A Visit With the Tyke Cousins Grand Rapids, Michigan Days 20-22 - June 22 - 24, 2002  Back   |   Next

Matt, Sue, and Kurt at Home in Grand Haven, Michigan Grand Haven and the Beach I hang out with my cousin Sue and her husband Kurt in Grand Haven. They are diehard Red Wings fans and are weekend beach bums. Kurt, a furniture craftsman, gives me a tour of the eighty-year-old house, which he and his sons restored. On the Porch With Sue, Kurt and the Red Wings Hockey Team Flag It is Saturday and we go to the beach. A late morning fog has settled upon the lake just beyond the shore. It doesn't lift until afternoon, but that doesn't hinder beach goers from laying out. When the fog lifts and I am thoroughly baked I decide to take a dip. Lake Michigan numbs my feet as I cautiously enter the water. It is ice bucket cold and I cannot go past my thighs so I go back to my beach chair and read The Horse Whisperer. Al, Debbie, Matt, Chris, Evan, and Amber. Heading the Boat Out for a Ride on Lake Michigan Spring Lake and the Boat Today I hang out with my cousins Debbie and her husband Al, and their children Amber and Evan. I also meet Amber's husband Chris. They are the newly weds of the Tyke family (but not for long, as my cousin Derek is engaged to his girlfriend of four years, Lindsay and they will get married this October). The Voyage Back: Returning from Lake Michigan into Grand Haven Al takes us for a boat ride on Lake Michigan. We pass through Grand Haven and out into the blue waters of the lake. To get there we go though a channel that takes us out to the Grand River. Then we go back to Spring Lake where we drop anchor, go for a swim, and take pot shots at jet skiers and paddle boaters with Evans's water pump shot gun. Evan's Ball Game At Thornapple River Park in Cascade, Evans's baseball team makes a bid for the championship. They are the Reds of Thornapple Valley Baseball League. It is the sixth inning and the bases are loaded. The Green team strikes out for the third time. Reds and Greens scurry from bases to dugout as the diamond is exchanged. The score is 9 to 5 as the Reds begin the 7th inning. As Evans comes to bat another Red steals home and the final score is 9 to 6. Despite the loss, the Reds go home with a successful season in their hearts, and another season to prepare for.   Evan at Second Base Warms Up for the 6th Inning