funny stories from Michigan

the jansen brothers: dennis, brian, and bruce

just got home from vacationing in Grand Rapids, Michigan with my parents and Brett. we drove up on Wednesday, and just got home tonight…so long drives on the 2 days, but definitely worth it! My cousin Brad got married on Friday night, so it was fun to see all my Jansen cousins, second-cousins, and uncles/aunts. We also visited my Dad’s old college roomate from 30 years ago along with his wife and two younger girls, so that was pretty cool, too. we came home having experienced beautiful 75 degree weather, awesome landscapes, sore shoulders and legs from wakeboarding/water-skiing, and some pretty funny memories along the way.

Funny Memory #1:
scene: driving to MI. i am driving. brett and dad are in the back-seat.
action: brett yelps and jumps, making my parents think that i am a horrible driver and that i was about to hit another car. however, he promptly cries out, “There’s a bug crawling up my pants!” We all start laughing and asking him what type of creature it is. A few moments later, he replies, “Oh, it was a raisin.” Yes, that is correct. A raisin. We had had some carrot/apple/raisin muffins earlier that morning for breakfast, and one had slipped into the leather seat. =) So, throughout the rest of our trip, we would randomly cry out, “There’s a raisin up my pants!”

Funny Memory #2:
Scene: early morning. i had just woken up, and desired a hot cup of Starbucks from the store that was just a few steps away from our Marriott Comfort Inn. My Mom had just gotten some a few minutes earlier, and so I assumed that it was open and she had no problem getting in.
Action: I walk over, pass the other stores’ front doors on my right, and look for the Starbucks entrance. The only door I see is for a T-Mobile Wireless. Hmmm…definitely not it. I think to myself, ‘I guess I’ll just have to walk through the drive-through.’ Yes, without a car. I march over to the drive-through, and stand at the little spot where you are supposed to talk into the speaker. I loudly say, “Hello?” No reply. So I walk around the corner to the pick-up window, where I see two cars ahead of me waiting for their drinks. Once they get them, I walk up to the lady at the drive-through window, with a car now behind me in line. She looks a bit puzzled. I am still tired and dazed and confused. I say, “Hi, mame…I wanted to know if I could get a cup of coffee, but I couldn’t find your front-door so I thought that only your drive-through was open.” She slowly grins, and politely says, “The front door is right around the corner, miss. Take a left, and then another left through the first door on your left. You can pick up your coffee there.”
After-thought: Am I an idiot or what? Really, there is no defending myself for this one. My family got a huge kick out of it and I must say, I deserved their teasing and ridicule.

Funny Memory #3:
Scene: Grand Haven Public Beach and Pier.
Action: My Uncle Bruce and Aunt Barb got engaged out on this huge pier by Lake Michigan many years ago. They wanted (rather, HE wanted) to re-enact the scene of their engagement on Saturday by re-proposing to her. So, trudging along multiple family members and relatives, we all walked down to the end of the pier, and set up the scene. The funniest part about the whole situation is that Aunt Barb began to actually get a bit nervous. All of these people were watching, too =) But, it was very cute and we took pictures and everyone had a good time.

Don’t vacations always have a way of bringing out the best and the worst of us?! =)