Maybe I’ve said this before, but a friend once described July as the “Saturday of summer” and this year more than ever, I can relate to that description. We took our vacation at the end of June/first week of July and now that the month is ending, it feels like the “weekend” is over. August brings school and all sorts of related transitions, so reminiscing about our July is a good way to keep a positive attitude.
First up will be a what we did/what we ate roundup of vacation followed by the usual categories for the rest of the month. Skim accordingly. š
What We Did on Vacation
Our first stop on our road trip was the outskirts of Pittsburgh, where we stayed with our friends Josh and Rachel, whom we had not seen in person in THREE YEARS (thank you, Covid). We went out to dinner just the four adults and left the kids to re-acquaint themselves over pizza and tacos at the house. After dinner, we walked our town catching up on each other’s lives. It was so uplifting and refreshing. Connecting with friends is always a good idea.
The next morning, we had trouble leaving “on time,” which is a classic problem when we visit these friends, but we pulled ourselves away from our friends and headed toward Toledo to meet my parents so they could take the kids to Illinois. We avoided the Ohio turnpike because I have decades-old trauma from a car accident and my body does not appreciate the reminder. We met my parents for lunch at Tony Packo’s, a place we have come to love. (See last year’s vacation post.)
We transferred the kids and their stuff to my parents’ vehicle and said our goodbyes so Phil and I could head out on our anniversary adventure. (It was 15 years in May!)
I needed a bit of a buffer before we kept going in the car so we drove to Side Cut Metropark for a short walk and a chance to mentally transition to the adults-only portion of our vacation. We walked a little bit on a path near the river and saw a couple of herons. It was a nice breather.
Our next stop was Detroit. We were staying with a friend north of the city but wanted to catch a few sights in the city itself. Just after crossing into Michigan, we stopped at a welcome center and picked up some magazines for the area we’d be staying at in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And since I’m on a quest to make 22 visits to independent bookstores this year, we drove straight to the John K. King used bookstore.
We got there 30 minutes before closing which was not enough time. The store was four warehouse floors of used books and a person could literally get lost in there. It was raining hard when we left the bookstore but Phil wanted to visit Belle Isle, the site of an Indy car race, so we paid the $10 park fee to drive around the island and wave at Canada. It was a beautiful park and we would have loved to have more time to explore. Don’t worry, Detroit, we still need to catch a baseball game there so we’ll be back.
It was well past dinner time when we made it to my friend Amanda’s house. Amanda and I were roommates for a year in college. I’d yet to meet her husband (they’ve been married as long as my son has been alive!) so I was glad we could make this connection. The four of us ate takeout from a local Thai restaurant and caught up and hung out.
We were the first ones up to get on the road the next morning and fueled with a filling breakfast (see below), we headed out a little before 9 a.m. We had a lot of Michigan ground to cover to make it to our campsite.
First stop on our way north was Bay City State Park to greet Lake Huron. I put my feet in the lake and we walked a path around a lagoon.
We saw a heron Phil had never seen before, some wood ducks and a variety of other birds new to Phil’s list. Fun fact: Birding is more enjoyable when the kids aren’t complaining about standing around.
Then we traveled up the Huron coast a bit to Wilson’s Cheese Shop. I was in cheese heaven.
We picked out some food for our lunch/snack drive (see below). We ate our mobile charcuterie as we drove toward Mackinac Bridge. Along the way, we passed the 45h parallel, the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole. We also saw a sign that said “Elk Crossing, next 12 miles.” I almost peed my pants at the thought of seeing elk on the side of the road but sadly, we saw no elk.
Crossing the Mackinac Bridge, the fifth-longest suspension bridge in the world, was a thrill. I wasn’t driving, though, so it was a different kind of thrill. One lane had metal grooves which sort of freaked Phil out.
I was captivated by the blue-green water–so clear and expansive. Big water was the goal of our adventure. We stopped at Straits State Park to get a view of the bridge from land and took a short walk to the beach.
So many rocks! That was the Huron side. We drove to the Lake Michigan side and checked out the Father Marquette memorial and a couple of scenic overlooks.
Our next stop was the northernmost point of Lake Michigan. It’s a spot on the map but there’s no place to pull off at the actual location. We sort of whipped off to the side and snapped a quick picture then went back to a rest area with beach access.
We wandered down to the beach and I was in heaven. Hardly anyone else on the beach. It was cool. Expansive, sweeping views of water. Big rocks. I felt like skipping and frolicking on the beach. My soul was fully alive. I put my feet in a second Great Lake of the day.
