Dunes Ahoy! @ Warren Dune State Park in Michigan, IL
Note this post is a little delayed but better late than never.
The remainder of our time in Michigan passed quickly. We laughed, shared stories in front of the bonfire, ate tasty home cooked meals, enjoyed the occasional break to cheer on team USA, and competed in the first Collins Family Pickle Ball showdown.
With a multi-round double elimination bracket the pickleball showdown boiled with intensity. Adam and Helen rose to the occasion and lifted the metaphorical trophy in the end. Basking in the joys of victory something clicked inside of Helen; she learned the one true fact that all of us learn during our 1st retirement "Pickleball is fun."
We had so much fun playing pickleball that a couple days later we found ourselves playing again. This time Helen and Adam faced the Allstar duo of Jill and Joe Collins. The competitive blood ran hot and Adam deployed college-tennis inspired tactics, poaching volleys when he got the chance. Adam's aggression slowly grew as the realization that he might lose to his sibling sunk in and with Adam's aggression growing Helen's opportunities to contribute dwindled. Frustration ran high as Adam darted in front of Helen to steal a volley for the umpteenth time but this time he dumped the volley into the net. Helen screeched into a rage that was felt by all on the court.
It was at this moment that Adam realized in an effort to win he lost sight of what was important... making the volley. If he had just not gone for such an aggressive angle he wouldn't have missed; if he didn't miss we wouldn't be losing right now; surely if we weren't losing right now Helen wouldn't be so angry at him.
Accepting that they might not win Adam did the only sensible thing and decided to back off a little bit in order to let Helen get more involved. Helen took a breath and channeled a calmer energy; learning the second lesson of pickleball: "Pickelball is a real sport." And like all real sports there is an eternal battle to manage one's emotions while accepting your own physical limitations amidst the pressure of competition.
Despite losing, Adam and Helen were gracious in defeat. Competitive tensions would eventually subside. That night Helen and Adam were on the cooking team. In atonement for her outburst Helen made Grand-mommy Clark's famous Flan recipe which was a big hit!
On a sunny Michigan day we pulled together most of the family for a hike through Warren Dunes State Park, a stretch of sand dunes adjacent to the Michigan coastline. Don't worry everyone, we made sure to bust out our best Timothée Chalamet sand walk impression to protect us from the sand worms. Unfortunately we weren't able to ride any sand worms due to safety concerns. However, Adam did relive his childhood memories jumping down the dunes.
Like all good vacations this one eventually came to an end, but not before another spectacular sunset...
Just kidding, the vacation never ends when you're gainfully unemployed! We had scheduled our return flight for several days after Lake Michigan; this gave us time to say hi to a few friends and explore Chicago. Joe gave us a tour of his and Chaitasi's beautiful apartment in Lincoln Park, and we marveled at how much further rent goes in Chicago. For dinner we met up with Helen's cousin Monty and his wife Tyler for Sushi.
After dinner we went back to Tyler and Monty's to chat a little more about their experience raising kids in Chicago as we imagined one of our many potential future paths. Adam snuck in a round of video games (Rocket League specifically) with their son Porter. Then we finally let them go to sleep and continued to meander through Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood; content to enjoy the warm summer night. After passing a local taproom we thought it would be rude not to at least sample the local beer; So we stopped in for an impromptu date night. After a few beers it was finally time to go back to Joe and Chaitasi's. We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Joe and Chaitasi with fresh cupcakes from a nearby bakery.
Before leaving town we got the Chicago ski crew together for a nostalgic Evanston (the Chicago Suburb where Adam grew up) breakfast at Walker Bros. The Original Pancake House, before flying home for our last stretch of San Francisco fun.
