30-HOURS WELL SPENT

With still trying to get our youngest through college and with a very busy ministry schedule taking place including a funeral last week and another one coming up this week, we really didn't have the time or the money to take a trip - but we did it anyway...at least for 30 hours.  It wasn't a long trip and it wasn't an expensive trip, but it was an important trip.  Why?  Because it was 30 hours of investing into my marriage.

Last Thursday was our 26th wedding anniversary so we decided Thursday night to spontaneously take a 30-hour excursion.  We set our direction as the coast of Lake Michigan and found a reasonably priced hotel on-line.  We then got up Friday morning and were on the road by 9am heading to Traverse City to make a return at the mall.  We then headed due west to the little town of Empire right on Lake Michigan.  From there we headed south stopping at each little town like Frankfort and Manistee to walk through the quaint little shops while hitting yard sales all along the way.

Our evening took us to Ludington where we checked into our modest hotel and then had our anniversary dinner at a great restaurant on the water called PM Steamers (she had the trout and I had the Prime Rib).  From there we walked out on the Lake Michigan Pier and then found a coffee house to each grab a decaf before heading over to the waterfront park where we looked at all the bronze art sculptures and then watched the over 400' BADGER car ferry come into port after its 4-hour trip across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin.  It was pretty impressive.

The next morning we headed back into town to hit a large antique store where Laura found an exciting treasure and then we headed 20 more minutes south down to Pentwater.  We spent the rest of the day walking through this wonderful town filled with great specialty shops and another 3-story antique store. Of all the towns we visited on our 30-hour excursion we enjoyed this one the most.  

After several hours of enjoying Pentwater, we grabbed a hot dog at a local cafe and then started our journey back north stopping along the way to buy some fresh asparagus and a beautiful hanging plant for the back deck.  We arrived back in Gaylord in time to grab dinner at a pig roast fund-raiser that we were invited to at the fairgrounds and then got home around 6pm - 30 hours after our journey started.  

From the vantage point of the clock, it was just 30-hours of time from start to finish.  But from the vantage point of our marriage, it was more than just 30-hours of time.  It was much more than that.  This was a 30-hour investment into the most valuable relationship that I have on this earth (outside of my relationship with the Lord).  

I really wish that every husband would understand what a difference that 30-hours can make - especially to their wife!