We had gone to bed with three plans: A- drive all the way home, B- continue playing tourist & stop in Grayling, lower Michigan, or C - break the back of the journey & sleep in Lansing. Since we all slept late, or later, Plan A was out of the window before we ever left the hotel. Although cold at first, the day was lovely & sunny so we didn't rush. We cruised through Norway and Escanaba and just aimed east, listening to our second book on tape (er, disc) as we went.
Zoe was unusually subdued so we didn't stop for a long time, and then only at a (properly plumbed) rest area. We sailed through Manistique & on into more no man's land & realized that we were going to need to eat, so we tried a local restaurant in a village & obtained carry-out pasties & cider. A little further on we found one of the lake shore rest areas, and shared the delicious & piping hot pasties between the three of us! We took a path down to the sand, but all too soon had reached firm sand, nice for walking upon, but providing Zoe with her opportunity to try the difference between Lake Superior's water & Lake Michigan's. Luckily, breakers were pretty small & she didn't get too soaked. She enjoyed herself & was now more sprightly.
With Portia telling us off about our U-turn we went into a building promoting itself as the largest gift shop in the UP, a claim we wouldn't dispute. A fleece jacket, some decorations, some fudge, and a pair of moccasins each later, we rejoined Zoe in the van! Pretty much from there on the road was truly lakeside & pretty all the way to the bridge. We filled up the empty 7/8ths of the gas tank, headed down to the bridge & took in the Bridge View rest area for a little while, before looping back around and paying our toll & then heading over the bridge in nice light traffic so we didn't need to hurry ourselves.
First stop on the other side was the Mackinaw Pastie Company where we both bought some frozen pasties to haul home. Then we took a little cruise around the town before parking in the middle of the wide avenue given over to separating tourists from their hard earned cash! We looked a lot, but only bought once. After passing along the waterfront (ferry boats & big hotels) we found I-75 again & headed south. It was after 6:30 as Grayling approached and we elected to find the pet-friendly Days Inn, go and find some fast food, and settle in for the rest of the evening, knowing we are now within decent striking distance of home.
Our leisurely cruise, with stops, totaled 297 miles today, for a trip total of 1920.8.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Day #11 - Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
This was not a very nice day from a weather perspective, as it was cold, very windy still, and for much of the day still drizzled intermittently, only turning to (cold) sunshine at the end of the afternoon. After our usual hearty breakfast, we made our way out to the campground. For a while we sat and drank coffee and chatted, and then entered into a long debate over who wanted to do what, in what combination. Eventually it was decided that Carol & Jerry would stay with the campground, and that Marissa, John & (a reluctant) Bob would be driven by Rita to find the "has everything" store, eat lunch, and go on to Bond Falls & back.
John & Marissa had a ball in Winks Woods, as did to a lesser extent Rita. Bob sat in the car with Zoe. After much looking, and some debate & consultation, both J & M took their treasures to the counter, flashed plastic, and signed for three digit bills each! Bob was horrified & Rita only slightly less so, as they have forgotten how to shop for fun & nice things. As we were now into the witching hour we quickly found a Subway where more or less food, depending on the person, was eaten.
We headed on to Bond Falls, where the rain had stopped although everything was pretty wet still, and spent some time admiring and taking pictures from several widespread angles. We then drove up to the top, but access was limited, and it was cold, so we just visited the gift shop & only John bought a little something as a memento. We then embarked on the long drive back, but Rita made excellent time, accelerated in both John & Bob's case by a time out for a nap in the back seat! We sat in the RV and, as requested, did a "show & tell" of the various mementos and goodies we had acquired on our trip - which is actually quite a lot between us.
After regrouping & gathering up all the Hammonds we embarked in two vehicles for the ski jump area. Once we had arrived, Jerry suggested a quick run to the top of the hill/mountain to take in the view. Bob elected to stay & go in to the restaurant (as did Rita, after a communications failure) and the rest of us went up to look & take a picture or three, before heading back down & joining R & B. We then had a nice dinner (Bob's treat!!) before heading back to Summer Breeze to join Zoe who had been left behind.
After some more chatter, we gathered up our stuff, went through the ritual & tearful goodbyes with hugs all around & headed back for our last night in Iron Mountain for this trip. It was nice to get a break from driving for a couple of days, we only put 53 miles on the van since arriving, and embark on the long journey home with 1623.5 miles on the odometer.
John & Marissa had a ball in Winks Woods, as did to a lesser extent Rita. Bob sat in the car with Zoe. After much looking, and some debate & consultation, both J & M took their treasures to the counter, flashed plastic, and signed for three digit bills each! Bob was horrified & Rita only slightly less so, as they have forgotten how to shop for fun & nice things. As we were now into the witching hour we quickly found a Subway where more or less food, depending on the person, was eaten.
We headed on to Bond Falls, where the rain had stopped although everything was pretty wet still, and spent some time admiring and taking pictures from several widespread angles. We then drove up to the top, but access was limited, and it was cold, so we just visited the gift shop & only John bought a little something as a memento. We then embarked on the long drive back, but Rita made excellent time, accelerated in both John & Bob's case by a time out for a nap in the back seat! We sat in the RV and, as requested, did a "show & tell" of the various mementos and goodies we had acquired on our trip - which is actually quite a lot between us.
After regrouping & gathering up all the Hammonds we embarked in two vehicles for the ski jump area. Once we had arrived, Jerry suggested a quick run to the top of the hill/mountain to take in the view. Bob elected to stay & go in to the restaurant (as did Rita, after a communications failure) and the rest of us went up to look & take a picture or three, before heading back down & joining R & B. We then had a nice dinner (Bob's treat!!) before heading back to Summer Breeze to join Zoe who had been left behind.
After some more chatter, we gathered up our stuff, went through the ritual & tearful goodbyes with hugs all around & headed back for our last night in Iron Mountain for this trip. It was nice to get a break from driving for a couple of days, we only put 53 miles on the van since arriving, and embark on the long journey home with 1623.5 miles on the odometer.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Day #10 - Monday, September 28th, 2009
Although it did not rain a great deal, this day was gray, chilly and horrendously windy, all very unpleasant. The unusual morning activity was Zoe getting a bath to remove the Wisconsin mud and some of her tangles. Eventually we headed out and ran through town and then west on Route 2 for some 20 minutes, before concluding that John's memory was indeed playing tricks on him. We turned around and returned & then turned north up to the campground, where Rita & Bob were very pleased to see us. They were soon joined by Jerry and after a while we went over to the main building just as Carol had come downstairs (she had worked the night shift & then slept). Carol confirmed that the place John was seeking was even further away along the road, so we will probably go there tomorrow.
Rita took Marissa for a golf cart tour of the campground & in due course we all gathered in the RV for a very nice cold lunch. Most of the rest of the day was spent chatting in various permutations and combinations, in the main building (the RV is now horribly uncomfortable), although at one point Marissa, John & Jerry took their moderately short hiking trail along with Zoe who had a lovely day being unleashed the whole day. Although still not totally finished Carol & Jerry have made really nice improvements to the dwelling portion of the building. Both Sean & Sam came home and joined us for a while, although Sean had to go to work later. Carol & Rita cooked up a lovely dinner for us all. Tentative plans were made for tomorrow & then we headed back to the hotel, where we both took in some warmer clothes from the van. After a while we went and warmed ourselves through in the hot tub but after we had each tried the toe-test on the main pool decided not to take the cold plunge!
