After the service, we drove down to the grocery store to pick up some maple syrup...made and bottled right in Union City. My mom remembers collecting the sap buckets when she was a child. It takes 40 gallons of sap just to make 1 gallon of maple syrup! I can't wait to try it on some pancakes! While at the store, I happened to notice that a relatively famous children's book author from Union City, Patricia Polacco, was pushing a shopping cart right in front of me! Her distinctive hairstyle helped give her away. I stopped to say hi and to let her know I love reading her books and that we were hoping to attend the Meteor Festival next summer. She was very nice and laughed when saying, "You're seeing me without any makeup on and my shirt full of cat hair from working in my studio!" She then mentioned that they weren't able to do the festival this year, because of her recent open heart surgery. She was taking a break to recuperate this summer. She said she always tells women now that if you have any sort of chest pain or shortness of breath when doing everyday activities, you should get it checked out. She said that an EKG just 4 weeks prior to her surgery was normal. It wasn't until a stress test was performed that they found several blockages.
After getting the maple syrup, we drove to the cemetery to take some pictures of Aunt Rowena's gravestone (and a couple other family members' gravestones for my genealogy records). We also took a couple pictures by the meteor. Hailey has had a chance to touch it before, but this was Clara's first time. The meteor fell from space and landed right in Patricia Polacco's grandparent's front yard. The meteor is now her grandmother's gravestone. She has written a book called Meteor! if you'd like to read more about it.
After visiting the cemetery, we stopped by a small farm selling fresh strawberries and picked up a couple quarts. I'm freezing them now and will be using them in a couple weeks to make strawberry-rhubarb jam. We also stopped to take a picture of a beautiful red barn...you know me and my red barns!!
Our last stop before coming home was to visit my grandparents' grave site at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Battle Creek. Oh how I miss them, too! I read Hailey the inscription on the name plate and explained to her why my grandfather received a purple heart in WWII. She was listening intently when I told her about the permanent indentation he had in his arm from shrapnel that exploded from a land mine. Growing up, that was always a story my cousins, siblings, and I found scary and amazing all at the same time. I think she was feeling that same way when I was telling her!
This was Aunt Rowena with Hailey back in June of 2009.
The front of the First Congregational Church.
The right side of the church.
The inside
The beautiful stained glass windows.
Family! (L to R) Kevin, Jennifer, Cassidy, Morgan, and Chelsea Brown; Jeffrey Schragg (Jeff and Jennifer are Aunt Rowena's children); Hailey, Brian, Lindsey, and Clara; Dee and Stan Moore; and Duane Moore (Stan and Duane are Aunt Rowena's cousins).
Clara enjoying a cup of lemonade at the kids table.
Aunt Rowena and Uncle Calvin's gravestone.
I thought this pink peony bush was so pretty!
Touching the meteor!
Sitting on top of the meteor.
The barn we stopped to get a picture of.
This was the house on the farm...I loved how they put the barn red shutters on the windows.
Maple syrup and fresh strawberries! The strawberries made the car smell so good on the ride home!
Hailey said, "Wow. Look at all the flags!" The driveway into and out of the cemetery was lined with them (see upper right picture).
Two tired girls made for a little peace and quiet on the way home!
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