Sunday in Northern Michigan

We had a very nice today today.  After a quick breakfast at Burger King we headed to Hartwick Pines for a walk in the woods.  There was a nice paced trail through the forest, but I had a big disappointment.  One thing I recalled from my earlier visit (waaaay too many years ago to admit) was a very big pine tree with a fence around it.  Well, it turns out that tree lost it's top 35' due to a 1992 lightening strike and died in 1996.  So The Monarch is no more.  8-(

After leaving Hartwick Pines we then headed to Cross Village for lunch at a Polish restaurant called Legs Inn.  There was no traffic at all as we approached Cross Village, but when we got there, the place was packed with motorcycles and bicycles!  I'm not sure why the motorcycles were there, but the bicycles we due to the annual DALMAC bike rally. The place was packed but since we arrived at 1:30 most of the crowd was leaving so we only had a 25 minute wait for a table.  We enjoyed a polish beer while sitting on a swing and overlooking Lake Michigan from a high cliff.  Lunch was great!  Mary had perogies while I had kielbasa and sauerkraut.

So we were finally on our way to Sault Ste Marie, arriving at 4:30.  After some relaxing time, we headed downtown for a whitefish dinner.  As we arrived we saw a large ship entering the Poe lock so we went out to watch it. After that we checked the schedule and saw another ship was arriving soon so we waited and got this great picture which I've titled "Walking the Boat".  Like someone with that tiny line is going to have any affect on a ship of that size!  After watching the ships pass through the lock we had a great dinner, got an ice cream chaser next door and walked around the downtown area.  

So we had a great, relaxing day, are all settled in for the night, and are looking forward to tomorrow's Bridge Walk.

Peter's Birthday

We're on our way north for the Bridge walk.

Yesterday we drove to Seibewing for our great nephew's 1st birthday party.  Peter did a good job of opening his gifts  - there were lots of them - and then enjoying his 1st birthday cake.  The cake was a miniature Pooh - as you can envision from the remains in the picture.  

They had lots of snacks and held an outdoor barbeque with nice salads for supper.  

We exited about 7:00 and headed for West Branch where we were surprised to find a very nice motel!  It has an interior pool/play area and we had an interior balcony room overlooking it.   

Our plans for today are to visit Hartwick Pines as we wander north to Sault Ste Marie. Should be a nice day!

Aspen in October

Like she did last year in October, Mary is again headed to the annual Aspen in October John Denver event.  And this time I get to go along!  w00t!  So after looking like a no travels at all this fall, we're now doing the Mackinaw Bridge walk in September and Aspen in October!  I guess it's hard to keep certain travelers at home.  

So we fly to Denver, rent a car, then drive to Aspen for the festivities.  Lots of concerts, socializing, and other events all packed into 4 fun filled days.  Mary is a bit worried I'll be bored, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but probably not quite as much as she will.

Anyhow, that's a quick look at our second trip this fall.  Stay tuned for pictures and posts from these mini-vacations.

Heading North

At the end of August, Mary and I are going to do something we've always wanted to do - The Mackinac Bridge Walk!  The walk is a bit over 5 miles and is by no means flat since the bridge rises to about 200' over the water.  Whenever we've crossed the bridge in the past, the topic of following the Governor across the bridge comes up and this year, we've decided to make it happen.  The logistics get a bit tricky since motels in Mackinaw City want upwards of $250/night that weekend so we're staying in West Branch on Saturday night, then crossing the bridge and staying in Sault Ste Marie Sunday night (after doing some sightseeing on the way at Hartwick Pines and a couple of other places,  before heading back south Monday morning for the bridge walk.  It'll be a long day on Monday with a 1 hour drove St Ignace, the 5 mile bridge walk, then a 5 hour drive back to Dearborn, but Mary start school the next day and I'm back at work so that's how it needs to be.  Good thing we're in pretty good shape!

As a "plus", Stephanie and Michael are holding a 1st Birthday party for Peter on that Saturday so we can go to his party on our way north.  

As Katie has said " I knew you couldn't go 6 months without a trip"!