Rita took Marissa for a golf cart tour of the campground & in due course we all gathered in the RV for a very nice cold lunch. Most of the rest of the day was spent chatting in various permutations and combinations, in the main building (the RV is now horribly uncomfortable), although at one point Marissa, John & Jerry took their moderately short hiking trail along with Zoe who had a lovely day being unleashed the whole day. Although still not totally finished Carol & Jerry have made really nice improvements to the dwelling portion of the building. Both Sean & Sam came home and joined us for a while, although Sean had to go to work later. Carol & Rita cooked up a lovely dinner for us all. Tentative plans were made for tomorrow & then we headed back to the hotel, where we both took in some warmer clothes from the van. After a while we went and warmed ourselves through in the hot tub but after we had each tried the toe-test on the main pool decided not to take the cold plunge!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Day #9 - Sunday, September 27th, 2009
In view of the cabin's small size, simultaneous stirring was more or less a given. We sat, drank lots of coffee, continued to chat and one-by-one cleaned up & dressed for the day. The morning weather was quite pleasant, although the wind was kicking up a bit. Well into the morning we piled into the Horan's van & drove to the marina & the adjacent restaurant for a large and delicious breakfast - practically a brunch.
Jay the took us for an extended tour of the area, including a look at the largely rebuilt house once owned by Lynn's mother and previously visited by Marissa. At one point we ran through a short sharp shower, but got back to a dry cabin & yard. After more chatting & more doggie romping we eventually realized we could see distant lightning & hear thunder, so we somewhat expeditiously repacked our stuff in the van, said our good-byes, and were able to get to the main highway before the rains began. Once again we ran through everything from mist to rain so hard even John had to slow down, coming & going seemingly at random.
We eventually got ahead of the weather front just a few miles before Iron Mountain, so were able to cruise through the town in the dry, get checked in to the motel, and start moving our immediate needs inside. As we reached the door on our last trip a few raindrops fell and 30 seconds later the heavens really opened up! Talk about good timing!
The rain came & went, but mostly came, and hard, so we called a local food place with a delivery service & had subs, cheesesticks, and big bottles of drink delivered right to our room. It was all delicious. Thereafter we took things easy for the evening.
Today's trip was only some 99 miles for a grand total of 1570.9 so far.
To see Marissa's pictures of the weekend, go here.
Jay the took us for an extended tour of the area, including a look at the largely rebuilt house once owned by Lynn's mother and previously visited by Marissa. At one point we ran through a short sharp shower, but got back to a dry cabin & yard. After more chatting & more doggie romping we eventually realized we could see distant lightning & hear thunder, so we somewhat expeditiously repacked our stuff in the van, said our good-byes, and were able to get to the main highway before the rains began. Once again we ran through everything from mist to rain so hard even John had to slow down, coming & going seemingly at random.
We eventually got ahead of the weather front just a few miles before Iron Mountain, so were able to cruise through the town in the dry, get checked in to the motel, and start moving our immediate needs inside. As we reached the door on our last trip a few raindrops fell and 30 seconds later the heavens really opened up! Talk about good timing!
The rain came & went, but mostly came, and hard, so we called a local food place with a delivery service & had subs, cheesesticks, and big bottles of drink delivered right to our room. It was all delicious. Thereafter we took things easy for the evening.
Today's trip was only some 99 miles for a grand total of 1570.9 so far.
To see Marissa's pictures of the weekend, go here.
Day #8 - Saturday, September 26th, 2009
We took our time getting going this morning, but after coffee & breakfast were ready to pack our stuff back into the van, check out &, for while, head across the ship canal to the upper side. We followed Road 203 all along the canal to its top end, along the coast for a while & then looped in to Calumet. We parked and went back to the shops to get something for a Christmas present and Marissa also bought some fudge for her library staff.
We headed down the main road & stopped at the big mine, although we only went in to the main museum/gift shop (John having "been there, done that" & Marissa having no desire to go underground or look at giant steam engines). After acquiring a few more trip mementos we headed back down through Hancock-Houghton and on down US41 as far as Baraga, where we stopped for a fill-up of tax-free (& hence cheaper) gas on this "Indian Reservation". We parked & John took Zoe for a good brisk walk of some distance. Having called Jay for the address of their cabin we loaded it into Portia & gave her the helm.
She dutifully guided us along "roads wide & narrow" (also roads straight and twisty), some with numbers, some without, and eventually spat us out right by the cabin. It was lovely to see Lynn & Jay in person again. Zoe was initially skittish around two much bigger dogs, but the elder soon just ignored her and the younger realized she had found a playmate & soon they were "burning rubber" in big circles around the yard! Unfortunately, some of the circles included the edge of the lake, but unlike Superior with its sandy beaches this lake is lined with black mud! By the time Zoe more or less collapsed from exhaustion she was a far from pretty sight and much later and more or less dry had to submit to a brushing to make herself bearable for close contact.
The humans, meanwhile sat and chatted, for a long time out on the deck, and eventually in the rather warmer inside, stopping to eat excellent carry out broasted chicken Lynn had slipped out to fetch. Eventually we all retired, John to a pretty good firm bed, Marissa to a rather softer one also occupied by the now inseparable canine playmates, so her night was less than ideal.
Our travel this day was 165 miles for a running total of 1471.7.
We headed down the main road & stopped at the big mine, although we only went in to the main museum/gift shop (John having "been there, done that" & Marissa having no desire to go underground or look at giant steam engines). After acquiring a few more trip mementos we headed back down through Hancock-Houghton and on down US41 as far as Baraga, where we stopped for a fill-up of tax-free (& hence cheaper) gas on this "Indian Reservation". We parked & John took Zoe for a good brisk walk of some distance. Having called Jay for the address of their cabin we loaded it into Portia & gave her the helm.
She dutifully guided us along "roads wide & narrow" (also roads straight and twisty), some with numbers, some without, and eventually spat us out right by the cabin. It was lovely to see Lynn & Jay in person again. Zoe was initially skittish around two much bigger dogs, but the elder soon just ignored her and the younger realized she had found a playmate & soon they were "burning rubber" in big circles around the yard! Unfortunately, some of the circles included the edge of the lake, but unlike Superior with its sandy beaches this lake is lined with black mud! By the time Zoe more or less collapsed from exhaustion she was a far from pretty sight and much later and more or less dry had to submit to a brushing to make herself bearable for close contact.
The humans, meanwhile sat and chatted, for a long time out on the deck, and eventually in the rather warmer inside, stopping to eat excellent carry out broasted chicken Lynn had slipped out to fetch. Eventually we all retired, John to a pretty good firm bed, Marissa to a rather softer one also occupied by the now inseparable canine playmates, so her night was less than ideal.
Our travel this day was 165 miles for a running total of 1471.7.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Day #7 - Friday, September 25th, 2009
The early morning weather was a bit dull, but once we were on the road the whole day became as before, bright sunshine & breezy - lovely! After the exertions of yesterday we all slept like logs and woke somewhat later than usual, but were still on the road before 10:00AM.
This was a 2-purpose day, one being the "tourists and their money are soon parted" aspect, and the other seeing the rest of the upper Keweenaw. We cruised up to Calumet, parked and checked a few shops. Zoe having expressed her displeasure at being left we then took her and strolled around a couple of blocks, but found nothing to beat the original row of shops. However, since John hadn't realized that a parking meter 10 feet behind the van applied to him we returned to a ticket, and had to put a whopping $3 into the envelope & then into the fine box, conveniently located on the 2-headed meter post! We each in turn revisited the Copper World shop & each came out with more stuff and less cash.
We then cruised on up to Copper Harbor on US 41, most of which we had bypassed yesterday and the last 20 miles of which were truly lovely, fully justifying the "scenic" designation on the map. First we toured all of C.H. by van (about 10 minutes of driving!) then we parked & started cruising the shops, a long foot slog minded least of all by Zoe. Naturally we did our buying in almost the last store we visited, although among the "tourist tacky" we saw some truly lovely, if horrendously pricey, arty stuff. We made our way back to the van & John went to the nearby restaurant and ordered 2 "pastie lunches", but had to settle for the bigger dinner size since we were a bit late. We took them down to the waterfront & sat in a mini-park to eat them, watching the undersized motor boat chug along taking tourists to the lighthouse.
