Well, Nana Does Vegas finished on May 25, then Jenni had four Tuesday evening seminars in June with The Great Voice Company, with whose help she is establishing a Voice Over Business.
We then took a short vacation to visit the family in Michigan – in and around the Detroit area. We stayed with Rick’s niece and nephew, Val and John, who have a beautiful home on Silver Lake in Fenton.
We arrived on July 4 so Val and John were having a July 4th party at home and we got to meet some really interesting people. Hanging out with Val and John is always fun.
Rick’s two sisters, Fran and Patti, had recently moved into assisted living facilities, so the plan was to see them in their new places and get in some sightseeing as well.
In particular, Rick had arranged a tour of the Detroit Grand Central Station, which had been purchased and restored by the Ford Motor Company.
Here is an image of the Main Hall, which we are told is available to rent for functions such as wedding receptions and the like.
The marble floor is original. Once it was unearthed under 30 years of decay and debris, it was cleaned and polished as you see it in the photo.
The Ford Motor Company engaged restoration experts to ensure that the building could be restored as close to the original as possible. They went to great lengths to make sure of this.
Here are some other images of the building.
Ram’s head adornment atop the pillar.
Rick had also arranged for us to have a tour of the Hill Auditorium on the Ann Arbor Campus. He had many happy memories of performing at the Hill when he was in the UofM Marching band.
There are no official tours of the Hill Auditorium but Rick had been in touch with the guy who was head of maintenance there and he had agreed to give us a private tour.
It was quite exciting because we got to see what was above the dome and how the maintenance team climbs up and rapels down the outside of the dome when light bulbs need changing, etc. Also, he showed us the “sweet spot” in the hall where the music really comes together.
All in all, a really fun tour.
We were happy to spend some quality time with Patti in her new abode, along with her son Greg. She has settled in well and likes the facility. She is going to be 92 in January 2026.
Fran had only just moved into her assisted living facility a couple of weeks before we got to Michigan. She has a very nice apartment and gave us the “royal tour” of the facility. We got to meet some of her lunch/dinner friends as well as some of the staff. Everyone was very nice and Fran is very happy at having made the move. She will be 95 in November 2025.
We had a great visit with Vicki and Jim on the Sunday before we left. As usual, Vicki had organized a lovely “grazing” buffet for lunch and we sat and chatted incessantly!
On our final night in MI, John and Val refused to let us take them out for dinner, so John cooked his fabulous smoked salmon dinner – Jenni contributed with her “Warm Potato Salad” and it was a great way to finish a fab trip
It’s always wonderful to visit MI and spend time with the family.