More driving. We saw signs for Amish buggy crossings–there are Amish everywhere, not just in Lancaster! Finally, we got a glimpse–and more–of Lake Superior, and not to be biased but I think it’s got that name for a reason. We stopped a scenic pullout and I put my feet in a third Great Lake of the day. It was by far the coldest of the three.
Our AirBnB was down a long drive right next to a campground. It was a tipi in the backyard of a cabin/lodge and we had access to the basement for bathroom, showers and food storage. We were tired when we arrived but settled in and took showers and ate some more of our snacks.
We sat outside on the porch swing by the bird refuge then took a short walk around the water that bordered the property. Dusk arrives at 10 p.m., which was a new experience for us. We fell asleep to the sound of fireworks but were too tired to get out of bed and see them.
When we got up to pee in the middle of the night, I took a gander at the stars and it was an awesome sight.
The next day we slept in a little and got ourselves situated for the day head. We planned to explore the nearby town and get some provisions for our stay. We drove into Marquette, Michigan for breakfast at a place called Doncker’s. (President Obama ate there once!). Our servers were college kids who noticed Phil’s Cubs’ hat and made conversation. They were from Chicago originally.
After breakfast, we took a walk toward the lake and wandered around town. Our only “must” on the agenda was a stop at Snowbound Books, another independent bookstore.
We spent a lot of time browsing and walked out with two books each. Then we did some souvenir shopping–gifts for the kids, a puzzle for us, some coffee for me for the AirBNB. We decided to go back to Docker’s for ice cream in the afternoon.
Then we drove out to Presque Isle Park, stopping at Sunset Point. We bouldered along the shore.
Phil put his hand in the water and confirmed its chilly temperature. We walked over to the Black Rocks, a popular spot for jumping off the rocks into a cove. We decided to watch from the bottom as numerous people of all ages and sizes jumped off the 30-foot cliffs into the water.
We drove back around to the breakwater and lighthouse and walked out as far as the path went. We could have walked all the way to the lighthouse but it was rocky and open so we turned back.
On our way back through town, we drove down a street in Marquette the has some interesting architecture. For dinner, I wanted a whitefish sandwich, so we found a food truck that was serving them. (See below.) From there, we walked down to Jean Kay’s Pasties and Subs to get our meal for the next day. (More on that later.)
We took some pictures around Northern Michigan University on the way there and back. Then it was off to the grocery store for breakfast and lunch essentials.
Back at the campsite, we worked on packing our backpacks for our hike the next day. We ate some cherry bread as we sat by the water and sort of just chilled till we fell asleep.
Monday, July 4th, was our big day. It had rained overnight which made for some interesting sleeping but we woke early anyway to finish prepping for the hike. It was an hour’s drive to the Pictured Rocks National Seashore trailhead. We ate our breakfast in the car. Once we turned off the main highway, the road to the trail head was “primitive.” It was full of potholes and washouts and I had massive flashbacks to the time our van got stuck in Lancaster County trying to navigate a road we shouldn’t have been on. (Read all about that here.) At one point, we reached a spot where the water was puddling and I was sure our little sedan couldn’t get through. A car was approaching from behind us and it turned out to be a Ford Mustang. We watched it go through unscathed, so we followed.
By the time we reached the parking lot, Phil and I were both having a fair amount of anxiety. We had initially planned to hike the entire loop, 10-11 miles, but I wasn’t sure anymore if I wanted to do that. I had fears about us getting back up the hill. We gathered our supplies and set out on the trail.
For the first hour of the hike, we were battling anxiety–looking for bears and swatting bugs. We talked through it and slowed our pace and began to enjoy ourselves. (Reminder, this was our first major hike since Phil’s hiking incident in September, so our anxiety was justified.)
The first landmark was Chapel Falls, a beautiful waterfall.
We kept going to Chapel Rock, a large sandstone rock formation near Chapel Beach.
We were awed by it, but I was eager to get down to the beach where my beloved lake met the shore. We made our way down to the beach and had it all to ourselves. We sat on some driftwood and ate our private picnic lunch on the shore of Lake Superior.
It was as idyllic as it sounds (except for the bugs). After we ate, we explored the beach a bit. The rocks washing in from the lake were perfectly round and in brilliant colors. We watched a cruise boat disappear into a cove. (“This is some 18th-century Poldark shit,” I remarked.)
