Two Places at One Time

It was our day to depart Buchanan, Michigan, and head up north to Traverse City. However, my new friends in Bucharest, Romania, had asked me to speak at their AA meeting that day. This caused me to juggle a Zoom meeting from 9-10 a.m. my time, and then leave shortly after the meeting was over, heading out on the road.

The changes that have come about over my lifetime are unimaginable at times. It's such a gift to be able to connect with friends all over the world. It was a great honor to share my story and hopefully infuse some of my experience, strength, and hope with them. As always, I got just as much out of my time with them as well.

So off to Traverse City we went.

We had a nice big pull-through site

which we love. It makes it easy to

unload the bus and park it in front

of our RV.

Michigan is made up of 99% trees and 1% two-lane highways, making it a joy to navigate around town.

On our first day out, we all felt the need to stretch our legs, so we embarked on a nature walk. The path zigzagged through the trees as far as the eye could see, eventually leading us down to a slightly lower, more open area. This gave us a view of the river below, which appeared swift, so we simply enjoyed the scenery.

The following day, we discovered a dog park where Pearl could run freely off-leash. A few dogs were there, and before long she was laying in the shade which was our sign to set off in search of a dog-friendly place for lunch.

We discovered a restaurant

with sidewalk seating,

which allowed us to bring Pearl along.

Their menu leaned more

towards health food

than Doug's typical

Burgers across America Tour,

but he seemed to

enjoy his fruity lemonade and

health food-inspired burrito...enough.

I was amused by their

sign out front.

You know how I love a corny sign.

Afterwards, we decided to conclude the day with some time at the beach. It was a bittersweet moment when we found front row parking at a stunning beach, only to realize we had forgotten our bathing suits, ugh. Pearl eagerly jumped out of the bus—with permission, a behavior we've been working on—and enjoyed her time swimming while we stayed on the shore. A man who had been relaxing nearby went for a swim and enjoyed playing in the water with Pearl.

It's always fun to watch her frolic, swim, play, and eventually tire herself out. For a one and a half year old puppy, she is generally quite mellow. Then again, she is still a puppy.

A

tired

dog

is a

content

dog,

leading

to

peaceful

evenings

in the

RV

for

everyone.

Even though Traverse City was just a short visit and our main focus is on our next destination, Mackinaw City, we enjoyed our time there and are happy to be out exploring.

I appreciate the opportunity to connect with all of you as we travel across our vast and diverse country. We send our love to you, feeling like we're in two places at once.

For we are always in San Diego in spirit,

Shari