sharp!

Again at the famous cliff on South Manitou Island with my neice Miranda, the first time we went out there. One of my all time favorite pictures. We ran down together which she loved.

My friend Rajeev at Pyramid Point also, in January here. We almost slid to the water on our butts. Raj teaches yoga and attends the Le Coq School of Theatrical Movement in Paris.

Dirk, Laura, my neice Miranda, JB and myself at Pyramid Point. Miranda loved JB and talked to him all day. The only problem is he has a very strong French accent. On the way home she whispered in his ear “Can I tell you a secret? I can’t understand anything you say!”

My friend Adam on a different occassion, also swimming by the shipwreck. Adam is studying podiatry in NYC.

Dirk in his rubber swim gear about to head out to the Old Shipwreck of South Manitou.

JB, Dirk and Laura at the highest point on South Manitou. That’s the mainland in the background.

Dirk making a go of it. His first time ever holding a bat. (German)

The three of us discussing who would play the “try and hit the ball through the hoop and win the Toyota” game at the minor league stadium before the game.

This is Laura, JB and Dirk at the same South Manitou Island cliff/jumping off point.

Tobias on a December visit. That is the Mackinaw Bridge in the background, connecting the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. It is 5 miles long and the thrid longest suspension bridge in the world. Constructed 1957

Nature finding its own amazing shapes

You can’t tell in this picture but the place we were standing looked like it had little support. Fabian was nervous, and he is both a rock climber and geologist.

This is why they call it the pictured rocks. Some of the rocks here are among the oldest on earth, reaching back nearly four billion years.

Me perched atop a ledge over Lake Superior at the Pictured Rocks National Seashore

That small mobile looking dot is Veit on his way down! Jumping into the water at the end is especially fun.

Veit and Fabian at the top of a cliff on South Manitou, about halfway through the hike. The water of Lake Michigan lies 700 ft., or ~215 meters below.

Fabian, Veit and Claudia are all master climbers. But Veit even worked a job placing advertisements atop high places while he put thimself through school.

That’s me going for a giant leap myself.

Walking through the dunes; that’s South Manitou island once more in the distance.

On our way back down, with Glen Lake in the background. The amount of sand in this part of the state really boggles the mind.

Four friends at the top of the famous “Dune Climb”.

Fabian and Veit on a dead tree in September at Empire Bluff. That Iconic tree, even depicted on posters promoting the area, has since broken in half.

The same grass as in the previous picture, only in the summer.

The ice covered grass along the shoreline at Glen Arbor. That is South Manitou Island in the distance.

My brother and me (in the front) when I was 16 on a snowmobile on Lake Skegemog in front of our “cottage”.

Sacred, peaceful, pristine winter woods.

Empire Bluff point in January. Very cold, but very still air and full on sun.

That’s me under all that. And so happy to see the lake doesn’t disappear in the winter, but makes amazing ice on the shore.

Layers of snow and sand blown over each other to make a very solid footing.

Thanks for showing me my own seashore in winter Fabian. You are the greatest jumper I know. (Also best at handstands)