11/25/16...Ate breakfast and then checked out. Went to Evart and Hicks Lake where my dad live when he was a boy.

Watched these swans while we ate breakfast.

Went outside to get a better picture of them.  Yesterday there were about 15 but they were too far away to get a good picture of

I was so happy.  Dad and I drove back to Hicks Lake in Evart where dad lived when he was a boy.  There was a little snow on the ground in the woods and on the road in places.  Kind of muddy in some places.
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Hicks lake

 Grandpa Golombisky lived here until he died so we would go visit almost every weekend in the summer when we were kids.  Dad and Uncle Donald got it when he passed away so we got to go as adults too.  Took Melissa there when she was a baby and got movies.  They sold it shortly after that

Out by the water here is where we took the movie of Melissa when she was a baby

Lakeside view of the cottage

This is where we always parked.   When my sister, Gus was 17 and I was 18 we  drove up there and stayed for the whole week.  Had lots of fun!

Another wonderful stop on the way home was Cops and Donuts!  Notice the huge tree is in a swimming pool to keep it watered.  Bill had a cinnamon donut and I had a custard filled donut with chocolate on the top. Time to go home and lose a couple pounds now.

Ate breakfast and checked out.  Went home through Whitecloud, Baldwin, Reed City (where Bill and I golfed one time and the ball rolled off the tee.  We both bent over at the same time to pick it up and knocked heads right in front of the huge A frame lodge window.  We laughed so hard.),
Then the best of all was we went to Evart and drove 10 miles back to Hicks lake.  Mom and Dad used to pack all 6 of us kids in the car plus the neighbor, Dennis, lots of time and we would go there and have so much fun.  Swam, played by the channel and made wonderful memories.  In the winter we would snowmobile all over the lake.  The cottage looks the same as it always did.  The last time I was up there was about a year before my mom passed away.  I took her and my dad up to the lake and we had a picnic and then drove all over.  Dad showed us the stone school house he went to and shared lots of stories.  We had so much fun.  Sure do miss them.  We stopped at cops and donuts afterwards.  Went through a couple of shops there too.  Stopped at Charlie and Sue's house on the way home.  We dropped off Cinnamon Rolls for them and also cashews and Molasses cookies for Charlies birthday.  Bob Miller was there digging with his equipment and moving their clothes poles.  It was nice to see him.