The Little House in Daniel Heights (1) - Moving in

Before they had Rebecca and long before they had Gabby, Henry and Heidi lived in a little apartment in an apartment complex called Daniel Heights. It was an apartment, but it was like a house to them because it had everything they needed. They were not Daddy and Mommy yet. So they are called by their names in the first part of this story.

That was Henry and Heidi’s first home. They came from China shortly after their marriage in the summer of 1999 to pursue their graduate degrees at Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton, Michigan, one of the main cities in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Located in Upper Michigan, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects into Lake Superior, the world's largest fresh water lake. The Keweenaw Waterway divides the peninsula in half. On the south side is Houghton, which is home to MTU. On the north side is Hancock, the home of Finlandia University. The Portage Lake Lift Bridge connects the two towns. This unique double deck bridge has two levels of traffic. The upper level is for vehicular traffic while pedestrians and snowmobiles can use the lower level. In the summer the bridge is often left up, allowing the vehicle traffic to use the lower lever and boats up to 35' tall to travel under the bridge without it being raised. Most of the water traffic at this time is pleasure craft and fishing boats. The air service to the Keweenaw Peninsula is provided by Northwest Airlines. The airport is just north of Hancock. Situated on the hills bordering the beautiful Keweenaw Waterway, Houghton is one of the best 100 places to live, according to "The 100 Best Small Towns in America" by Norman Crampton.

Daniel Heights is an apartment complex for graduate students and faculty of MTU. It was built on a hill. On the top of the lower slope is Lower Heights. Above this slope there is another one and on the top of it is Upper Heights. Many buildings and houses in Houghton/Hancock area were built on hills just like Daniel Height apartments. One street passes through both Lower Heights and Upper Heights and it is called Woodmar Dirve. All the Daniel Heights apartment buildings are two-story. The Lower Heights apartment buildings are painted in different colors, but the Upper Heights apartment buildings all have the same color and they are brick red. The apartment buildings are surrounded by woods. From Daniel Heights people can see the beautiful Keweenaw Waterway which is royal blue when the water is not frozen. In the fall, when the leaves on the other side of the waterway change color, people can see orange and yellow trees reflected in blue water. That scenery is sometimes seen in paintings or postcards. The color change in Daniel Heights woods is also very beautiful.

Henry and Heidi’s new home was a one-bedroom apartment at the Lower Heights. In their building, there were two two-bedroom apartments on the first floor and four one-bedroom apartments on the second floor. Their apartment was on the second floor, which was at the street level. The first floor was below the street level. Their apartment number was 1902C. Outside of the apartment there were a big lawn and a playground. There were trees in the lawn that changed color in the fall. Their windows face Woodmar Drive. From the windows, they can see people passing by. Heidi liked to do that while she was cooking in the kitchen. When they first moved in, the apartment had almost all the furniture they needed – a couch, an armchair, a dining table, four chairs, a refrigerator, an oven, a full-size bed and a dresser. The washing machine and dryer, which were located in a room on the first floor, were shared with other apartments in the building. They needed a microwave oven and some cooking and dining ware. Some friends bought them a microwave as a wedding present. Another friend bought them a standing lamp.

Henry and Heidi settled down in their new home very soon. One day they cooked some food and invited their friends to the little apartment to celebrate their marriage.