When I was in seventh grade my geography teacher, gave us an unusual assignment. We were to plan a family vacation using a Michigan map. My vacation extended into the upper peninsula. That summer my family followed the route I had mapped out. So we visited Christmas and then continued on to Munising.
 

The twenty-nine years my husband worked for the Michigan Department of Transportation he shared stories of the many different places he had worked. Our son says he has a map in his brain. When I am reading about a certain town in Michigan he can usually tell me exactly where it is. Old habits die hard, he still keeps maps handy. He feels a car is not fully equipped unless it contains at least one map.
 

It is a family tradition to celebrate our anniversary with some kind of a trip. Sometimes they last for a few days but often they are day trips. While studying the map several years ago trying to decide where we could go, I found Schultz, Michigan. Since my maiden name was Schultz, that intrigued me. It was a delightful day to travel. Schultz consisted of a large gravel pit in the country. There was nothing else there not even a restaurant so we drove around and ended up in Hastings.
 

One year we visited Pigeon, Michigan because it was where my Dad spent his early years. According to Huron County Centennial History, “Pigeon", is located in the heart of the farming country that was called, “The Garden Spot of Michigan,” by Governor Fred M. Warner.” Pigeon, Michigan, A century of Farming, Family and Friends, 2003, explains how Pigeon got its name. The Pigeon River had been named by surveyors who completed the work of surveying Huron County because wild pigeons were so numerous along its banks where they came to feed and rest. They were so plentiful that it could take as long as three hours for a flock of them to fly overhead.
 

This year for our anniversary we went to California, Michigan. Again we are in the country. Tom stopped at a gas station to get some munchies and ask for directions. The man laughed when he found out we were going to California. Tom was told we would be there in a minute. Sure enough we saw California and they had a restaurant but it was too early to eat.
 

Last week was Mom Knowlton’s birthday and she requested a trip to see our relatives near Prescott, Michigan. We had traveled to Prescott, Arizona but had never been to Prescott, Michigan. Tom mapped out the route. We went one way and returned home another way. The color improved as we approached West Branch. When Tom was first hired to work for MDOT, he had spent time in that area. He told stories about Turner and Twining, Michigan. Since we were in that neck of the woods, I wanted to see the towns. Turner has a post office but not much more, and Twining is a little bigger. It was necessary to get gas in Standish in order to make it to Coleman.

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