Back on the trail, we had to decide if we were going to do the entire loop along the seashore or take the shorter loop around the lake. We had barely seen the seashore, so we headed toward the cliffs and as we went we decided it made the most sense to just press on and do the whole trail.
Absolutely no regrets about that.
Words and photographs don’t even come close to the majestic beauty of the sandstone cliffs and the blue-green water. At times, we were literally weak-kneed and breathless at the sight of them.
Grand Portal Point was stunning and surprising.
What we saw was worth every step, even when the black flies were swarming my legs. (We used an entire can of bug spray just on me.) Even when I had to pee in the woods. (One time, there was a vault toilet with a privacy fence, so that wasn’t too bad.)
We crossed several bridges over the Mosquito River that had me focusing on the way forward and not the way down.
We followed the river to the falls of the same name. Another impressive waterfall.
Our knees began to give out during the last mile-plus. It was brutal to finish but we did it, and when we got to the parking lot, it was full of cars (in the morning, when we started, there were only a few vehicles) including numerous sedans our car’s size and a Mercedes. So, we felt better about our chances of getting back up the primitive road. We finished hiking around 5 p.m.m, about 7 1/2 hours of hiking (including the beach lunch picnic).
Back to the campsite for showers then into Marquette for dinner. As we ate, a group of teens/pre-teens came in and sat at the booth near us. They were loud and rowdy and unsupervised, which wasn’t a problem until they made a snide comment to the server about how long it was taking to get their pizza. I had been stewing for a few minutes over their behavior so I stood up on my wobbly legs and approached their booth using my teacher voice: “First of all, it’s a holiday. Second, they are understaffed. Third, everyone else in the restaurant has been waiting the same amount of time as you and no one else is behaving as rudely as you. I don’t know where your parents are, but this is embarrassing behavior. Stop it.” I sat back down, the server thanked me and I told them that I worked at a middle school. Raising my voice I added, “And I’m on vacation!” The rest of our dinner passed without incident.
The next morning, we hobbled out of bed and returned to Doncker’s for breakfast. Why mess with a good thing? After breakfast, we took a short walk to stretch our legs, then it was back to the campsite to prep for our bus tour of Grand Island. On our way there, we stopped at a gift shop in Munising, Michigan to get some Pictured Rocks memorabilia. Another puzzle. A hat. A shirt.
We checked in for our bus tour and boarded the ferry around noon for a short ride across the lake to Grand Island National Recreation Area.
The island is owned by the U.S. Forest Service but there are still some private homes on the island. Our bus driver/guide Harry worked for a caretaker on the island so he had a lot of stories and personality to share. He was also a retired Scoutmaster who brought Scouts to the island for overnight trips. We were in good hands for the day.
The island has a lot of history starting with the Ojibwa/Chippewa people who lived on the island originally for most of the year. In winter, because the UP averages 240 inches of snow a year, they moved to the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. The island was eventually purchased by a company that logged the land as well as harvested maple syrup and berries. This company opened a resort on the island and hosted big game hunting parties. Rumor has it Teddy Roosevelt stayed on the island. Tourism dropped off after the Mackinac Bridge was built, and the forest service purchased the island in 1990. They’re working on restoration and buying up all the property.
We stopped at one of the cabins the forest service owns and looked around, taking a short walk to a small waterfall.
The next cabin was maybe the oldest structure on the Lake Superior coastline.
It still had original graffiti.
And a magnificent view of the lake.
We stopped at a cemetery on the island where the family of the first white guy on the island is buried. Some of his descendants who live on the island were there doing clean up.
The tour took us to a lake, a bay and an overlook but it was a foggy, rainy, misty afternoon so some of our views were obscured. Phil and I ate our packed lunch on the bus as we traveled. The Lodge was a highlight of the tour because that’s where Harry worked and the building lent itself well to imagination.
Our tour was running long so we had a choice to take a trail or go to the beach where we saw more of the beautiful rocks the lake gives up to the shore.
Back to the boat dock and across the lake to the campsite to organize and clean out the car for our departure the next day.
After dinner, we took a drive down to the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse area.
We weren’t sure how close we could get since the maritime museum was closed. We walked a path toward the light. I worried that we were trespassing but we managed to not get arrested.
We ended the night with gelato and some research for our next day of travel. On the way back to the campsite, we decided to check out Lakenenland, a sculpture park this guy started making after he got sober 25 years ago.
It was strange/creepy/cool. The artwork is made from salvaged materials.