After 24 hours of contemplation Marissa decided to buy her own pair of moccasins on sale, and after that we started back along the lovely part of US41. We found the turning to the "other side" of the peninsula, cruised on down, turned along the road to Bete Grise Bay, found the public beach and stopped. "Surf's up" once again found Zoe having a ball. Once exhaustion started setting in (for the humans, anyway) we re-embarked and began our long cruise down the other coast, some of which was lovely and all of which we had almost exclusively to ourselves.
Naturally we stopped to photograph the "Gay Bar" (the only hostelry in the village of Gay) before carrying on to Lake Linden (town of). John's original plan had been a substantial side trip down to a beach for more Zoe romping, but in view of the time & Zoe's apparent state of exhaustion we wisely elected to forego that, and just cruised on around Highway 26 back to Hancock and across the bridge to Houghton & our hotel.
Following a little tidying & reorganization John made the trip to Wal-Mart (every bit of a 3-wood shot away from the hotel) for some ice for the cooler & two dinner salads for the evening. We have now hit the high spots on the left, the right, and the middle of the upper Keweenaw, all in lovely weather & are feeling quite satisfied.
We covered a few more miles than yesterday, 128, & now stand at a total of 1306.5.
Less pictures than usual today, but Marissa's blog is here.
This was a 2-purpose day, one being the "tourists and their money are soon parted" aspect, and the other seeing the rest of the upper Keweenaw. We cruised up to Calumet, parked and checked a few shops. Zoe having expressed her displeasure at being left we then took her and strolled around a couple of blocks, but found nothing to beat the original row of shops. However, since John hadn't realized that a parking meter 10 feet behind the van applied to him we returned to a ticket, and had to put a whopping $3 into the envelope & then into the fine box, conveniently located on the 2-headed meter post! We each in turn revisited the Copper World shop & each came out with more stuff and less cash.
We then cruised on up to Copper Harbor on US 41, most of which we had bypassed yesterday and the last 20 miles of which were truly lovely, fully justifying the "scenic" designation on the map. First we toured all of C.H. by van (about 10 minutes of driving!) then we parked & started cruising the shops, a long foot slog minded least of all by Zoe. Naturally we did our buying in almost the last store we visited, although among the "tourist tacky" we saw some truly lovely, if horrendously pricey, arty stuff. We made our way back to the van & John went to the nearby restaurant and ordered 2 "pastie lunches", but had to settle for the bigger dinner size since we were a bit late. We took them down to the waterfront & sat in a mini-park to eat them, watching the undersized motor boat chug along taking tourists to the lighthouse.
After 24 hours of contemplation Marissa decided to buy her own pair of moccasins on sale, and after that we started back along the lovely part of US41. We found the turning to the "other side" of the peninsula, cruised on down, turned along the road to Bete Grise Bay, found the public beach and stopped. "Surf's up" once again found Zoe having a ball. Once exhaustion started setting in (for the humans, anyway) we re-embarked and began our long cruise down the other coast, some of which was lovely and all of which we had almost exclusively to ourselves.
Naturally we stopped to photograph the "Gay Bar" (the only hostelry in the village of Gay) before carrying on to Lake Linden (town of). John's original plan had been a substantial side trip down to a beach for more Zoe romping, but in view of the time & Zoe's apparent state of exhaustion we wisely elected to forego that, and just cruised on around Highway 26 back to Hancock and across the bridge to Houghton & our hotel.
Following a little tidying & reorganization John made the trip to Wal-Mart (every bit of a 3-wood shot away from the hotel) for some ice for the cooler & two dinner salads for the evening. We have now hit the high spots on the left, the right, and the middle of the upper Keweenaw, all in lovely weather & are feeling quite satisfied.
We covered a few more miles than yesterday, 128, & now stand at a total of 1306.5.
Less pictures than usual today, but Marissa's blog is here.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Day #6 - Thursday, September 24th, 2009
This was a day of deja vu for John. It was also a long day, since we left the hotel at 9:00AM and returned at 7:00PM. However, it was great weather, breezy enough to kick up the lake a bit, but sunny & quite warm. We dropped down to the water, crossed the bridge, zig-zagged our way up through Hancock, past the old mine buildings & on up the peninsula as far as Calumet, where we took a quick side trip but decided to postpone any potential shopping until later, or the next day.
With just a couple of extra turns John remembered how to find the "back road" (mostly lakeside) and we made our gentle way on to Eagle River. First we dropped down to the condo complex, were remembered by Helen (Maria's "Crazy Texas Lady") from upstairs, who wanted to chat, and walked down to the rocky beach. The Eagle River is neither dry, nor flowing, just a series of pools. We then went up, over, and down again to the Inn and parked nearby. The sandy beach this side was wide and firm and we all went for a long walk, one dry-shod and two paddling! We hiked as far as the house we had reserved to go with Maria last year, then plodded all the way back. Zoe had a blast!
Before leaving, we stopped by the only store in town, the gift & craft one that is still run by the same nice lady (Bonnie) as for years past. She was sorry to learn about Maria & had wondered why she hadn't seen us last year. Some of her stuff she needleworks herself. Needless to say we didn't leave empty handed (that's what vacations are for, aren't they?)
We took "Linda's lane" out of town, made a turn and reached the lake right at Eagle Harbor, where we parked at the lighthouse and took the self-guided tour of the little complex. We then made three sides of a square around the harbor area to one of Maria's favorite picnic spots, which was the windiest place we were to find all day, so we ate the actual picnic sitting in the van before venturing out for more pictures. Zoe's furry face, head on to a very stiff breeze, defies description!
Heading on, we took the fork for the long way up to the crest of Brockway Mountain, parked, looked at the views, took in the little gift shop in the only building (apart from loos) up there, and then started down the shorter steeper side, marveling at assorted lunatic cyclists as we passed them. We stopped at the overlook to see/photo Copper Harbor from above, then carried on down & through the town, heading for the dead end of the road, Highway 41, a mere 1990 miles from its other end in Miami, Florida!
Returning a little bit we entered Fort Wilkins, paid our fee, and parked. We toured the well-restored complex fairly comprehensively, much to Zoe's disgust, as she clearly would have preferred some snooze time! We found it interesting. Leaving with ice creams in hand we popped into a lakeside piece of the overall park, and ate them looking across the water to the lighthouse & watching the idiotically small boat that takes visitors to it. For this day, we made just one stop in Copper Harbor itself, for John to buy a pair of moccasins in the end of season sale from the same place as his last several pairs!
We followed the lakeshore road back, with John pointing out assorted favorite spots of Maria's but not making a significant stop at any of them. After Eagle Harbor we stayed with the coast road & came to the ornate monastery &, more or less across the road, it's fund-raising Jampot store, in which we both spent extravagantly on jams, cakes, cookies & muffins. Having concluded that we hadn't seen anything to compare to this morning's beach for dog exercise, we returned to park in the same place.
Being gluttons for punishment, we again essayed a long walk &, once suitably distant from civilization, or anything else, cut Zoe loose to depart at warp speed for the middle distance, and back again similarly. However, two more of these bursts took their toll and each excursion became shorter than the one before & she was quite amenable to being "caught" & re-leashed before we got the van. We then carried picnic basket and cooler down to a picnic table on the beach and enjoyed an early supper that our dieticians would probably decry!
Finally back at the hotel, the van was tidied up inside & much rubbish disposed of. We confirmed that we will leave here a day earlier than planned & spend Saturday night with Lynn & Jay, and Zoe, after one last leap up on to the bed, displayed about as much animation as one of her stuffed animals! Some of the days kinks were eased by immersion in both hot and cool water & we expect to sleep well tonight!
