The ride to Raber

It has become a Labor Day tradition for us to spend that last weekend of the summer at Aunt Mary and Uncle B's cabin in the UP.  It is a weekend full of fishing, fair food and relaxing fun.

We try to go and eat at the Raber Bar when we are there, if you have never been there and are in the Eastern UP of Michigan it is worth the trip.  Because of the number of people that were there (Grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.) we had to shuffle cars to get everyone to dinner without having to take the entire fleet.

Erik and Katie wanted to ride with Aunt Mary and Uncle B, and it was a ride they will NEVER forget.

On the way to the bar Erik never stopped talking.  He told Aunt Mary and Uncle B about all of the music he listened to.  How he and Katie loved MegaDeath, Anthrax, Slash's Snakepit and especially Metallica.  Now it is a 20 minute drive from their cabin to the bar, and you can imagine how tiring it can be to listen to a child tell you about all these 'new' bands he likes to listen to.  Katie, in the mean time was just listening.

After dinner Aunt Mary and Uncle B were a little hesitant to have another 20 minute car ride with the constant chatter.  Well, this time the car was not quiet, BUT it was much more entertaining.  Erik continued to talk about his new favorite bands, but Katie had to add her little flair to the conversation.

The rest of the drive home she 'sang' some of her favorite songs from these bands.  They continue to talk about how they listened to our then 5 year old Katie singing Metallica's 'Into the Fire'.  ..............."Into the Fire-eh!!!"

The show did not end when we got back to the cabin.  That evening we were sitting around one of Uncle B's famous bon fires and the smoke was pouring out over the river.  This sight brought around another round of song from Katie.  She started off sing Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' ......."Smoke on the water, Fireh in da Sky-eee".  From there we were treated to a concert that could only be put on by Katie.

Cousins, Grandparents, anyone would suggest a song and she would sing it 'Rock'in Style'.  Let me tell you, after Katie has sung the song, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star will never be the same.  For all of you metal heads out there, your heart would just swell with pride and hope for the next generation of head bangers.