"Last" Day of Summer

Although today wasn't officially the last day of summer, it was in my mind. Labor Day always marks it for me, especially when I'm in school, or in this year's case, teaching school. The students arrive tomorrow, ready or not. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I know everything is going to be okay, but it's the fear of the unknown that has me nervous.

Today was a gorgeous day outside (as was the rest of the weekend). When we woke up this morning, we asked each other, "What do you want to do today?" We knew that we couldn't stay inside, but we didn't want to just walk around downtown. I remembered the park where we went for our friends Melissa and Meghan's going-away party. There was a walking/running trail there. Off we went. We talked on the way about possibly renting a canoe to explore the river, but decided to first go on a little hike. It ended up being a really nice hike. The trail wound its way through the trees with the river on the left side poking through at different spots. It took about an hour round-trip to walk the trail. Once we got back, we decided against renting canoes. But we didn't want to go home.

Stein suggested that we go to the cider mill. We followed Huron River Drive along the river, passing a lot of bike riders on either side of the road. We got to the mill and visited with my brother-n-law and sister-n-law (Stein's brother and sister-n-law own the mill) and our three nephews. We grabbed a half-gallon of cider and were on our way home. As we made our way back down Huron River Drive, I asked Stein if we were near Zukey Lake tavern. He didn't know how to get there, so we turned around, and went back to the mill to ask for directions.

A few minutes later we were on our way. We both had never been there, but had heard good things about it. We decided to sit outside on their upstairs patio. The menu is limited up there to basics like pizza, burgers, and salads, but it was just what we were looking for. I had a burger and Stein had a steak and blue cheese salad. We sat looking out onto the lake while we ate our lunch. It almost felt like we were on vacation, exploring a new place and taking in the views.

On the way home, I said to Stein, "I need a nap." He agreed, and the minute we got home, we were on the couch and sleeping. A perfect end to a fun, summer day.