Although it took all day, we only covered 115 miles today, for a trip total of 1178.4.
To see Marissa's pictorial essay, go here.
With just a couple of extra turns John remembered how to find the "back road" (mostly lakeside) and we made our gentle way on to Eagle River. First we dropped down to the condo complex, were remembered by Helen (Maria's "Crazy Texas Lady") from upstairs, who wanted to chat, and walked down to the rocky beach. The Eagle River is neither dry, nor flowing, just a series of pools. We then went up, over, and down again to the Inn and parked nearby. The sandy beach this side was wide and firm and we all went for a long walk, one dry-shod and two paddling! We hiked as far as the house we had reserved to go with Maria last year, then plodded all the way back. Zoe had a blast!
Before leaving, we stopped by the only store in town, the gift & craft one that is still run by the same nice lady (Bonnie) as for years past. She was sorry to learn about Maria & had wondered why she hadn't seen us last year. Some of her stuff she needleworks herself. Needless to say we didn't leave empty handed (that's what vacations are for, aren't they?)
We took "Linda's lane" out of town, made a turn and reached the lake right at Eagle Harbor, where we parked at the lighthouse and took the self-guided tour of the little complex. We then made three sides of a square around the harbor area to one of Maria's favorite picnic spots, which was the windiest place we were to find all day, so we ate the actual picnic sitting in the van before venturing out for more pictures. Zoe's furry face, head on to a very stiff breeze, defies description!
Heading on, we took the fork for the long way up to the crest of Brockway Mountain, parked, looked at the views, took in the little gift shop in the only building (apart from loos) up there, and then started down the shorter steeper side, marveling at assorted lunatic cyclists as we passed them. We stopped at the overlook to see/photo Copper Harbor from above, then carried on down & through the town, heading for the dead end of the road, Highway 41, a mere 1990 miles from its other end in Miami, Florida!
Returning a little bit we entered Fort Wilkins, paid our fee, and parked. We toured the well-restored complex fairly comprehensively, much to Zoe's disgust, as she clearly would have preferred some snooze time! We found it interesting. Leaving with ice creams in hand we popped into a lakeside piece of the overall park, and ate them looking across the water to the lighthouse & watching the idiotically small boat that takes visitors to it. For this day, we made just one stop in Copper Harbor itself, for John to buy a pair of moccasins in the end of season sale from the same place as his last several pairs!
We followed the lakeshore road back, with John pointing out assorted favorite spots of Maria's but not making a significant stop at any of them. After Eagle Harbor we stayed with the coast road & came to the ornate monastery &, more or less across the road, it's fund-raising Jampot store, in which we both spent extravagantly on jams, cakes, cookies & muffins. Having concluded that we hadn't seen anything to compare to this morning's beach for dog exercise, we returned to park in the same place.
Being gluttons for punishment, we again essayed a long walk &, once suitably distant from civilization, or anything else, cut Zoe loose to depart at warp speed for the middle distance, and back again similarly. However, two more of these bursts took their toll and each excursion became shorter than the one before & she was quite amenable to being "caught" & re-leashed before we got the van. We then carried picnic basket and cooler down to a picnic table on the beach and enjoyed an early supper that our dieticians would probably decry!
Finally back at the hotel, the van was tidied up inside & much rubbish disposed of. We confirmed that we will leave here a day earlier than planned & spend Saturday night with Lynn & Jay, and Zoe, after one last leap up on to the bed, displayed about as much animation as one of her stuffed animals! Some of the days kinks were eased by immersion in both hot and cool water & we expect to sleep well tonight!
Although it took all day, we only covered 115 miles today, for a trip total of 1178.4.
To see Marissa's pictorial essay, go here.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Day #5 - Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
There was no sunrise this morning, just a big black cloud with a bright silver edge. However, by the time we had drunk our coffees and got organized to go to breakfast the sun was shining brightly out of a clear blue sky, which lasted all day. Even at breakfast time the temperature was pleasant enough for us to eat the excellent meal outside on the dining room's patio.
With nothing to hold us back we packed up the van, checked out and hit the road heading west. Today the lake was much rougher, so at the third beachside rest area we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the sound of the waves. Then it was smoothly on to Marquette and down along the lake shore there to Presque Isle. John was very disappointed that over the years rules have changed. The drivable road around is only open a few hours/week and Wednesdays weren't on the list, PLUS all pets must be kept "inside a closed vehicle", which effectively removed any reason for being there.
We quickly formulated "Plan B", which was to make a run for the UP's west coast. The road was good, relatively peaceful and quite pretty. We are seeing flashes of color, but mostly the shades of red rather than the normally predominant yellows and oranges. After a good while we stopped at a typically delightful Michigan Rest Area to stretch our eight legs, and even followed a pleasant little trail market "waterfall", which must be a spring thaw attraction rather than a fall drought one!
Considerably later we reached the entrance to Porcupine Mountains State Park, stopped on the roadside, carried blanket & picnic basket 20 feet to the beach and had a light, very late lunch and then Zoe did her daily battle with Lake Superior. We went to the Visitor's Center for guidance and then carried on in and up the park, with a brief delay to stop & pay the Out-of-Stater's $8 entry fee, before arriving at the escarpment above Lake of the Clouds. The trail to the viewing points was steeply uphill but mercifully short & the view was lovely.
When we had looked and photographed our fill we returned to the van, set Portia for instructions to the motel in Houghton and, with John still the only driver of the day, embarked on the last leg. The motel room is very nice and only three doors from the "pet exercise area", but after being spoiled with four days of our own patio door, a minor let-down. Since we felt half starved we headed for the nearest fast food place, only about 100 yards away, bought stomach-filling food and took it to the room to eat before we even thought about unpacking anything from the van!
Later we checked out the aquatic facilities, which we had all to ourselves. A very nice hot-tub/spa, a small but adequate swimming pool, and a kiddy pool with a giant mushroom fountain under which (once we'd figured out how to turn it on) we played, as the song says, "just like a couple of kids"!
All in all we covered 265 1/2 miles today, for a trip total of 1063.5.
To see Marissa's pictorial blog of the day, click here.
With nothing to hold us back we packed up the van, checked out and hit the road heading west. Today the lake was much rougher, so at the third beachside rest area we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the sound of the waves. Then it was smoothly on to Marquette and down along the lake shore there to Presque Isle. John was very disappointed that over the years rules have changed. The drivable road around is only open a few hours/week and Wednesdays weren't on the list, PLUS all pets must be kept "inside a closed vehicle", which effectively removed any reason for being there.
We quickly formulated "Plan B", which was to make a run for the UP's west coast. The road was good, relatively peaceful and quite pretty. We are seeing flashes of color, but mostly the shades of red rather than the normally predominant yellows and oranges. After a good while we stopped at a typically delightful Michigan Rest Area to stretch our eight legs, and even followed a pleasant little trail market "waterfall", which must be a spring thaw attraction rather than a fall drought one!
Considerably later we reached the entrance to Porcupine Mountains State Park, stopped on the roadside, carried blanket & picnic basket 20 feet to the beach and had a light, very late lunch and then Zoe did her daily battle with Lake Superior. We went to the Visitor's Center for guidance and then carried on in and up the park, with a brief delay to stop & pay the Out-of-Stater's $8 entry fee, before arriving at the escarpment above Lake of the Clouds. The trail to the viewing points was steeply uphill but mercifully short & the view was lovely.
When we had looked and photographed our fill we returned to the van, set Portia for instructions to the motel in Houghton and, with John still the only driver of the day, embarked on the last leg. The motel room is very nice and only three doors from the "pet exercise area", but after being spoiled with four days of our own patio door, a minor let-down. Since we felt half starved we headed for the nearest fast food place, only about 100 yards away, bought stomach-filling food and took it to the room to eat before we even thought about unpacking anything from the van!
