Location of the W Cheney Rd property
By early 2017 we had already decided we wanted to move to Michigan after Lloyd’s retirement from ChildServe, and that Grand Rapids was the likely location. A good share of our kids and grandkids lived in Grand Rapids or further east, and our family had often used Grand Rapids as a central gathering place. Besides, we already owned a house in Grand Rapids and had been renting it out for years. We had fashioned an apartment in the basement of the house and were used to staying there whenever we came from Iowa to visit. We had already created many memories with our grandkids in this small but cozy apartment.
So, we thought, why not move into the apartment after Lloyd retires and try our hand at minimalism by living in its 400 square feet of space? If we didn’t like it, we figured we could always decide to move upstairs where there was more space.
In the meantime, we started dreaming about the possibility of finding a piece of land someplace in northern MI not too far from Grand Rapids and not too far inland from Lake Michigan where our family could also gather. We envisioned camping on this land as we had often camped along the shores of Lake Michigan while our kids were growing up.
This idea fueled Lloyd’s casual “zillow-surfing hobby” during our last few years in Des Moines and we became aware of land for sale in a wide variety of northern Michigan locations. It was all just a hobby until April 2017 when we encountered a 2.5 acre piece of property for sale on W Cheney Road, near Maple City MI. This property was particularly attractive to us because it had a pole barn on it as well as an existing well and septic tank. It was only 4 miles from Lake Michigan and located on the edge of a beautiful national park.
We made a last-minute decision to go see this property. On a whim, really, with more curiosity than intent to buy. Besides, we were in the mood for a weekend road trip!
When we stepped onto the land for the first time we both sensed the pull of something strangely familiar, almost magical. I was reminded of how I felt as a child when my Grandma Veenstra would greet us kids with delight: “Well, well, well, look who’s here!” We both knew in a deep down kind of way, that this property on W Cheney Road was right for us. We mustered up the courage to call the realtor that day and made an offer which was soon accepted.
As we drove back to Des Moines the following day, we had no doubt about our decision, but we felt the weight of taking such a big financial risk with only a vague idea of what we were going to do with the property. The only thought we had at the time was the possibility of camping on the land or of storing some of our extra stuff in the pole barn. We had no idea we would actually decide to build a house on the property–a house that would become our primary residence in Michigan. We had no idea that nadamore was beginning to emerge.
V.