Road trip across America… daily reflections by Ema and Elle.
By Ema ~ On the first day we parted from our mother’s home north to Mackinaw City, Michigan. We stayed off the main freeway and wandered our way through forest, farmland, and coastline.
We crossed the 45th parallel and had our first stop for a photo.
As the sun was setting we came upon a harbor with a swimming area and pier in the city of Petoskey. The waters were perfectly still and the atmosphere was captivating, although I knew we should be getting on the road again. Our journey was already far delayed from it’s original plan, yet my little sister Elle pleaded to swim, so we stayed. I reflected with my camera while she dove in with the local teens near by, enjoying what seemed to be their summertime sunset ritual. Emerging from the lake she stated with a sense of bliss that it was the best swim of her life. I admit I wish I too had jumped in!
We had planned to stop before sunset to camp, yet carried onto Mackinaw we went since it was now after dark. I had an idea of where we could stay as I had camped there before and programmed the GPS. Camping was full on a weekend in July by the time we arrived, but thankfully there were no signs to not stay at the lighthouse park, so we set up a simple arrangement to sleep in our roaming home, the van, and strolled down to the shore to take in the view of the bridge by night. This is the bridge that we will be crossing tomorrow. Beneath the bridge two Great Lakes meet, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Elle danced beneath a full moon and found crystals, a fossil, and some beautiful rocks at the beach. I sat and reflected on how this journey West was finally really happening. A broken window in the van, a gps system that kept crashing, and then Elle’s phone needing replacing, were just a few of the reasons this trip was now already a month behind. Through it all I had to keep reminding myself that one must trust the flow and that in the perfect moment the adventure would begin. So I overcame the obstacles and got to refine the van setup, as I rebuilt it several times after returning from the shop. So there I was sitting in the night, feeling grateful that I was finally on the move, yet for a moment sitting still upon the shore appreciating the warm breeze as it caressed me and reminded me to breathe deep, and take in each moment to the fullest as we sojourn.
By Elle ~ Today left home but not till 4pm. This was later than we thought but I’m surprised we even left. After a few hours of driving we were in Petoskey. The sun set was gorgeous so we stopped to take photos and climb the rock dock that was there. After feeling and looking at the water I wanted to swim so badly. After a lot of convincing, sissy said I could swim while she took photos. It was so cold but soon I adjusted. The swim was so pure and cool. That was the best swim I’ve ever had. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. After swimming we drove and went to sleep at the Mackinaw Bridge.
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