Later we checked out the aquatic facilities, which we had all to ourselves. A very nice hot-tub/spa, a small but adequate swimming pool, and a kiddy pool with a giant mushroom fountain under which (once we'd figured out how to turn it on) we played, as the song says, "just like a couple of kids"!
All in all we covered 265 1/2 miles today, for a trip total of 1063.5.
To see Marissa's pictorial blog of the day, click here.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Day #4 - Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
This day split the difference between the previous two, as it was pleasant & comfortable but (as forecast) "partly cloudy", actually mostly light overcast. We arose at dawn and sat on the patio drinking coffee and watching the sky change color as the sun rose behind the hills. Humidity was obviously high as there was a heavy dew and some patches of intermittent mist. It was a pity it could not be a crystal clear day, but the views and pictures were at least adequate.
This was a day of "all things Miner's". After our the usual excellent breakfast we repacked the foods into the van & took off, making our first stop the Miner's Castle viewing area and visitors center. We then took the footpath zig-zagging down to the steps (easily managed by Zoe) & out to the close-up viewing area, as over the last 20 years the true close-up approach has become forbidden. The return journey was a fair work-out for humans, but just a scamper for Zoe.
Next point of call was the access trail to Miner's Falls, where we were surprised to find the small parking area quite full of vehicles. We studiously ignored the "no pets" sign & started down the trail, listed as 1.2 miles there and back (total, that is). The trail was wide & well maintained, mostly downwards going & mostly upwards coming back. The last 50 yards were all steps, but nice smooth wide ones presenting no problems. We joined the rotation on the viewing platform of "viewers/photographers" and in our turn got in a few pictures. The falls were well worth the hike. John had temporary custody of the leash as we started back, and was appalled to find that Zoe's answer to the challenge of the steps was an endless & unbroken series of leaps! Needless to say John arrived at the crest with eyes crossed, heat thumping and lungs heaving! We carried on back up the trail with minimal delays, thereby fulfilling any possible requirements for the day's "aerobic exercise".
At the top we found Zoe's fur had acquired a lot of little sticky seed pods, so we sat her on a picnic table, with one of us each side & groomed her as best we could. She was happy to just sit and pant while we did so. After that we backtracked a little & then took the turning to Miner's Beach. After a "recce" we elected to have an early picnic lunch in the van in the parking area - a "well-balanced meal" of ham sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, chips (crisps), grapes and brownies! Marissa took Zoe & the "bookbag" while John took the lawn chairs & we walked the short boardwalk to the newly rebuilt steps down to the beach. As before, this is an exceeding soft powdery sand, so we didn't march very much further than the first large patch of shade from the trees behind.
Marissa & Zoe then proceeded to go paddling, with Zoe exhibiting a great deal more elan than Marissa. She continued to play exuberantly back up by the chairs, before eventually excavating herself a nest & settling down, while we read, or just looked out at the lake & cliffs, or maybe dozed a little. Later John went for a long plod down the beach, finding the damp sand no easier to stagger through than the dry stuff, with Zoe as a much more exuberant companion. At the point of return, seeing nobody else around except a distant Marissa, John released Zoe from her leash. She then covered five times more distance at ten times more speed than John on the return to Marissa. She loved it, and subsequently made a major game out of her eventual recapture & leashing.
By mid-afternoon flies and other winged insects seemed to come alive so we called it a day & headed back to town, stopping for ice and also for pasties to reheat in the room when the time came. Back in the room we took things easy for a while...zzzzzzzzzz (There were more ZZZ's for some of us than others, but Marissa did eventually surface!) We warmed up our pasties, having half each of chicken and of veggie, which were delicious.
This night the spa/hot tub was really, really hot, so while John boiled himself, Marissa did laps to work off the afternoon zzz's before John joined her for a cooling off.
We've really enjoyed our stay here, in all respects, but move on tomorrow. Two days of local sightseeing only totaled 77 miles, for a trip grand total of 798 so far.
To see Marissa's pictorial version of this day, see here.
This was a day of "all things Miner's". After our the usual excellent breakfast we repacked the foods into the van & took off, making our first stop the Miner's Castle viewing area and visitors center. We then took the footpath zig-zagging down to the steps (easily managed by Zoe) & out to the close-up viewing area, as over the last 20 years the true close-up approach has become forbidden. The return journey was a fair work-out for humans, but just a scamper for Zoe.
Next point of call was the access trail to Miner's Falls, where we were surprised to find the small parking area quite full of vehicles. We studiously ignored the "no pets" sign & started down the trail, listed as 1.2 miles there and back (total, that is). The trail was wide & well maintained, mostly downwards going & mostly upwards coming back. The last 50 yards were all steps, but nice smooth wide ones presenting no problems. We joined the rotation on the viewing platform of "viewers/photographers" and in our turn got in a few pictures. The falls were well worth the hike. John had temporary custody of the leash as we started back, and was appalled to find that Zoe's answer to the challenge of the steps was an endless & unbroken series of leaps! Needless to say John arrived at the crest with eyes crossed, heat thumping and lungs heaving! We carried on back up the trail with minimal delays, thereby fulfilling any possible requirements for the day's "aerobic exercise".
At the top we found Zoe's fur had acquired a lot of little sticky seed pods, so we sat her on a picnic table, with one of us each side & groomed her as best we could. She was happy to just sit and pant while we did so. After that we backtracked a little & then took the turning to Miner's Beach. After a "recce" we elected to have an early picnic lunch in the van in the parking area - a "well-balanced meal" of ham sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, chips (crisps), grapes and brownies! Marissa took Zoe & the "bookbag" while John took the lawn chairs & we walked the short boardwalk to the newly rebuilt steps down to the beach. As before, this is an exceeding soft powdery sand, so we didn't march very much further than the first large patch of shade from the trees behind.
Marissa & Zoe then proceeded to go paddling, with Zoe exhibiting a great deal more elan than Marissa. She continued to play exuberantly back up by the chairs, before eventually excavating herself a nest & settling down, while we read, or just looked out at the lake & cliffs, or maybe dozed a little. Later John went for a long plod down the beach, finding the damp sand no easier to stagger through than the dry stuff, with Zoe as a much more exuberant companion. At the point of return, seeing nobody else around except a distant Marissa, John released Zoe from her leash. She then covered five times more distance at ten times more speed than John on the return to Marissa. She loved it, and subsequently made a major game out of her eventual recapture & leashing.
By mid-afternoon flies and other winged insects seemed to come alive so we called it a day & headed back to town, stopping for ice and also for pasties to reheat in the room when the time came. Back in the room we took things easy for a while...zzzzzzzzzz (There were more ZZZ's for some of us than others, but Marissa did eventually surface!) We warmed up our pasties, having half each of chicken and of veggie, which were delicious.
This night the spa/hot tub was really, really hot, so while John boiled himself, Marissa did laps to work off the afternoon zzz's before John joined her for a cooling off.
We've really enjoyed our stay here, in all respects, but move on tomorrow. Two days of local sightseeing only totaled 77 miles, for a trip grand total of 798 so far.
To see Marissa's pictorial version of this day, see here.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Day #3 - Monday, September 21st, 2009
What a difference a day makes! Marissa rose about 6:30 to let Zoe outside to do her thing and found it was raining steadily. (According to the locals, this was the first rain in 22 days, so the ground needed it, although we didn't). Marissa climbed back into bed and proceeded to sleep solidly for another two hours. John meanwhile drank coffee and did assorted computer stuff, getting fairly well caught up.
Once we were up we headed to the Breakfast Room and found that this motel has a first class breakfast bar with a variety of hot food and the full range of cold foods also. They also had very nice coffee, so we indulged mightily.