It was a fine way to end our time in the U.P.
The next morning we got up early to get on the road by 7 so we could make it to Milwaukee in time to catch an afternoon baseball game. Took a quick break in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, the site of a catastrophic fire that happened the same day as the Great Chicago Fire.
The museum and cemetery weren’t open yet but looked around outside and read the signage. Our kids had learned about this fire in school. A few miles down the road we stopped at a geographical marker for the theoretical point of the 45th parallel.
Then we passed through Green Bay and didn’t burn up due to exposure. (The Chicago-Green Bay football rivalry is hardcore.)
We stopped south of Sheboygan to get everything in order for the game. We had to download an app to get our tickets and buy a parking pass. I realized I couldn’t take my purse in. I got a little bit anxious about all of this but it all the pieces of the puzzle went together smoothly. We got into the park before the game started with enough time to use the rest room, buy Phil a shirt (he will never wear it; the Milwaukee-Chicago baseball rivalry is hardcore) and get food.
Our seats were in the terrace (upper deck) and behind home plate and offered a beautiful view of the game.
It was a pitcher’s duel for a lot of the game, just solid, enjoyable baseball. We were in good company with lots of Cubs’ fans throughout. We haven’t been to an MLB game in years and it’s been more than a decade since we set foot in Wrigley Field. The Brewers scored first on a homer, then the Cubs scored on a triple and a base hit to tie it up. In the top of the ninth, the Cubs got a few runners on base and scored the go-ahead against the Brewers’ closer Josh Hader. It couldn’t have happened to a better guy!
Getting out of the parking lot and back on the road was not bad at all. On the way to our hometown, we passed the exit for the town where my grandma lived with her second husband. We used to visit their house on the lake often. We stopped in Delavan to eat a quick treat at Culver’s. Rolled into my parents’ house around 8 p.m. and reunited with the kids swapping stories and gifts. While we were in the U.P. the kids were painting the town at the Petunia Festival and with my cousin and his family who were visiting from Colorado. Carnival, parade, fireworks, ice cream, pancake breakfast, water fights, splash pad. They barely had time to miss us.
Our first day back with the kids, we visited my grandma at her assisted living facility then took a walk at Nachusa Grasslands to see if we could find the bison and their babies. We did find them!
We saw a one-hour adaptation of Twelfth Night at a Shakespeare in the Park event that was moved indoors due to inclement weather.
The next day we packed and cleaned out the car. My cousin and his family returned from their getaway to Chicago, and my grandma, and uncle and aunt came over for dinner. Lots of hanging out and storytelling and just being together.
Our son got a slingshot rocket as his prize from Pizza Ranch and lost it on the roof of my parents’ house. My cousin went up a ladder to get it down. Then the scooters and ATVs came out and I rode the Honda Ruckus all over the yard and loved it. I can see one of these in my future.
Ended the night with a fire and s’mores and enjoying the perfect Midwest evening.
Saturday morning was for more packing and goodbyes, then it was off to the cemetery to meet Phil’s mom, sister and her family to bury my father-in-law’s ashes. We had a short service then hung out with family briefly before starting the drive back to Pennsylvania. We left a little after 10 for our journey to Dayton, Ohio, where we planned to stop for the night. After dinner, we checked in to the hotel and the kids spent some time in the pool.
Headed out after breakfast the next morning and stopped at Blacklick Woods Park in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, for a short walk and water/bathroom break. We learned that Reynoldsburg is the birthplace of the tomato for commercial use. Fascinating deep dive on the Internet and this is why we road trip.
We made it to Wheeling, West Virginia for lunch because we wanted to get an up-close look at the suspension bridge there.
After lunch, we walked across the bridge and back.
It’s under repair so cars can’t go on it but pedestrians are welcome. We also walked down to the riverfront park to get a view of the bridge from below at Heritage Port.
Back in the car, we crossed into Pennsylvania and made one more short stop at Cedar Creek Park and Gorge for a walk and pit stop. This looked like a popular place for tubing and other water activities on a weekend afternoon.
We got home just before 8 p.m. exhausted and exhilarated from our travels.
What We Ate on Vacation
If you’ve made it this far, let me reward you with some food pics.
Our Pittsburgh-area friends live in Ambridge where we ate at the Bridgetown Taproom, feasting on fried pickles and pretzels with beer cheese for starts and a variety of burgers for dinner. I had a black and bleu turkey burger. Phil had the Bridgetown burger and turkey chili.
