Bavaria and Brian’s House: October 6, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Shirley dropped me back at the outlet mall and showed me how to get on to Route 83 to Frankenmuth. I gave her a hug to say goodbye and it was sad to see her go.
Frankenmuth – A Bit of Bavaria in Michigan
The plan was to walk for around 12 hours to cover 30 miles to Bay City. Frankenmuth was a “Bavarian” town in Michigan...and I wasn't sure what to expect.
On the outskirts of Frankenmuth was the largest Christmas shop in the world...open for 361 days of the year. It was surreal seeing huge sleighs, Santas and gaudy decorations in October. Christmas music was playing and I knew things could only get stranger. The road signs were in kilometers and looked German.
As I came into Frankenmuth there was a fudge shop. I stepped inside and there was a lady called Linda Schick, dressed in traditional German clothes. I bought some mint and chocolate fudge and ate the lot. A fairytale-like bridge led from the fudge shop over a river. I took a photo of a boat and walked to the Bavarian Inn.
There I ordered a 'world famous chicken dinner'. My waitress was called Kelli and she was dressed in a traditional German dress, too. The men wore leiderhosen. It really was strange. The dinner was good...but I shouldn't have eaten half a ton of fudge first. I also mistook the gravy for soup.
I ate quickly and thanked Kelli. She donated her tip to hospice and it was back to the road.
Before I left Frankenmuth I phoned my brother, John, to wish him a happy birthday. Apparently all was well as could be expected back in England.
In Michigan, too, all was well. I felt sleepy after all the food, but kept up a good pace, until around 5 pm.
Walking Through the Rain
Heavy rain began to fall. The plan was that I would call Beverly Theisen from McLaren Hospice, to be picked up around 8 pm. I was worried, with the rain, that I would have problems using my phone, or getting the phone number out without my phone book becoming drenched.
As if by magic a shelter appeared, covering some machinery across from a place selling Amish furniture. I ducked under the little shelter and phoned the cell phone number that Beverly had given me, so that it would be on my phone at least. The Vice President of Marketing for McLaren Visiting Nurse & Hospice, Brian Witte, answered the phone and said he could pick me up at around 8 pm.
In the pouring rain I slogged on. By 8 pm it was dark and ahead I could see lights that I hoped were the beginnings of Bay City. Across Cass Avenue and up to Young's Ditch Road I walked on, with wet feet and legs. I had waterproof trousers in my pack, but hadn't got them on before the rain soaked me.
At Young's Ditch Road was a combined gas station and McDonald’s. I went inside and phoned Brian Witte. He knew where I'd stopped and would take about 10 minutes to reach me. I bought two ridiculously small bottles of chocolate milk from McDonald’s and drank them down. I was wet and cold. In New Zealand I had come close to getting hypothermia from being wet and cold and this felt similar. It was good to be inside.
Three ladies spotted my backpack and they had seen my interview on the television. I talked to them about the walk and was busy talking to them when Brian arrived.
Arriving at Brian’s House, the Beautiful Hospice Residence
I said goodbye to the ladies and Brian drove me off to McLaren Hospice's Brian's House. The residential unit there had 12 beds, but another 7 had just been added.
I met the designer of the building, Kathy Bradway. The cook for Brian's House, Jim McCarty had cooked me chicken Alfredo. It was good to eat something warm. As I ate I was interviewed by a local newspaper reporter. I still had my wet shoes and trousers on, and was shivering slightly, in spite of the warmth of the building.
The Whole Building Was a Work of Art
With food inside me and the newspaper interview complete, Kathy Bradway, Brian Witte and the hospice supervisor Karen Matthew, took me on a tour of the facility. I was amazed at the care that had been taken to make the building a place to remember and feel at home in. Each room was different.
There were rooms with cushions in the shape of bathing costumes. There was a room with an old wooden paddle and a 'monkey's fist' of coiled rope. On the walls were old black and white photos and an artist had painted different scenes in each of the rooms and in the hallway. The whole building was a work of art. In a lounge was a painting of an open window that showed a view of a beach and a lake. It was like looking out to a view of Lake Huron...and it brought the outside world into the building and created space. In a hallway was a painting of a farmer's market, which again showed a place and activities that were local and important to the people in this part of Michigan.
On the wall, too, were signs and on one of them had been painted the name 'Skinner'. I was privileged to have been included in the work of art that was Brian's House. I talked to Kathy and she said that many of the items and designs would be talking points for families and the residents of Brian's House. Of all the places I had visited this was the most individual and I was amazed at the attention to detail and time that been taken to make the place special.
That night I stayed in room 12. For me it was wonderful. I was dry, I was warm, well-fed and could rest.