At mid-morning it stopped actually precipitating so we decided to chance an excursion. We headed into town, first to the Visitor's Center, then a gas station for another 3/4 tank plus a bag of ice for the coolers, into which we have hardly delved at all so far. We went to Munising Falls, access to which is just a short walk, and John showed Marissa where it used to be possible to creep around behind the falls, now forbidden due to rock falls. Just as we had walked back to the van it began to rain, lightly but steadily again. We cruised on to the end of that road, but didn't disembark, just looked through the gloom and headed back.
We decided that Painted Rocks would be no fun in chancy weather, so stayed local taking another short hike, this time with umbrellas raised (how English!) to see the very pretty Wagner Falls. The rain was still coming and going, although mostly the latter so we gently returned to town & bought pasties at the shop that had been sold out yesterday. We then took the main road past the motel and towards Marquette until we came to the area where a series of Rest Areas are right by the shorline. We chose the second one we came to, moved in to the back of the van and lunched on the excellent pasties.
By the time we were done the rain really had stopped, for the moment, so we plowed down to the water line where Zoe had a ball, leaping about along the sand, running in circles and once again doing battle with Lake Superior. When we judged that she was wet enough and cold enough to not mind leaving we staggered up to the van and headed to the motel. First order of business was for Marissa to give Zoe a warm bath, mostly to remove two days-worth of sand & dirt. After that we did what Holidays are meant for - lay down and snoozed at length! By the time we had roused ourselves, and gone to the lounge for a "cuppa tea" the rain was well over, the clouds were leaving & by late afternoon the sun was shining.
We had lucked into one of the few premium parking spots up close, so we did some clothes sorting ready for tomorrow, and also brought a good selection of our picnic stuff in a thermal bag (we do have both refrigerator and microwave in the room) as we intended to laze away the rest of the day and eat in our room. Later we suffered through a picnic dinner - Italian bread, French Brie, Italian salami, cold shrimp & sauce, salads, cubed cheese, honeydew melon & brownies. It was yummy! Some time after that we made up for our lack of exercise by swimming, and relaxing in the spa, comfortably warm but not yet up to "hot" after being fixed today.
Our small mileage wasn't worth individually recording, but the day proved the wisdom of our having built in some contingency time. The next few days look to be lovely.
To look at Marissa's picture blog look here.
Once we were up we headed to the Breakfast Room and found that this motel has a first class breakfast bar with a variety of hot food and the full range of cold foods also. They also had very nice coffee, so we indulged mightily.
At mid-morning it stopped actually precipitating so we decided to chance an excursion. We headed into town, first to the Visitor's Center, then a gas station for another 3/4 tank plus a bag of ice for the coolers, into which we have hardly delved at all so far. We went to Munising Falls, access to which is just a short walk, and John showed Marissa where it used to be possible to creep around behind the falls, now forbidden due to rock falls. Just as we had walked back to the van it began to rain, lightly but steadily again. We cruised on to the end of that road, but didn't disembark, just looked through the gloom and headed back.
We decided that Painted Rocks would be no fun in chancy weather, so stayed local taking another short hike, this time with umbrellas raised (how English!) to see the very pretty Wagner Falls. The rain was still coming and going, although mostly the latter so we gently returned to town & bought pasties at the shop that had been sold out yesterday. We then took the main road past the motel and towards Marquette until we came to the area where a series of Rest Areas are right by the shorline. We chose the second one we came to, moved in to the back of the van and lunched on the excellent pasties.
By the time we were done the rain really had stopped, for the moment, so we plowed down to the water line where Zoe had a ball, leaping about along the sand, running in circles and once again doing battle with Lake Superior. When we judged that she was wet enough and cold enough to not mind leaving we staggered up to the van and headed to the motel. First order of business was for Marissa to give Zoe a warm bath, mostly to remove two days-worth of sand & dirt. After that we did what Holidays are meant for - lay down and snoozed at length! By the time we had roused ourselves, and gone to the lounge for a "cuppa tea" the rain was well over, the clouds were leaving & by late afternoon the sun was shining.
We had lucked into one of the few premium parking spots up close, so we did some clothes sorting ready for tomorrow, and also brought a good selection of our picnic stuff in a thermal bag (we do have both refrigerator and microwave in the room) as we intended to laze away the rest of the day and eat in our room. Later we suffered through a picnic dinner - Italian bread, French Brie, Italian salami, cold shrimp & sauce, salads, cubed cheese, honeydew melon & brownies. It was yummy! Some time after that we made up for our lack of exercise by swimming, and relaxing in the spa, comfortably warm but not yet up to "hot" after being fixed today.
Our small mileage wasn't worth individually recording, but the day proved the wisdom of our having built in some contingency time. The next few days look to be lovely.
To look at Marissa's picture blog look here.
Day #2 - Sunday, September 20th, 2009
After the long day yesterday we all slept fairly late. The in-room coffee was brewed & drunk while Marissa took pictures of the sunrise. A little later John walked over to the office/breakfast area & gathered an assortment of continental breakfast items to take back to be eaten on our patio overlooking the water. In due course we packed up, checked out, and headed northwards on our next leg, with the first destination being Whitefish Point via Paradise.
For reasons we don't understand Portia seems to be making her arrival estimates up in the UP based on snowmobile speed limits, so we arrived in less than half the time she thought it would take us. The sky was blue, the breeze was gentle, and the temperature was short-sleeve comfortable. Although (as usual in the UP) we had seen minimal traffic on the road we were quite surprised to find the parking lot nearly full by mid-morning, before we realized it was a lovely autumnal Sunday & "locals" were mixed in with "tourists".
After checking the "birding" building (the Point is a major migratory bird reference & stop-over area) we headed for the beach, plowing through very soft sand which made for hard going until we reached almost the water's edge where pebbles made for easier traction. After a bit we cut across the dunes of the point, trying not to disturb the dedicated, high-tech, serious bird watchers (counters, actually - a daily score is kept in the birding building). Facing east instead of north gave us somewhat larger "breakers". Zoe was intrigued and at first was nervous, scampering back as the water approached her, but it didn't last and she conquered Lake Superior with a flying leap into water up to her belly. She then tried to drink the lake dry!
Back at the complex we took pictures, passed on the museum, but visited the gift shop for a little memento each. Then we hit the snack shop and bought large hot spiced apple ciders, and pasties, both of which were too hot for immediate consumption. We then retraced our route back to Paradise & turned on to the road to Tahquamenon Falls. We reached the Lower Falls first, paid our entry fee (good for both Falls) & made our way to the big parking lot, where the first order of business was pastie consumption.
We then strolled along the path past the facilities to the first viewing area. Still feeling sprightly we chose to take the 1/3 mile boardwalk to the edge of the major fall of this multiple falls area.
Zoe's Great Adventure: Zoe was behaving very well and not fussing about her leash at all. However, as we passed one of the many built-in benches for the weary, for reasons we never did fathom, she suddenly took a flying leap on to the bench, another to the top of the fence, and a third into space, landing 10 feet down in thistles, nettles and weeds as tall as herself, where she just sat, looking pathetic! At least the leash was long enough to not hang her halfway down! John then had climb the waist high split-rail fence, work along & drop down praying the ground wasn't marshy - luckily it wasn't. Zoe was retrieved and handed to Marissa leaving John the challenge of how to rescue himself! After that episode, closely guarded Zoe gave no more trouble.
After checking out the gift shop, where Marissa got a pretty necklace at an astonishing low clearance price, we then returned to the main road for a few miles & headed into the more popular Upper Falls area. After another very respectable hike we arrived at the brink viewing area, that was only 94 stair-steps down, all steps being dog-unfriendly gratings. Marissa carried Zoe down, we oohed and aahed & took pictures then John had the dubious pleasure of carrying Zoe back up 94 steps. She felt quite light on step number one, but by step 94 seemed to have tripled her weight!
