June Bug's 90th Birthday Celebration Part I

                                                        September 28, 2016

The end of September , Joe and I drove to Traverse City so we could spend the night at the Beach Haus Resort Hotel.

Front view of the Beach Haus in Traverse City.

Back side of the resort hotel. No we didn't get a backside balcony room. It cost a little more than the room we got.

The resort sits on the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.

This would be a great place to stay during the summer, but not the end of September.

The room did have a large Jacuzzi tub, which I enjoyed that evening though. You ask, why the stay in the resort the end of September, when the weather is cooler?

Because I had a flight out of the Traverse City airport at 5 AM. I had to be up at 3 AM, to be ready to leave the hotel, get to the airport 4 miles away and through checkout, and on the plane for the take off at 5. Here I had arrived to the Detroit airport, and looking for my next flight to Atlanta, Georgia.

In one of the bathrooms at the Detroit airport, it took me awhile to figure out the facets. It was old and outdated, but still updated for our times. The pipe sticking out of the mirror was the facet and you had to wave your hand under it. The bathroom counter ran a slope to the back and the water ran off the back edge into a trough.

Here is a model of the Detroit Metro Airport. Looks like a airplane to me. My mom was turning 90 years old in a few days, and our family is so spread out, it took some planning to get us all together for her party.  My flight from Detroit to Atlanta went through some storms with lightening striking just outside our window. The girl who sat next to our window, ask the guy who sat in the middle between us, to trade seats with her. It scared both her and I with the very loud cracking sound that accompanied the bright flash!

From Atlanta, I had to take yet another connecting flight to Jacksonville, Florida. My mom, sister Karen, and my niece Tami (Karen's daughter), flew from Cedar Rapids, Iowa on a straight flight to just north of Orlando, FL. From there they rented a car and drove to Jacksonville, FL. With my niece driving the rental and no GPS, or map, they struggled to find the airport that I flew into. I kept looking at google maps on my phone, trying to tell them where I was. They ended up at some other airport close by. It took over an hour after they arrived in Jacksonville to find me. My phone's battery went dead, so there was no communication for a while. Once recharged enough to talk again, I could hear all the frustration that was going on in their car between driver  and passengers! It was a miracle they found me. Our next challenge was to find a hotel for the night that everyone was happy with. We ended with the Microtel in Jacksonville. Here is my sister Karen next to the sign.

 September 29, 2016  

The next day we drove from Jacksonville to Jacksonville Beach about 45 minutes away. We had booked many rooms at the Marriott Hotel in Jacksonville Beach. One by one everyone started to arrive. My daughter and her kids from Gulf Shores, AL arrived by car. Here is Noah standing on their balcony after arriving to their room. After some of us arrived, we went to lunch at a nearby restaurant. In the next video, our waiter sang a song for mom. I wish I had got my video out for the whole thing, but only got the last part.

She got a free birthday desert ( warmed apple dumpling) which we all par-took of. Yum!

Back at the resort,  more of the family showed up. My daughter Tiffany, Blake, and their son arrived by car also from Gulf Shores, AL. My niece Traci and her daughters from the Orlando area also showed up. Lennox (my grandson), Falon, and Caiys (my niece Tracy's girls) are in the pool.

The resort was perfect for a large family reunion. It had many outdoor and indoor sitting areas for such a large group. This area had tables and chairs around a fire pit that was really nice for the  nights at the hotel. I spent hours looking for hotels in Jacksonville Beach and sending links to everyone, so the family could vote on which one they liked and could afford, with all of us in different income brackets.

It had a nice size pool with a hot tub. Note how Lennox has already figured out the pretty girl in the group.

Lennox hanging on to pretty big cousin Falon.

My granddaughter Madalena (6) with Falon (14).

The Marriott Hotel had an poolside bar which us adults enjoyed.

View from the bar stools at the poolside bar. There was also an inside bar in the lobby. After everyone arrived, it took until after dark, before we could get a consensuses of where all 21 people wanted to go for dinner. Most of us sat around the fire pit and enjoyed a few drinks, making the decision making more difficult since now who could drive since we all had been drinking. There was a restaurant inside the lobby, but the prices where high for what you got. One of our family groups got frustrated with the indecisiveness and settled for the expensive hotel food.

Finally Derek, my nephew who lives in Jacksonville came up with a close by restaurant area, and others found a van that hauled people to restaurants for tips. We walked around the restaurant area and settle on Poe's Tavern

Noah (8) and Cairy's (10) my sister Karen's granddaughter.

It took 2 large tables for us. If the other group has came, it would have taken 3 large tables.

Our 2/3's group for dinner at Poe's Tavern in Jacksonville Beach.

                                            September 30, 2016

I shared a room with my daughter Tiffany, Blake and Lennox. Joe didn't come on this trip because when it was planned, Mallery was doing really good, so he was going to stay home with her. He wasn't keen on spending the ton of money it was going to take for a 3 day celebration, let alone spend it with my crazy family too! I let my grandson use my phone to play Pokemon. After getting home I found this picture with the rest of them. He found a pokemom and got a picture of it. Did he mean the picture to turn out like this or was it an accident. I am sure since he is only 8 probably an accident, but who knows. The kids are always laughing about butts, farts and body parts!



September 30, 2016

My Nana Girl 1 Hayleah (19) and Nana Girl 2 Madalena (6)- (sisters).

For lunch the next day, my daughter Alisha found and reserved a sports bar on the internet for mom's birthday party.

It was kept a secret from mom until everyone showed up. There she was presented with her boa and crown purchased by Tiffany.

Alisha picked this place because mom is a BIG fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and they had a game that afternoon.

My older sister Karen, and my little sister Nancy.

Everyone had their special tee shirts on (except for a  couple who missed the meno and had to go back home and change) that were designed and ordered by Alisha. The kids enjoyed the pool tables since they have a hard time sitting still.

My sister Karen's daughter Traci and her boyfriend Eric.

My sister Nancy's husband Jim and their grandson Bently and Bently's sister Alena.

The group with a few missing at the pool tables.

Cairys, Noah and Maddie.

My little sister and her oldest son Derek who lives in Jacksonville, Fl. Nancy just got braces at age 61.

Blake, Alisha and I.

Mom and my sister's youngest son Dustin (who also lives in Jacksonville, Fl) and his girlfriend. The Birthday cake was suppose to come to the party,  but the party who was responsible  for that didn't get the meno! To be continued: