 |
| I lived right there on the mitten! |
I was born and raised in Temperance, Michigan since March 15th, 1990. It's right near Toledo, Ohio, so at times it felt like we lived at 2 states at the same time. We lived in a small one story house with a giant tree and shed in the back yard. It was the only back yard we've had so far that was completely flat. Right before we moved to a new house, we adopted our dog Maggie when she was only a little puppy. In 2001, we moved to a bigger 2 story house in Lambertville, which was the town next to Temperance. It had 2 master bedrooms and a huge yard, even though it was really just a hill. My brother John and I shared one of the master bedrooms at one point. We had 2 beds, a TV, and some bean bag chairs in our huge room. In 2003, my brother Sam was born into our family. 2 years later we moved to Missouri. If you'll look to the right you'll see where these cities are located on the map of Michigan, and by map I mean my hand since it is the mitten state after all!
Almost all of my family lives in Michigan, so the hardest part of moving to Missouri was saying goodbye to them. I was 15 when I moved with my family. I didn't have many friends, so I considered family members as my good friends. I was socially awkward then.......more than I am now. I didn't fully develop into who I am now until after Michigan.
In my old neighborhood in Lambertville, we had a huge neighborhood pool with a diving board and a giant floating Alligator thing that everyone jumped on half the time. There was also a YMCA that most of my family back home belongs to that had swimming pools, video games, a basketball court and pool tables. I biked around town a lot and met up with friends from the neighborhood to play video games or jump on trampolines. I was big on Pokemon after the craze began during my elementary school years, always buying new cards and the Game Boy games (that money could've went towards college). I was also all about Legos, especially Lego Star Wars and Bionicles. I'd have boxes of them in my room and would build and play with them for hours. I hung out with my cousins a bunch of times, especially my younger cousins Joey and James (who are both now taller than me).
The food in Michigan was always good. My favorite food based in Michigan and Ohio was always from Tony Packo's. They're a company that sells food such as pickles, coney sauce for hot dogs and relish at grocery stores, and they sell really delicious hot dogs and fried pickles at their restaurants that are located inside Anderson's, a grocery store chain with tons of free samples of food. Every time we visit Michigan, we stock up on Tony Packo's to take back home with us. I also enjoyed the sports bars such as Sideline's and the mini Chuck E. Cheese place called Toon Town (or Pizza Town?) that was around for a little while, both in Lambertville.
My favorite attractions of Michigan were visiting all of the Great Lakes and staying there until after the sun set. I always enjoyed staying in cabins both in the upper and lower peninsulas, though a few years ago in August it was freezing in the porcupine mountains and I only had one sweatshirt and 1 or 2 pairs of jeans since it was still summer. Every year my entire family used to stay at Maumee Bay State Park for a weekend in December. We would always go sledding, walk on trails, and visit the nearby lodge that had racquetball and tons of arcade games and bouncy balls that we'd buy a bunch of for 25 cents each. My favorite place to visit in Ohio is Cedar Point. I've been there with my family about once or twice a year, more often when I lived in Michigan rather than now. I used to be afraid of riding the big roller coasters, but family members helped me conquer that fear. They still make fun of me for it every time we go to Cedar Point together.
My family and I left Michigan in July 2005, right after I finished middle school. Since then, we've visited Michigan at least 3 times a year to see our family or go on vacation. I don't see myself living in Michigan anytime soon, mainly due to the economy in Michigan not being a great place to work in the construction industry. But I still plan on visiting Michigan more than once even after my family moves to Pittsburgh. I still love Michigan and my family that lives there, and I take what I've learned in Michigan to heart no matter where I live.
Here are a few photos of my family and Michigan!
In my old neighborhood in Lambertville, we had a huge neighborhood pool with a diving board and a giant floating Alligator thing that everyone jumped on half the time. There was also a YMCA that most of my family back home belongs to that had swimming pools, video games, a basketball court and pool tables. I biked around town a lot and met up with friends from the neighborhood to play video games or jump on trampolines. I was big on Pokemon after the craze began during my elementary school years, always buying new cards and the Game Boy games (that money could've went towards college). I was also all about Legos, especially Lego Star Wars and Bionicles. I'd have boxes of them in my room and would build and play with them for hours. I hung out with my cousins a bunch of times, especially my younger cousins Joey and James (who are both now taller than me).
The food in Michigan was always good. My favorite food based in Michigan and Ohio was always from Tony Packo's. They're a company that sells food such as pickles, coney sauce for hot dogs and relish at grocery stores, and they sell really delicious hot dogs and fried pickles at their restaurants that are located inside Anderson's, a grocery store chain with tons of free samples of food. Every time we visit Michigan, we stock up on Tony Packo's to take back home with us. I also enjoyed the sports bars such as Sideline's and the mini Chuck E. Cheese place called Toon Town (or Pizza Town?) that was around for a little while, both in Lambertville.
My favorite attractions of Michigan were visiting all of the Great Lakes and staying there until after the sun set. I always enjoyed staying in cabins both in the upper and lower peninsulas, though a few years ago in August it was freezing in the porcupine mountains and I only had one sweatshirt and 1 or 2 pairs of jeans since it was still summer. Every year my entire family used to stay at Maumee Bay State Park for a weekend in December. We would always go sledding, walk on trails, and visit the nearby lodge that had racquetball and tons of arcade games and bouncy balls that we'd buy a bunch of for 25 cents each. My favorite place to visit in Ohio is Cedar Point. I've been there with my family about once or twice a year, more often when I lived in Michigan rather than now. I used to be afraid of riding the big roller coasters, but family members helped me conquer that fear. They still make fun of me for it every time we go to Cedar Point together.
My family and I left Michigan in July 2005, right after I finished middle school. Since then, we've visited Michigan at least 3 times a year to see our family or go on vacation. I don't see myself living in Michigan anytime soon, mainly due to the economy in Michigan not being a great place to work in the construction industry. But I still plan on visiting Michigan more than once even after my family moves to Pittsburgh. I still love Michigan and my family that lives there, and I take what I've learned in Michigan to heart no matter where I live.
Here are a few photos of my family and Michigan!
First of all, it's the Mitten State, not the glove state. Second, you've got your mitten backwards! The thumb needs to be on the right, not the left! Third, that photo of John's graduation? I'm pretty sure that's from Noblesville! ;) Ah, memories! Fun to look back, exciting to look forward. Love ya, Luker!
ReplyDeleteHaha glove, mitten, same thing! Second, I did say family and Michigan, not family in Michigan. Boom! And yes, we need to look back by going there soon!
Delete