Back at the complex we revitalized ourselves with ice creams & then started heading for Munising. We cruised along to Newberry, where John eventually gave in to the whining Portia & took her ignorant directions that led to a section of dirt road that didn't improve the vans appearance. Soon we were on the longest, flattest, straightest road in the UP, whereupon Marissa joined Zoe in becoming dead to the world, missing completely the town of Seney & the little motel Maria & John had once enjoyed.
We passed through Munising & on up the hill to our nice new hotel with a lakeview. Again we got the ground floor with a patio that this time fronts a nice grassy area, and settled in. After a while we headed back to town, having seen a home-made pastie shop with an outdoor eating area, but they had had an exceptional day and were completely sold out. A quick tour located a promising looking restaurant with an outdoor eating area, part of which was a dog pound. Since she was in fact small enough to squeeze though the bars it wasn't very long before Zoe was sitting at the table with us! Nobody cared. Both the whitefish & the liver & onions were very good.
Although we were disappointed to find the hot-tub shut down for a problem we did don our swimsuits and go for a swim in the fairly warm swimming pool - as if we hadn't already had enough exercise for one day! We put about 190 miles on the van today for a trip total of 721 so far.
To see Marissa's blog of the day, click here.
For reasons we don't understand Portia seems to be making her arrival estimates up in the UP based on snowmobile speed limits, so we arrived in less than half the time she thought it would take us. The sky was blue, the breeze was gentle, and the temperature was short-sleeve comfortable. Although (as usual in the UP) we had seen minimal traffic on the road we were quite surprised to find the parking lot nearly full by mid-morning, before we realized it was a lovely autumnal Sunday & "locals" were mixed in with "tourists".
After checking the "birding" building (the Point is a major migratory bird reference & stop-over area) we headed for the beach, plowing through very soft sand which made for hard going until we reached almost the water's edge where pebbles made for easier traction. After a bit we cut across the dunes of the point, trying not to disturb the dedicated, high-tech, serious bird watchers (counters, actually - a daily score is kept in the birding building). Facing east instead of north gave us somewhat larger "breakers". Zoe was intrigued and at first was nervous, scampering back as the water approached her, but it didn't last and she conquered Lake Superior with a flying leap into water up to her belly. She then tried to drink the lake dry!
Back at the complex we took pictures, passed on the museum, but visited the gift shop for a little memento each. Then we hit the snack shop and bought large hot spiced apple ciders, and pasties, both of which were too hot for immediate consumption. We then retraced our route back to Paradise & turned on to the road to Tahquamenon Falls. We reached the Lower Falls first, paid our entry fee (good for both Falls) & made our way to the big parking lot, where the first order of business was pastie consumption.
We then strolled along the path past the facilities to the first viewing area. Still feeling sprightly we chose to take the 1/3 mile boardwalk to the edge of the major fall of this multiple falls area.
Zoe's Great Adventure: Zoe was behaving very well and not fussing about her leash at all. However, as we passed one of the many built-in benches for the weary, for reasons we never did fathom, she suddenly took a flying leap on to the bench, another to the top of the fence, and a third into space, landing 10 feet down in thistles, nettles and weeds as tall as herself, where she just sat, looking pathetic! At least the leash was long enough to not hang her halfway down! John then had climb the waist high split-rail fence, work along & drop down praying the ground wasn't marshy - luckily it wasn't. Zoe was retrieved and handed to Marissa leaving John the challenge of how to rescue himself! After that episode, closely guarded Zoe gave no more trouble.
After checking out the gift shop, where Marissa got a pretty necklace at an astonishing low clearance price, we then returned to the main road for a few miles & headed into the more popular Upper Falls area. After another very respectable hike we arrived at the brink viewing area, that was only 94 stair-steps down, all steps being dog-unfriendly gratings. Marissa carried Zoe down, we oohed and aahed & took pictures then John had the dubious pleasure of carrying Zoe back up 94 steps. She felt quite light on step number one, but by step 94 seemed to have tripled her weight!
Back at the complex we revitalized ourselves with ice creams & then started heading for Munising. We cruised along to Newberry, where John eventually gave in to the whining Portia & took her ignorant directions that led to a section of dirt road that didn't improve the vans appearance. Soon we were on the longest, flattest, straightest road in the UP, whereupon Marissa joined Zoe in becoming dead to the world, missing completely the town of Seney & the little motel Maria & John had once enjoyed.
We passed through Munising & on up the hill to our nice new hotel with a lakeview. Again we got the ground floor with a patio that this time fronts a nice grassy area, and settled in. After a while we headed back to town, having seen a home-made pastie shop with an outdoor eating area, but they had had an exceptional day and were completely sold out. A quick tour located a promising looking restaurant with an outdoor eating area, part of which was a dog pound. Since she was in fact small enough to squeeze though the bars it wasn't very long before Zoe was sitting at the table with us! Nobody cared. Both the whitefish & the liver & onions were very good.
Although we were disappointed to find the hot-tub shut down for a problem we did don our swimsuits and go for a swim in the fairly warm swimming pool - as if we hadn't already had enough exercise for one day! We put about 190 miles on the van today for a trip total of 721 so far.
To see Marissa's blog of the day, click here.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Day #1 - Saturday, September 19th, 2009
This was the "day of the Long Drive". Despite Marissa's mutterings about "crack of dawn" we were in fact fully packed up & ready to start rolling dead on 7:00 AM, which literally was at dawn, so much so that we actually stopped alongside the airport to take a picture of the pink sky over the fields. John took the first leg and all went well to and around Indianapolis, then (always a surprise) we drove due East for the first bit of I-69, squinting into the sun. We stopped at a MacDonald's for breakfast burritos, hash browns and coffee & Zoe had a chance to relive herself. We carried on and around 9:30 AM pulled into a Rest Area for a leg stretch and to change drivers. It was bright and sunny, but the temperature was still in the 50's F.
Zoe was behaving beautifully, mostly sleeping peacefully in her bed. We started listening to "Wife for Hire" by Janet Evanovich, a book on CD. By 10:30 we had crossed into Michigan, and by 11:30 we were closing in on Lansing and pulled into a large Rest Area/Welcome Center. We elected to eat lunch there, and take a bit of a break, since we had conveniently parked about 10 feet from a picnic table.
Side note - we decided a better name for Marissa's Tom-Tom GPS would be "Portia", since we both said, more than once "shut up, Portia" (an inside family joke started by Maria) whenever she told us off for not choosing to follow her directions. By the end of Marissa's stint we had considerably improved on Portia's estimate of our arrival time.
John drove around Lansing & on up through the one section of the trip that was not "Interstate" highway, and in Mount Pleasant we decided to replenish the 3/4 tank of gas we had consumed and change drivers again. During this next leg Zoe was finding this long drives with short stops in strange places a bit of a strain, and wound up spending a long time on John's lap.
At the penultimate Rest Area prior to the Mackinac Bridge we changed drivers again, so that Marissa could get the maximum enjoyment out of her first crossing of Big Mac, although we did slip into the last Reast Area as John had remembered it provided a great scenic overlook of the countryside. There are some small signs of color, but rather less than we had hoped to see. We crossed the bridge in bright sunshine, and in a gap between traffic so we did not need to hurry.
Once over we quickly slipped down to St Ignace, which was in chaos, due to the heavy truck gathering this weekend. We followed many detour signs around the neighborhoods (much to Portia's chagrin!), but we finally put back on the main road less than 1/4 mile before our hotel, arriving at 4:30 PM. The hotel was ideal. The van was parked 10 feet from the front door to our room, and the back (patio) door opened on to a covered patio followed by 20 feet of soft sand to the edge of Lake Huron & a view of the Islands. Shortly after arriving we were sitting on our patio, drinking tea!
