Her annual birthday celebrations have developed a near-epic reputation. This year definitely exceeded expectations, yet again. Heath traveled up a little early to do research at Calvin College and, more importantly, get his fill of New Holland and Bell's breweries. The term "hop-slammed" has now been entered into the Carter lexicon — enough said. :-)
I drove up on Saturday with the Browns and Dena. After our own wonderful lunch at New Holland we arrived in GR with just enough time to settle in before the evening's festivities began. Lisa's friend Andy has a great house (with an even greater back yard) that served as party central. In addition to hanging beautiful lights he also assembled a movie screen and arranged speakers in the yard so that we could enjoy not only good food, but entertainment as well. Lisa's movie of choice was Scorsese's "The Last Waltz," a documentary of sorts centered on the final performance of The Band. It was a fantastic evening.
On Sunday we woke up to Lisa delivering tasty scones and then all headed to Kirk Park, about an hour outside of GR, to spend the day on the beaches of Lake Michigan. The weather was perfect, the dunes were beautiful and even though the water was cold the group had a great time playing volleyball, reading, chatting, hiking and just relaxing.
We left the beach to go home, shower and grab a bite before the evening's festivities began. There was no better place to go for that bite than the Brick Road Pizza Co., a local establishment known for using locally produced foods and goods as well as having killer vegan options. We went for the pizza instead...three pizzas to be exact. They were phenomenal!
From there, we walked over to The Sparrows, which Lisa had rented for the evening. We had the barista at our beck and call and Lisa provided assorted foods and more "adult" drinks. Other than loving on Lisa, the festivities were centered around a book release. Lisa has been working on a poetry book of items written by her, her friends and family for the last couple years. Finally, it was complete, bound and beautifully displayed for all to see (and take). As part of the evening, guests were invited to read what they had written for the book or, if they preferred (or hadn't written!), there was a selection of poetry by other authors made available so people could select a favorite to read. The evening ended with dancing before the last call crew made its way back to Andy's to sit around the fire pit and enjoy the last few hours of a very fun day.
We had to leave before brunch on Monday, but it was a wonderful weekend. We can't say enough good things about Lisa, a friend who means the world to us and is a constant blessing in our lives.
1 comment:
A weekend in Michigan is hard to beat!
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