I hope that every child has the opportunity to grow up knowing a place that is special for them. Christine and I both did, and one of our goals for this leg of our trip was to share those places with each other. Ludington, Michigan: We drove to Ludington with Christine's parents shortly after we flew into Michigan over a week ago. In true style, the Loewe's turned it into a vacation, and we also enjoyed Christine's Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Diane and their grand-daughter Kaitlin (I'm not quite sure what that makes her to Christine?); Michelle, Richard and Ethan; AND Christine's friend Lana. Sue rented a big house by Lake Michigan in town and we went to work doing all of the things that the area demands. The place is like a "fun-hog" paradise and over just two and a half days we went to the beach, took in the town celebration, at sand at the dunes, played putt-putt golf, raced go-karts, hiked out to the old lighthouse and rented a pontoon boat for a tool around Lake Hamlin. Oh yeah, we ate a lot of ice cream too.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, we visited Slaughter Beach Delaware on the Delaware Bay. My grand-parents owned a summer cottage (photo above) when I was small, and then retired to the beach in 1981 or so. My parents also briefly owned a small house on the beach. We spent many summer days there, and the memories are important ones to me. Slaughter Beach isn't really a tourist town and there isn't much to do - no putt-putt or go-karts, sadly. There isn't even any place to get a room. My family no longer owns a house there, so we couldn't stay on the beach. We did learn, though, that my family has a strong history at Slaughter Beach and in the nearby town of Milford. My great-grandfather built two houses on the beach, which are now owned by a great-uncle and his son. We spent time in Milford with my Aunt Dixie exploring some family history, and also drove up to Dover to visit with my grand-parents at an assisted living community. I ended up learning quite a bit about my family, and I am delighted that Christine was with me for that.