In view of the chaos in town, we elected to have a pizza, etc delivered to our room by somewhere that said they could get there. It was very good. Meanwhile we looked at the day's pictures, and Marissa uploaded many to Flickr and also to her blog, despite the rather slow Internet connection. Later we decided to take Zoe for a walk, at around dusk and noticed people setting up chairs along the street. Inquiries revealed that we were on the parade route of the 100-odd semi-trucks that participated in the ceremonial bridge crossing. With walk completed, we grabbed our chairs from the van and joined them, chatting with all and sundry (Zoe is a great ice-breaker). The temperature was quite cool, so we armed ourselves with free coffee, a blanket and put Zoe in her brand new fleece sweater - very stylish! Eventually they arrived, very colorful (but hard to photograph) and very, very noisy as they were all blowing their air horns - Zoe was positively quaking in fright at first. We wouldn't have missed it for the world, but have agreed that "once is enough"! As peace returned we went back to the room and uploaded and blogged such pictures as were usable. Finally, exhausted from a long day, we collapsed into bed. Our milage for the day (and trip) was 531.
Pictures from the first half of the day on Marissa's blog are here.
Pictures from the "truck parade" on Marissa's blog are here.
Zoe was behaving beautifully, mostly sleeping peacefully in her bed. We started listening to "Wife for Hire" by Janet Evanovich, a book on CD. By 10:30 we had crossed into Michigan, and by 11:30 we were closing in on Lansing and pulled into a large Rest Area/Welcome Center. We elected to eat lunch there, and take a bit of a break, since we had conveniently parked about 10 feet from a picnic table.
Side note - we decided a better name for Marissa's Tom-Tom GPS would be "Portia", since we both said, more than once "shut up, Portia" (an inside family joke started by Maria) whenever she told us off for not choosing to follow her directions. By the end of Marissa's stint we had considerably improved on Portia's estimate of our arrival time.
John drove around Lansing & on up through the one section of the trip that was not "Interstate" highway, and in Mount Pleasant we decided to replenish the 3/4 tank of gas we had consumed and change drivers again. During this next leg Zoe was finding this long drives with short stops in strange places a bit of a strain, and wound up spending a long time on John's lap.
At the penultimate Rest Area prior to the Mackinac Bridge we changed drivers again, so that Marissa could get the maximum enjoyment out of her first crossing of Big Mac, although we did slip into the last Reast Area as John had remembered it provided a great scenic overlook of the countryside. There are some small signs of color, but rather less than we had hoped to see. We crossed the bridge in bright sunshine, and in a gap between traffic so we did not need to hurry.
Once over we quickly slipped down to St Ignace, which was in chaos, due to the heavy truck gathering this weekend. We followed many detour signs around the neighborhoods (much to Portia's chagrin!), but we finally put back on the main road less than 1/4 mile before our hotel, arriving at 4:30 PM. The hotel was ideal. The van was parked 10 feet from the front door to our room, and the back (patio) door opened on to a covered patio followed by 20 feet of soft sand to the edge of Lake Huron & a view of the Islands. Shortly after arriving we were sitting on our patio, drinking tea!
In view of the chaos in town, we elected to have a pizza, etc delivered to our room by somewhere that said they could get there. It was very good. Meanwhile we looked at the day's pictures, and Marissa uploaded many to Flickr and also to her blog, despite the rather slow Internet connection. Later we decided to take Zoe for a walk, at around dusk and noticed people setting up chairs along the street. Inquiries revealed that we were on the parade route of the 100-odd semi-trucks that participated in the ceremonial bridge crossing. With walk completed, we grabbed our chairs from the van and joined them, chatting with all and sundry (Zoe is a great ice-breaker). The temperature was quite cool, so we armed ourselves with free coffee, a blanket and put Zoe in her brand new fleece sweater - very stylish! Eventually they arrived, very colorful (but hard to photograph) and very, very noisy as they were all blowing their air horns - Zoe was positively quaking in fright at first. We wouldn't have missed it for the world, but have agreed that "once is enough"! As peace returned we went back to the room and uploaded and blogged such pictures as were usable. Finally, exhausted from a long day, we collapsed into bed. Our milage for the day (and trip) was 531.
Pictures from the first half of the day on Marissa's blog are here.
Pictures from the "truck parade" on Marissa's blog are here.
Apologia
There is quite a bit of difference between traveling with someone only mildly interested in the PC and traveling with a rabid Flickr uploader & blogger. The fairly slow Wi-Fi connection in St Ignace required a lot of time to upload the "me first & quickly" Marissa stuff, both before & after the couple of evening hours taken up by waiting for/watching the Truck parade, such that enthusiasm for blogging well after 11:00 PM was down to nil, so the initial Priddis blogs will be a day late & a dollar short, so to speak. However, a differentiation has already emerged. I will publish text and not bother with pictures & Marissa will publish the hihlight pictures with minimal text.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Day #0 - Friday, September 18th, 2009
Today was John’s last early morning “mall-walk” for a while. Later, after a decent breakfast we headed out to shop. We visited the bank to supplement our cash for the trip, did some window-shopping at the Mall (including looking at the winning entries, especially quilts, in a recent competition) then we did our big food shop for the trip at Marsh.
After that it was sift, sort, prepare foods for travel, etc and start the final packing of the van. After a lunch break this continued until we were ready for an extended shakedown cruise, to see what traveled as planned & what needed repacking/relocating, as well as check on a very annoying rattle that the van has had for some time. Once we established it was still there Marissa moved into the back & sat on both the chair for a while and then the bench & we determined that the bench was a problem. We stopped, John adjusted the bench just a little bit, and thank goodness that solved the problem.
Final preparations continued, Michelle & Don brought Ziggy over for a last exhausting romp, we had a steak dinner, watered the garden pots & planters for the last time, packed up outside, paid some bills electronically, held down a squirming Zoe for a grooming & toenail trimming, rechecked our lists, and… we’re ready to roll in the morning!
After that it was sift, sort, prepare foods for travel, etc and start the final packing of the van. After a lunch break this continued until we were ready for an extended shakedown cruise, to see what traveled as planned & what needed repacking/relocating, as well as check on a very annoying rattle that the van has had for some time. Once we established it was still there Marissa moved into the back & sat on both the chair for a while and then the bench & we determined that the bench was a problem. We stopped, John adjusted the bench just a little bit, and thank goodness that solved the problem.
Final preparations continued, Michelle & Don brought Ziggy over for a last exhausting romp, we had a steak dinner, watered the garden pots & planters for the last time, packed up outside, paid some bills electronically, held down a squirming Zoe for a grooming & toenail trimming, rechecked our lists, and… we’re ready to roll in the morning!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Day #00 - Thursday, September 17th, 2009
While John was cutting grass & otherwise preparing the house to be left for a while, Marissa was having a horrid drive up from Mount Vernon with Zoe. One big-time accident and many sections of “construction” (or Road Works) provided the bulk of the aggravation, while the lingering effects of both hay fever and a migraine a day or two earlier made it all a strain.
At the end of the working day we headed over to Pet Smart for some Zoe stuff (both for the trip & generally) and went on from there to Michelle & Don’s. With a field full of ragweed below them both are also suffering from bad hay fever. Ziggy & Zoe, however, were full of beans and played themselves into state of exhaustion, before we returned to eat & sort out some of the Marissa & Zoe stuff brought up from Mount Vernon for the trip.
At the end of the working day we headed over to Pet Smart for some Zoe stuff (both for the trip & generally) and went on from there to Michelle & Don’s. With a field full of ragweed below them both are also suffering from bad hay fever. Ziggy & Zoe, however, were full of beans and played themselves into state of exhaustion, before we returned to eat & sort out some of the Marissa & Zoe stuff brought up from Mount Vernon for the trip.
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