Ode to Home
It’s been over two years since Ben and I moved to Grand Rapids together. With the huge exception of missing friends who grew to feel like family in Pennsylvania, it really has been lovely.
I love being back in Michigan. We're two hours away from family which means more weekends and holidays together. We're 3-4 hours away from some of the state’s best scenery and character like the Sleeping Bear Dunes that cut so deeply into Lake Michigan it shocks me every time. I love that there’s so much more to explore, too, like the wilderness of the upper peninsula.
I’m so happy to call Grand Rapids home. Downtown is constantly challenging itself to be more sustainable, more charitable and more of a place to be—something is new every year. The surrounding neighborhoods and farmland feel oh so Midwestern with their friendliness, too. And yes, even in the winter I’m constantly amazed at how beautiful Lake Michigan is covered in fingerlings of ice and frozen waves.
Our town—while not a permanent home—is a great place to be. My local grocery store has enough foreign food, grind your own nut butters and stinky cheese to keep my wannabe chef self busy. And the trails! There are five I can jump on right outside our apartment door. Five! The library, gym and my favorite frozen yogurt place are all easily (and often) accessible via tree-lined trail. All those trees extend to our little neighborhood, too, which make for beautiful snowy days.
And for all the quirks apartment living brings, this one has largely been good to us. We have a massive back deck overlooking a sometimes scummy pond covered by a big colorful tree. We get wildlife visitors by the masses like gaggles of quacking duck, gymnast squirrels and newly sighted this year—blue herons. Inside we have just enough room for us and our stuff, plus a fireplace that amps up the cozy factor on winter nights quickly.
Three years later, we’re still exploring and bike riding and packing up the car for random adventures. It’s a pretty dang good place to call home.
I love being back in Michigan. We're two hours away from family which means more weekends and holidays together. We're 3-4 hours away from some of the state’s best scenery and character like the Sleeping Bear Dunes that cut so deeply into Lake Michigan it shocks me every time. I love that there’s so much more to explore, too, like the wilderness of the upper peninsula.
And for all the quirks apartment living brings, this one has largely been good to us. We have a massive back deck overlooking a sometimes scummy pond covered by a big colorful tree. We get wildlife visitors by the masses like gaggles of quacking duck, gymnast squirrels and newly sighted this year—blue herons. Inside we have just enough room for us and our stuff, plus a fireplace that amps up the cozy factor on winter nights quickly.