DAY 8
Buchanan, MI
On Thursday, Maureen heads to Chicago to take my cousin, Austin, to the dentist to get his braces removed. She is gone most of the day so Joe and I head off on our own. He has found a small espresso machine in his basement and I attempt to use it, failing the first time but getting a pretty decent cup of coffee out of the second. For breakfast I eat some of Joe’s freshly baked zucchini bread and have some sliced, Michigan peaches that he has precut and stored in the refrigerator. Soon after we head for Warren Dunes, a place I went with my aunt nine years ago when I was sixteen. Other then climbing the massive dunes I remember that she got attacked by greenhead horseflies on the way back to the car when a black cloud of them swarmed her and she was very upset at her brother, my dad, for showing no signs of sympathy.
Warren Dunes are just a few massive piles of sand that are blown farther and farther from the lakeshore every year by the wind. They slowly take over the forests just beyond them, swallowing up huge swaths of woods and leaving the trees to die and rot just where they stand. The hike up is brutal because not only is the climb straight up hill but it is also through shifting sand which makes the climb even harder. At the top, there is some shade from trees that have not yet died or have learned to survive with their root structures buried underneath ten feet of sand. The top of the dune is really just a massive ridge, which is only about twenty feet wide, dropping off on the other side into dense forest. It is one of the highest points along the Lake Michigan coast and Joe tells me on a clear day you can see the Chicago skyline. The incredible heat and haze of the afternoon make this impossible on this particular day so we settle for taking in the spectacular view of the lake and coast. What we can see is miles of endless water, all different shades of blue, stretching off and then blending into the blue horizon.
After hiking along the desert-like landscape, we head down to the public beach to cool off. The beach is absolutely trashed with plastic water bottles and empty food wrappers and every inch of it that isn’t covered with trash is covered with people. An enormous family sets up in front of us; actually there are several families, mothers and children only, and they begin to swallow up every centimeter of sand around us. They have two beach umbrellas, both that tout advertisements for beer. This family moment brought to you by: Bud Lite.
The water is cold but feels great after climbing the dunes. We hang out for a while but since neither Joe nor I are interested in tanning, we change and leave after swimming. Joe takes me to Redamaks in New Buffalo, a popular vacation spot for citizens of Chicago, to feast on supposedly famous hamburgers. We gorge ourselves on burgers and fried clam strips and onion rings and it is fantastic. I have tried to avoid food like this the whole trip, knowing that devouring grease and then digesting it while sitting in a car is not optimal for my health, but this fare is nothing short of opulent comfort food. It is not too greasy and when I leave I don’t have the feeling like my stomach is going to explode. Instead I feel fully satisfied. Joe is very funny and always has something interesting to say, especially about food, and treats me to everything so I have a great time.
After a few stops we return home and I shower and jump in the hot tub to complete the experience of being in a resort. When I emerge cleaned off, Joe announces that he’s having a cocktail and I make myself one. Joe and Maureen have a fully stocked bar set up in their kitchen and I can really make any kind of drink I want so I decide to take the opportunity to try a Cuervo Black and coke with a lime, which is quite good. Joe and I head out for a walk on a trail that curves along the bog through the woods and he points out all the old oak trees that his neighbor plans to harvest for the lumber. The mosquitoes are out in numbers so we head back for more drinks. Maureen arrives home around six thirty with Austin, whom she didn’t want to drive all the way back to his house an hour and a half away after having brought him to the city and sat all day in horrendous traffic. We have dinner together in the dining room; Joe’s latest concoction is grilled salmon and fresh vegetables and for Austin he heats up some fried chicken strips he had earlier at McDonalds and makes some homemade mashed potatoes. Austin is ten and very entertaining. When I ask if he wants to go in the hot tub with me he says: “No thanks, I’m straight.” The later he says God invented football and when Maureen asks him why he thinks that he replied: “Well, how do you think he beat the Romans?”
We watch the movie Traitor after dinner and it is just good enough not to walk away from in the middle. We hang out for a while after the movie, watching an interview with Paul McCartney on Letterman and then the subsequent performance on top of the Late Show marquee on Broadway and 53rd. I have the first fitful night of sleep, perhaps nervous about embarking the next day, but I eventually fall asleep.
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