life's so good

every state has a slogan to hook the tourists, making them appear to be the best tourist destination of all the 50 states. wisconsin's used to be "you're among friends," which felt nice and warm. like wisconsin. michigan says "yes, michigan!" less of a slogan and more of a response to a command from lieutenant michigan, but we like it anyway. recently we were in these two beautiful states as tourists. we said yes, michigan all over the beaches of grand haven. and when we reached the rocky shores of wisconsin via high speed ferry, we were among friends. imagine our dismay to find that wisconsin no longer promotes those friends as a reason to visit. apparently, now "life's so good" is the new slogan. we don't like it as much, but it does seem like life is pretty good in wisco. reed, one of wisconsin's newest friends, suggested "wisconsin; it's not so bad."


hopefully he dropped that in the suggestion box up at the capitol. i doubt they'll change it now, though, as it seems like they've got all the visors made.

our visit was refreshingly muggy, filled with the love of family and friends, and the constant threat of a solid midwestern thunderstorm. in grand haven with the staple family, we buried david in the sand, ate fricano's pizza, and indulged in some boardwalk ice cream cones.



plymouth with the scott family brought thunderstorms, hiking, and a visit to the famous eaa oshkosh fly-in.




we finished the trip in madison with reed and molly and their adorable new house. we met up with many good friends, visited some of the old haunts, and attended mark and carol's wedding.


it was awesome. please see our photos page for a more comprehensive photo gallery of the trip.