We began to stock up at Costco on Diet Coke, Gatorade, and water for our long drive north in a few weeks. We also confirmed lunch with old friends in Ludington, Michigan where they own a wedding venue on Lake Michigan. It will be our first trip back to that area since their wedding a few years before ours, nearly 25-years ago. I was married to someone else at the time but we all rode on a bus together up from Indianapolis. Relationships changed after that adventure and my first marriage ended after 27-years. 

There will be many friendly reunions on this Midwestern  loop. It starts in Tuscaloosa where I meet with my half-sister and the next day in Huntsville for lunch with her son. Another friend will join us in Nashville, Tennessee where we’ll get together with his eldest daughter and meet his grandkids. In Indianapolis, we’ll stay with my wife’s sister while a no-host event will bring together many former media acquaintances. I’ll also meet a DNA cousin for lunch while we’re there. Next, we’ll head to Decatur, Illinois for lunch and dinner with more friends we haven’t seen in years on the way to the Ludington reunion. 

Once we get to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, our ultimate destination, it will be just the two of us once again. Stops in Cleveland, Canton, and Asheville on the way back south will fulfill several bucket list items, including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, NFL Hall of Fame, and the Biltmore Estate. The final stop will be all about relaxation for six days with Mother Marriott at Hilton Head’s Barony Beach Club. There we will have time to unwind and recap all our get togethers before driving home.