Summer traditions: going to Grandma Edna's

Every summer we spend a week or two at Grandma Edna's house in West Virginia.

We've gotten the 1,000-mile trip (one-way) down to a pretty slick routine.

We drive across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, stopping for lunch and play time at the waterfront playground in Marquette. We cross the Mackinac Bridge and stay overnight in Mackinaw City, usually at a different hotel, but always take an evening stroll along the beach by the lighthouse and fort.

We do a hard day's drive the second day, down through lower Michigan, across the Ohio Turnpike to Akron, then south and east. As we cross the bridge into West Virginia, I pop John Denver's "Almost Heaven" into the CD player. My son and I belt out the words.

But each year is different, due to the developmental changes in our son, now 4.

This year he's more observant of the world around him and much more articulate.

Among the highlights: taking pictures with his new digital camera ($6 on closeout at Sears) of the Mackinac Bridge as we crossed it, discerning Mack trucks from Peterbilts ("Cars" is one of his favorite movies), lots of comments about how long it takes to get to Grandma Edna's house, and his scream of delight and huge smile when he learned we were only 30 minutes away.