Bueno, I'm back again.
How are things people? Hope you're doing great. It'd be a contrast to my migraines. Yeah, that's right, they're back and they're back with vengeance.
But that's not where I want to start.
I don't really want to tell you about the migraines at all to tell the truth. If I talk about them then they sound really terrible, which in reality, they are, but they will not control my life. I refuse to succumb to this. I'm stronger than that. I'm alive and that's all that matters to me. As soon as I'm not allowed to do the things I want to do, then I'll complain because I'll actually have something to complain about. Until then, I see no point reporting them.
So how about starting with my vacation?
Fall Break, that is.
Okay so October started with some fun. The night of the 3rd started my vacation with a trip to Toledo, funded by the French House, to see an opera named
La Boheme (sorry that I didn't get the accent in there) which is actually in Italian. It was absolutely beautiful and I'd love to see more operas in the future. I wanted to cry and it didn't even matter if I completely understood the language or not. The acting was amazing and if it weren't for the high school students (who were very rude) I would have felt like I was transported back in time via the Tardis just to see this show... It was student night, which meant that students got in free and the French House paid for us to get there in a rental van driven by a graduate student in French.
La Boheme is actually the basis of a Broadway hit named
Rent. Mom and I love this show and have seen it on dvd a few times. We love the song "Seasons of Love" from this show which I put on my cards to friends when graduation came around....
Anyway, point being, that because I'd seen
Rent I could see bits and pieces where they had taken characters from and you can see that the story line is pretty much the same. I was however that the tango Maureen had been excluded.... it's another one of my favorite numbers in the Broadway version. It doesn't really matter though because this opera blew my mind. I was absolutely amazed at the things they were able to do and the spectacular acting that these people did. Kudos to them.
Also, Kudos to the pit orchestra. What amazing things you were able to do without microphones and I was sitting all the way up in the balcony...
Continuing from there, my aunt picked me up at the theatre and took me back to her place for the night. Totally cool because I didn't have plans to go anywhere for Fall Break until the Sunday before when she happened to text me and we made surprise plans, which I'll elaborate on in a minute.
Thursday morning I got up to breakfast of Canadian bacon and eggs thanks to my aunt who loves me and cooks some amazing food. It was like eating the first real breakfast I had in my life.... okay, exagerating but still, can they not make real breakfast/food on campus? Why do I have to pay extra for the crap you're making me eat now?
I digress.
Around noon, I curled up in my uncle's Saab with their dog Pupette at my feet, and we left Toledo on a quest. Not a quest to find something because we knew where we were going and what we would find there, but a quest to surprise my grandparents who didn't know that I would be coming to Kelly's Island for the weekend. So maybe mission is a better word.... Yeah, I like that. My mission (and I chose to accept it) was to show up uninvited to a sort of small family get together, thus taking my grandparents by surprise and watching their plans change from the lounging they thought they would do to lounging with me instead.
I know, I'm so evil you can hardly contain yourself....
I was okay until we got on the ferry at Marblehead. Then my nerves got going and I had all sorts of butterflies going on.
Did I forget to mention that the weather was absolutely gorgeous??? Because it was.
Anyway,
We arrive at the island house, which is totally impressive by the way, and my uncle let's me out so that I can walk up to the front steps and surprise my grandparents who are inside. I was supposed to just knock and have them be all surprised but when I knocked, they didn't hear/see me so my uncle had to go inside and tell them to go see if there was something on the front porch.
So my grandpa comes to the door and I could see the smile just spread across his face. That made my day. Then grandma jumps up off the couch to hug me, her smile priceless as well.
From there I got the grand tour of the island house which I'd never been to before. I'd actually not been to the island itself for about 13 years give or take a few months so everything was like a bright and shiny new adventure to go on.
From the tour, I was convinced to go kayaking....okay convinced is the wrong word....maybe enticed is better...I went kayaking in the sunshine either way. It's amazing what a little open water, some sunshine, a light breeze and no plans for the next three days can do for the soul. I felt like I was meditating without having the intent of meditating. My soul was just singing away and I wasn't worried about anything. Not even getting wet was a problem even though the water was a bit chilly.
