Me, My Car, and I

I just drove nearly 600 miles over the course of 36 hours. I've been to Lake Michigan and Lake Saint Claire, and saw pretty much everything in between. It wouldn't have been nearly as painful had I not forgotten my iPod at home. Okay, if I'm being honest, it wasn't that bad. The weather was beautiful and the time alone was somewhat therapeutic. Long drives, exhausting as they may be, can do wonders for clearing your mind.

Last Wednesday I took off from work early for the Fisher Building downtown Detroit to tape a radio interview for WJR. I'm representing Select Michigan, a program from the Michigan Department of Agriculture to promote Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables, in an upcoming event at Papa Joe's in Rochester. I will be on Melinda Curtis' show Come to the Table this Sunday, June 1, at 7pm EST on talk radio 760. If you're not in the Detroit area and would like to listen online you can listen live online. Need a reason to tune in? Think SNL's Delicious Dish circa 1996. Good times.

Saturday morning I started the long cross-state extravaganza at 7:30am and headed to Alma for the Highland Festival. I had to be there early for the parade, followed by a luncheon and the opening ceremony. Once again, I was greeted by a lovely young man in a kilt, my escort for the day. What I find amusing about the escorts at these Scottish events is that they seem to fit the profile of the type of individuals that are the very reason I require a chaperon. Also, they wear kilts, which tend to set them back on the intimidation scale (insert obvious joke about men in skirts). All kidding aside, Joe was a sweet young man and I appreciated having someone there to help me with my things and chase down the parade float when I left my sunglasses on it. The highlight of the event was seeing a 400-piece marching pipe band perform about 5 feet in front of me. It was pretty incredible to see and experience up close.

From Alma I headed to Muskegon to our faithful sponsor, House of Chan. I had dinner with Shelley, our Executive Director, before meeting Alan Carson of Tourcotte CT Gallery for my official portrait photo shoot. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you have gotten ready for a photo shoot in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant. Imagine going out for dinner on a Saturday evening and finding a half-dressed girl in the bathroom with her makeup and curling irons spread out across the counter. Yes, it is a glamorous life I lead.

Next stop was the beach for an evening photo shoot. It was absolutely beautiful outside and the scenery was perfect. I saw the proofs this morning and they turned out great. I can't think of a better place to have pictures taken as Miss Michigan than along one of our Great Lakes. Thank you to Alan and Tourcotte CT Gallery for making time for me and donating this special keepsake.

From the beach I got in my car and headed back to Ann Arbor. I spent much of the drive furiously switching AM stations trying to get the Pistons game to come in clear. Of course, every time I found a good channel they were falling further and further behind, which added to the frustration. I stopped once to use the restroom and nearly had to peel myself off the driver's seat. On my way back I noticed a raccoon standing between me and my car and my heart started beating out of my chest. I hate those nasty things and I'm terrified of them. The only thing I could think to do was to hit the panic button on my car to scare it away. As soon as it moved I made a mad dash to my car, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a family of four staring at me. They clearly had not seen the raccoon and thought I was just some crazy woman in full makeup and sweatpants running out of a McDonald's. I'm just glad I didn't have the Miss Michigan magnets on my car at the time.

I made it home by 11:00 and went straight to bed. I think the adrenaline rush from the raccoon put me over the edge. I had a parade in Saint Claire Shores on Sunday, so I met Terri out there in the morning. The parade had a pretty decent turnout and the weather could not have been more perfect. I rode in a beautiful horse-drawn carriage. The driver had her dog with her who would peak out every now and then, directly above the sign with my name on it. Terri and I had a good laugh over it and then proceeded to take pictures. Oh, and we met a young man named Bryan Brandenburg, son of the Honorable Jack Brandenburg, who looks like a real live Ken doll. Bryan, if you're out there, I'm single.

After my final trek back to Ann Arbor, I proceeded to clean my entire house while waiting for a guy to call. We had plans. He stood me up. But on the bright side, my house is spotless and my laundry smells like fresh mountain air (at least that's what Tide calls it). I spent the rest of my weekend off potting flowers, barbecuing, and enjoying my first long run of the summer. It's going to be a good one, and I'm excited it's finally here. Tomorrow, it's back to Google and the real world.