Family Together Again

Bay City, Michigan
July ’77 pic map, h picnic

The next day, a 90-degree day, I biked into Bay City. I stopped to
visit with my brother and his family, but he wasn't home. I bought six
beers and with two left I rolled out my sleeping bag on his deck
behind his house and called it a night. God, the joys of private
property, I almost forgot how nice it could be. He came home later
that night and wanted me to stay for a couple of days. I agreed. I
spent my time there eating and drinking and watching TV. It was great.
My parents even came down for a visit. I borrowed $35 from them, and
was on my way again. When the whole family got together like that it
was only a matter of time before tensions would rise.

When I left Bay City it clouded up. I spent most of the day riding in
and out of rain. After ten hours I made it back to Lake Huron. I'm
presently sitting at a picnic table in the Harrisville State Park,
getting ready to move outside the park, all because I want to avoid
paying the camp fee. This is a very nice park, but there are so many
places to set up camp along the highway that it just makes sense to
take advantage of them while I can. To be sure, it hasn't always been
this easy to find a campsite. Michigan rates right up at the top of
the list of states for finding easy, non-paying campsites.