Before dinner, while grandpa cooked delicious steak slabs on the grill, I was in a hammock with the sun setting in the distance, the sky in various shades of pink and purple, reflected in the rippling water... book in hand (well kindle but still). It was a perfect feeling of relaxation that I wish I could have more of in my life. I could not have asked for anything more from that weekend after that moment.
The next morning (Friday) I woke up to the rain, but I slept like a rock. I felt like I was floating as I fell asleep and it was the most glorious thing I've felt in a very long time. I spent the morning relaxing in a comfy chair then I was mustered up to go out and brave the weather to look at the shops and places around the island.
Let's see, I'll just list some places we went to. I think that's the most efficient way to do this.
The campground, the glacial grooves, the store across from the campground, down Titus road, some old stone houses, the general store up town, the old quarry, the grey of the water in the rain, and the colors of the leaves as they decided fall was actually the time of year it was...
I even got my Klondike bar as tradition would have grandpa and I do while on the island. I came during the summer when I was little though so I'm not sure it was quite as satisfying as back then but I was a happy camper either way. I mean give any girl chocolate and she'll love you for at least five minutes more than before.... no that is not dating advice, it's just an observation. We girls make no sense.
After ice-cream, we stopped at The Kelly's Island Winery, owned and operated by a friend of mine's family who went to Spain with me. Isa, if you're reading this, I miss you again but I'm glad that I got to see you and your dad! I'll have to get out there more often so we can actually hang out.
For dinner that night we went uptown again to The Village Pump for their perch special. Basically fish and chips... it was good though and Scot ordered a bottle of wine for the table so of course I had a good time.
Then to end the night I curled up by the fireplace with my writing until I couldn't keep my eyes open much longer.
For those of you not keeping track of the days, that was day two. Just Friday. I have two more days to tell you about so you've officially made it to the half-way point.
Saturday I got up to grandpa's famous breakfast minus the fried potatoes. My family must not think that I get enough protein in my diet or something.... Anyway, after breakfast we got around and went on a hike around the point (Long Point) where the house is. We walked the shore for most of the journey and there were a bunch of cool little rocks that reminded me of Maine and the tidal pools trip I took when I was there. I even made a fairy house out of some of them just to demonstrate to grandpa what they were.
The breeze was chilly but the sun was bright and made me feel like a small child for a while. I was jumping from rock to rock and climbing around, wishing I could go climbing despite Ohio being a little flat...
To get back we cut through the trees and everything was still pretty green and watching us from all angles as I decided to explore one of the old house foundations from the pioneer days of the island's history. If it weren't so damp, I probably would have decided that it was a great writing spot, hidden away from the world, surrounded by stones with so many stories to tell.... It would have been amazing for inspiration.
When we got back to the house, I showered and got comfortable to curl up by the fireplace with a nice warm cedar fire burning, to do some homework and wait for people to show up. My aunt and uncle were having a small get together for dinner that night with some pretty interesting people, including a couple who flew in from New Orleans...
We had another beautiful sunset that night too. It was like a painting out there with the water and the trees.
Sunday morning was chilly. I had breakfast with grandma who stayed back from church that morning then I got around and went to the shops with my aunt who had come Saturday late morning. I broke down and got some really awesome postcards for a dollar and decided that was all I was allowed to get. Hooray for self control!
We even stopped in at the island's cute little museum and went through it. I would have never guessed that there was such a rich and unique history of the island. Most of the stuff inside this place I'd never even imagined existing in the first place. For example an ice boat. Google it if you must to find out what it is but this thing blew my mind a bit.
On the way back to the house from the museum, we discovered this very unusual car. It's apparently called an "Art Car"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thatcar/
Here's a website that has where they're taking the art car. It's kinda awesome to me that I got to see this car on the island. I mean really what are the chances?
For lunch, we had shrimp which had been brought up by the couple for New Orleans. It was spectacular. I've not had shrimp like that since living in Spain. Seriously, it was good.
Then my aunt, Pupette and I caught the 4pm ferry back to Marblehead and back to BG for the end of my wonderful island vacation.
This week as predicted was hard to get through. Between school and new migraines, I'm handling things the best I can. I don't have any plans for this weekend but I don't want to make any. I just want to relax and work on catching up on the things that I missed because my head was exploding... Maybe I'll rent a movie just to relax tonight or tomorrow night. We'll see what happens.
Hasta Pronto Chicos!
Blessed Be
