Michigan, part one

I was born and lived in Oakland County, Michigan for over 40 years. I knew almost every square inch of that area and pretty much the whole of the LP ( lower peninsula for non- Michiganders/ Michiganians), the UP not so much.In elementary school( in a once-thriving Pontiac) we were taught to hold up our right hand and point to the general area on the palm where we lived in the "Mitten".I truly love that state, not just because family and friends still live there - of course that's #1; there are so many reasons. I love that it is a four seasons state, although I was pretty much tired of Winter long before the Vernal equinox arrived. Each season is remarkable there, and let me just say as a travel advocate for MI, a great place to visit for a tourist. The Great Lakes are stupendous especially lakes Michigan and Superior, all the vastness of the oceans without the salt and sharks.In middle school and high school some summers I would go to Interlochen Music Camp and play cello in the beautiful outdoors.Interlochen is near Traverse City and that region is still a favorite of mine , and Michigan cherries from that area ( another peninsula called leelanau) are divine-the Cherry Hut for cherry pies is a destination unto itself. Another superlative destination is Mackinaw Island with its Grand Hotel. Oh some stories I could tell, but won't....Anyway, I used to love to cross the Mackinac Bridge ( pronounced the same as Mackinaw , yea idiosyncratic) and go to St Ignace in the UP and take the ferry from there to the island. The bridge is spectacular, and you know some of my friends would refuse to cross that bridge when we came to it.:))) If you've never been on that bridge, crossing it is a "wow" moment.Also, Michigan's National parks are stunning, and as far as the UP goes, that's mainly what I have visited there. Pictured Rocks and Isle Royale are jaw dropping. I know many, many people in the LP who have never seen these extraordinary places....it's a shame. Anyway,if I were to move back to Michigan, I think I'd live in the Ann Arbor area where U of M is located. I loved attending college there, even though I did my grad work at Oakland University,which is another great school. Rochester, where OU is, was my mother's birth place. My mom's side of the family has lived in Michigan for generations, and her sisters still live there.I have a plethora of relatives residing all over the state because my parents both came from very large families.I grew up in Pontiac ,where they made the cars ,and we all had Pontiacs, and we bought homes in Clarkston and Davisburg ( oh how I loved my home on 10 serene acres). Another cool thing about MI is its proximity to Canada, and I used to go to Canada at least once a month by either bridge or tunnel when border crossing wasn't a nightmare( Canada will be another post some time).Consequently, I miss Michigan's 6 F's:food,family,friends,festivities, Fall ( my favorite season), and fun. I certainly have sorely missed out on seeing the younger generations grow up.So sometimes I get nostalgic and consider moving back to Michigan, but I have lived in Georgia twenty years already, so it is unlikely that I will do so. It's like having dual citizenship - a loyalty to both places, each great in its own way. In fact, I have two teams I root for - the Detroit Tigers and the Atlanta Braves. Now I think I'll go and drink a Vernor's "pop" and eat some Michigan brand cottage cheese, while I look at vintage photos of some of my old haunting grounds.