Letter #259 from Michigan

Letter #259 comes from Kate in the great state of Michigan.When I looked on the map,she doesn't live too far from where we used to live.Maybe if we ever go back,we can stop by and say hi to her. :)

Kate will be a senior this year.Kate has one younger sister and also a Shetland Sheepdog named Blaze.She enjoys dancing at the dance studio where she does all types of dance,including ballet,tap,and jazz.My dream in middle school was to be a ballerina,but I was never able to take classes,so I wonder if I would have been good at it.Kate also says that she is the family photographer since she is the only one who likes taking pictures.She also enjoys travelling and has a blog with the pictures she took on her travels,called Kaitlyn's Travels.

She says there isn't much to do in her town called Davison since it's a small,quiet town,but has recently been buidling up a lot the past few years.During the summer they have a festival called  The  Festival of Flags.They have a carnival,art fair and fireworks.There's also a great pumpkin festival in the downtown area in the fall.

Her favorite places to go in Michigan are in the northern part of the state.She enjoys places like the small towns and cities on the coast of Lake Huron,such as Tawas and Oscoda.Her family enjoys camoing up north every summer since it's so pretty there.The day before she wrote this letter,she had gone to Port Huron and says it was so fun.She got to see the Blue Water Bridge,which connects Port Huron to Ontario,Canada,She says she has never been so close to another country before.She says they plan to go back since they live so close and they had so much fun.There are so many great places to see that we did not get to visit while living in Michigan,but if you are thinking about visiting Michigan,here are a few places that people over the years recommended we see:Holland (especially during the tulip season),Sleeping Bear Dunes,Mackinaw Island (we went to the city,but the ferry ride for all of us to the island was too expensive so we stayed in the city,which I also recommend).There are a lot of great places farther up north,too,such as waterfalls and of course you could stay in a cabin and enjoy the great weather since Michigan truly has the best of all four seasons.Yes,I am the advocate for travelling to Michigan...we consider it to be our forever home even though we are here.Oh,before I forget,Kate and her sister were so inspired by our project that they started their own project to collect 365 letters in one year...we wish them the best on their project,too!

Thanks Kate for your lovely letter and two postcards that we love,which can be seen below:

Letter #169 from Michigan

Letter #169 comes from Amanda in  "snowy" Michigan.Amanda lives in the upper peninsula of Michigan where winters are longer than in the lower peninsula.I know when we first moved to Michigan,we didn't realize that Michigan had an upper peninsula and I think most people don't realize that,either.She lives in the upper peninsula (also known as the UP) because she goes to school there,but has questioned her sanity for moving that far up north to go to school.She said from October to February,it snowed every single day,nonstop.

Amanda is studying Cellular and Molecular Biology at Northern Michigan University.She wishes she could be just a history major,but she doesn't like to teach or write,so she picked genetics to ensure she would have a job after graduation and because she gets to do her senior internship at the Mayo Clinic.The Mayo Clinic is the second best hospital in the country,behind John's Hopkins,they also have the best lab system and John's Hopkin's even runs some of their tests through the Mayo Clinic.She has to wait three years before doing her internship there,but she is really excited about it!

Amanda has also recently become hooked on postcrossing and loves the thrill of getting a postcard or letter in the mail.She also told us that if we ever go to the UP,we must try a pasty from Jean Kay's in Marquette,Michigan.She also told us that the upper peninsula has the highest concentration of Finnish people outside of Finland...see, even though we lived in Michigan,we didn't know that fact.We also didn't know either that people call the lower peninsula "troll land".Haha!

Along with her lovely letter,she sent us a printout of a little joke about the upper peninsula....maybe we can switch the peninsula's around and call the UP troll land...haha! ;)

Well,Amanda,we wish you all the best and hope that you are not continously stressed out and broke....those two things don't go good together. ;)  We also hope your exams went well!Thanks Amanda for writing!You can see her lovely letter and joke below:

Letter #34 from Michigan

We are now at letter #34,which comes from Tami in Northern Michigan.She says that they have missed out on most of the recent snowstorms....sounds like us when we lived in SE Michigan,we always missed out on most of the big storms,too.She lives in a quaint Victorian old time type of small town with about 3,500 people.They are surrounded by beautiful forest,scenic hills and abundant wildlife.Her city is also known for having 11 acres of waterfront recreation.She says that you cannot drive 1-2 miles in any direction without seeing a lake or river.

Her town has won many awards and has now been selected as a 2011 Great American Street Award Semifinalist.The National Trust for Historic Preservation will choose 5 winners in May...I hope your city wins!

Her city is filled with activities for the whole family.There is something going on every week in her community.They can also enjoy various recreational activities such as skiing,outdoor sports,waterparks,boating,fishing,bowling,4-H,family camps,nature preserves and hands on musuems.They also enjoy watching semi-pro baseball team - Traverse City Beach Bums and now football team - Traverse City Wolves and of course they enjoy watching the Red Wings hockey team.

Please enjoy Tami's letter and postcard below.Thanks so much for the lovely letter and postcard!

Letter #26 from Michigan

Letter #26 arrived on a cute handmade card from Alannah in Michigan.If you recall in earlier posts,we just moved from Michigan,so hello old neighbor. :) I think she may live further up than we did....will have to check out the map.She says it's super cold there & it seems like Michigan has gotten its fair share of snow this winter season.Hope she has lots of hot chocolate to keep her warm.

She is married with two children,ages 5 and 3 months old...congratulations!She shared the story about the Michigan and Ohio War from 1835-1836.They had a dispute over the boundary lines called the Toledo Strip.There were no fatalaties in this war,but since it put Michigan in a financial crisis,they let Ohio have the disputed land in exchange for statehood and part of the Upper Peninsula.

Alanah enjoysbeing creative.She loves scrapbooking,quilting,knitting and crocheting.I have tons of scrapbooking stuff but too scared to start,would love to quilt myself a blanket,but again I don't know how to start.I have tried crocheting,which I love but somehow my chains don't come out right when I add on top...I'm always a stitch or two short,so I give up. :)

Thanks Alannah for the cute card and for writing us a letter!Here is her cute card below: