One of the main reasons I wanted to move back to the states was to be closer to family, and be able to spend more time with them. So the first part of the trip we spent in Michigan and Minnesota.
we were able to spend some quality time with each of my siblings. We stayed at my sister Shelly’s place which gave us lots of time to chat, and she also took me out for a morning kayak trip. We spent the day wandering Grand Haven with my sister Erin.
We had a lovely dinner at Sovengard with my brother Dan and his wife Debbie. I spent time with my nieces and nephews, walking them to the bus stop and doing a ropes coarse for my niece Calera’s birthday. She danced across the obstacles like it was nothing, while I struggled through them leaving me bruised and sore afterwards. 
My friends Kevin and Liz were able to host a get together at their lovely home, from the various families there were 17 kids running around and enjoying the pool. It was a good opportunity to catch up with the parents. Check out their home featured in dwell.
I also had a chance to goof around with my friend Luke with his wife Corina and son Elliot. The zoo was fun. 
From Michigan we took the Upper Peninsula route to my parents in Northern Minnesota. We stopped halfway at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, between a cruise and a hike we were able to see a lot of this beautiful place.
Arriving at my parents put us back to work preparing. We worked to get the motorhome ready to go and also took the tests to our drivers license. Who knew how nerve wracking this would be.
We also had some time to explore with my parents atv. 
And lastly we had a chance to visit my friend Jon and his wife Laura. We hung out in Minneapolis, hung out with their 3 young daughters and they even took us to a Twins game, they are doing great this year, but unfortunately they lost the game.
Tomorrow we finally get started on our RV trip, our first night will be in my hometown of Milaca at my good friend Jim’s place. From there we head west into North and South Dakota, I will update soon!