At Tony Packo’s we ate fast-casual hungarian food like chicken paprikash, pierogies, poutine (okay, maybe that’s not hungarian) and a chicken sandwich.
My friend Amanda is a queen of hospitality and an amazing baker. We awoke to her delicious hospitality in the form of chocolate chip muffins, coffee, fruit, and a hash brown casserole.
At Wilson’s Cheese Shop, we picked out a morel and leek Monterey Jack cheese, a super sharp piconning (the name of the town, which is Michigan’s cheese capital), venison and hunter snack sticks, cherry nut fudge and some cherry bread for later.
At Doncker’s, for breakfast, I ate a Gitchi Gumee (this is the Ojibwa name for Lake Superior) omelet (portobello mushrooms, goat cheese, basil, tomato) with mixed greens on the side, hash browns and bacon.
Phil had steak hash with cinnamon-raisin bread and strawberry jam. When we went back for ice cream, Phil asked if he could have a Green River float.
He had seen this nostalgic soda in the case upstairs and they agreed to make him one. I had a mint avalanche waffle cone.
Local ice cream is another feature of our adventures.
Fish Express, a food truck, served up a shoreline sandwich and hush puppies for me. Phil got fish and chips with an extra side of hush puppies. I cannot explain to you how tasty a whitefish sandwich is. The fish has fresh-from-the-lake flavor.
Hiking food: for breakfast we ate danishes, kiefer and apples trying to give ourselves a good balance to start the day; for lunch we ate pasties (pass-ties)–a steak and rutabaga hand pie that was a staple with miners. It was the perfect repast. We ate some smoked string cheese, too.
Our post-hike dinner was at Third Coast Pizzeria in Marquette. It was open on a holiday and we just needed refueling food. We started with poutine and then had a San Marzano chicken pizza on a Detroit-style crust.
Our second breakfast at Doncker’s: I had the Abbey Road breakfast burrito which was stuffed full of vegetables and avocado with a side of sausage patties.
Phil had the Doncker smash, a corned beef hash mixture with eggs, and a pancake on the side.
For dinner on our last day in the UP, we went to Border Grill, a fast casual southwest style place where we could get whitefish on our burritos, bowls, nachos or tacos. Phil had a burrito. I had a bowl. It was sufficiently tasty.
Gelato at Provisions. I had tiramisu. Phil had a combo of stracciatella and salted caramel.
Breakfast on the road to Milwaukee was truck stop coffee and some sour cream donuts and fruit we had packed.
Baseball food: We had two kinds of brats because Wisconsin: the ultimate which had sauerkraut, swiss cheese and mustard and the tipsy polish which was topped with peppers, caramelized onions and tator tots. We had a side of tots, as well. No pictures because we were too hungry.
More road food: Concrete mixers at Culver’s.
Dairy Delite ice cream: Our son had something called a Boston malt that was like a sundae on top of a milkshake. What?
Dinner at Arthur’s Garden Deli, the one place we MUST eat at when we’re in town.
Pizza Ranch, a pizza buffet with an arcade. Their mac and cheese pizza is better than Cici’s, in my opinion.
No summer trip to Illinois is complete without making s’mores in the fire pit.
We shared some donuts from Stan’s Donuts that my cousin and his wife had purchased in Chicago.
We ate at Moe’s Southwestern Grill in Normal, IL for lunch on our way back to Pennsylvania then ate at Cane’s in Dayton.
The hotel breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express in Dayton was better-than-average for a hotel breakfast: pancakes, cinnamon rolls, omelets, biscuits and gravy, bacon. We ate it all.
In Wheeling, we ate at the Bridge Tavern. They had a limited menu for brunch but everything was delicious: greek wraps, chicken caesar wrap, chicken and waffles. It hit the spot for our road-weary souls.
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The rest of the month pales in comparison to vacation, but I try to love the ordinary days as well as the extraordinary ones. (The days can’t all be extraordinary, can they?)
What We Did
One night while our daughter was at band, the three of us played cribbage.
On a Saturday morning when I had a client phone call, Phil took the kids on a $5 shopping excursion at Building Character. They came home with small treasures.
Another afternoon, we instituted some no-screen time. We got out a puzzle. Art was also an option. I ended up finishing the puzzle what felt like weeks later because of the blue sky parts.
Long’s Park summer music. It’s been hit-and-miss for us this summer between other plans and the weather. One of the highlights was when the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra performed Broadway tunes.
I got my COVID booster before school starts. It was just as much “fun” as the last two, but I’m glad for the extra protection.
We went to the pool with friends from church. There was a water slide. I did it twice. Go me!
Hiking! In the heat!
We got a little bit lost but overall had a fun time with a couple people from church. This was the second of our summer church hikes.
Two of our small group members from church hosted a game night. Ticket to Ride is always a fun time.
Phil took our daughter to a concert in Philly. A while back he introduced her to the music of The Linda Lindas and they happened to be playing in Philly. So, off they went!
Meanwhile, my son and I played video games. I don’t hate it.
One day, to mix up the mindless screen time, I asked the kids to do a deep dive/research project. They came back with the weirdest laws still on the books in every state.
Another Saturday outing: the Lititz Fine Art show in Lititz Springs Park. We left with some note cards and a renewed appreciation for creative endeavors. I have the business cards of six artists whose work I want to follow up with.
What We Ate
Because of our food splurging on vacation, the rest of the month’s food pursuits haven’t been as interesting, but we have eaten a lot of ice cream. (Isn’t that what summer is for?)
One night we went to Good Life Ice Cream and Treats, which is our go-to for unusual flavors. That night we had lavender, sweet corn, root beer float and lemonade ice creams.
Phil and I went out for lunch when the kids had a middle school hangout at church so we tried Poke Bowl Station.
Post-hike in the 90-degree heat, we stopped at Pine View Dairy on the way home. Here, we had butter brickle, espresso oreo caramel, strawberry cheesecake and a milkshake mashup of chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate peanut butter and chocolate mint.
For game night, we took some quarts from Good Life: strawberry and cheesecake mixed; salted caramel and chocolate mixed; and a sampling of sweet corn and meadow tea ice creams. (Meadow Tea is a local drink, an acquired taste. I think you either love it or hate it.)
And still more ice cream. Phil found out about a company making ice cream with Little Debbie flavors, so he picked up a few pints: Oatmeal Creme Pie, Cosmic Brownie and Nutty Buddy. Can confirm: tastes like Little Debbies.
A couple of culinary delights for dinner: Baba ganoush and Philly cheesesteaks.
What We Watched
Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Um, what?
Ms. Marvel. Finished it. Loved it.
Arrested Development. Phil and I have started this series. (I know, we’re late to the party.) Laugh out loud funny.
Grace and Frankie. Still trying to finish the final season.
Is It Cake? Bakers make cake look like other things to try to fool judges. We’re watching this as a family and it’s oddly entertaining.
Virgin River, season 4. The last two episodes redeemed the whole season for me, and now I can’t wait for season 5.
Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, the movie. Nostalgic and fun.
Supermarket Sweep. The kids and I watch this occasionally.
The Bad Guys. Based on one of our favorite book series. Movie was enjoyable.
Grantchester. Fulfilling my anglophilia.
All Creatures Great and Small. See above. I want to run off to the Yorkshire Dales and become a sheep farmer.
Field of Dreams.
Phil wanted to show this to the kids before the Cubs play the Reds in the MLB Field of Dreams game. One child was not excited about it before we watched and then was totally hooked. Makes me want to show them a “classic” every week. Or maybe once a month.
What We Read
July is crunch time for my freelance reading job for the summer, so other reading takes a backseat. Although with a road trip vacation, I did get some good reading time in. (Yes, I can read in the car. I’m like the Sam I Am of reading … I can read books anywhere!)
Books I finished:
Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain. I heard about this because it’s a movie. The book was okay, but I’ll probably still check out the movie.
Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile. Such a good memoir, and it made me want to listen to all her music.
Beach Read by Emily Henry. Book club picked this one for our summer read and though we haven’t discussed it yet, I might be the only one who liked it!
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. Picked this one up at a Scholastic Book Fair at school. The main character is a 13-year-old girl named Aven who was born without arms, which I thought was interesting by itself. But the premise hooked me: she and her parents move to Arizona to run a theme park that’s seen better days, and as Aven explores her new home, she uncovers a mystery that she and her new friend, Connor set out to solve.
Books in progress:
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien. This one is taking me a long time.
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison. I don’t remember where I heard about this one, but I’m doing some research about empathy. The opening essay is about Jamison’s time as a medical actor, which I didn’t even know was a thing.
With the kids:
Spy School Revolution by Stuart Gibbs. We are rapidly approaching the end of the Spy School series, which is a shame.
