always leave 'em laughing....

This will be my last blog until October 5 because I will be travelling in Italy and Greece.  Beware, you will be getting another travel report, possibly more exciting even than Michigan, when I return.  In the meantime, here are two entries from my page-a-day trivia calendar that made me chuckle.  First, did you know that the American Kennel Club registered its first beagle in 1885?  They were first brought to the US after the Civil War.  That didn't make me laugh, but this did.  The dog's name was Blunder.  Blunder the beagle.  What a great name, although not very complimentary.  Second, here's an adjective to add to your vocabulary.  Glabrous means smooth and is most often used to describe a surface like skin that has no hair or down.  Try to work it into a conversation. "Her skin is as glabrous as a baby's bottom."  "His face was so glabrous after he shaved." You get the idea.  And thinking of unusual words, I read a quote recently that I really like. "If a person mispronounces a word, it's because they learned it by reading."

Arrggh!!

 Today is 'Talk Like a Pirate Day' so aarrggh, walk the plank, shiver me timbers and avast ye lubbers.  That's it. my entire repertoire of pirate talk.  However, it's also 'Meow Like a Pirate Day.'  Since, in my adulthood, I have shared house room with five cats (not all at the same time) I have heard several yowls, growls, and screeches that could easily pass for pirate talk.  Usually these vocal exercises took place in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason, although they seemed to want me to believe they were dying of hunger.  Pirate dreams perhaps?  On the other hand, if things pirate-ish really aren't your thing, you can relax and enjoy something sweet because today is 'National Butterscotch Pudding Day.' Actually, you can relax and enjoy butterscotch pudding even if you are a pirate.  Happy eating and emoting everyone,

yummy

 My west coast brother informed me this morning that today is 'National Cheeseburger Day.'  It's also 'National Rice Krispies Treats Day.'  But honestly, after I helped bake cookies for the Johnny Appleseed Festival last week I'm not that interested in sweet stuff right now.  On the other hand a cheeseburger sounds pretty good. I heard an advertisement today by Steak and Shake which confirmed that today really is National Cheeseburger Day so it must be true.  Have you ever noticed how many food related ads are on TV during the late evening hours?  I don't know if they really expect me to get up from my comfy recliner and drive to their fast food place.  They obviously don't know me very well, but perhaps they are trying to plant a not very subliminal idea in my brain.  Maybe, they think, tomorrow I'll find my way to their place. On the other hand, those ads do stir me just enough to get on my feet and wander out to the kitchen for a snack.  And, in spite of what I said earlier, a JA cookie sounds pretty good right about now.  I did buy quite a supply of them.  Most are in the freezer.  A friend informed me that if you pop a frozen  cookie in the microwave for 15 seconds it will taste just like fresh baked.  She also suggested putting a scoop of ice cream on top, but that might be a bit too much, although I probably should try it once before I judge.  I must add ice cream to my shopping list.

My bridge...

 As my regular readers know, I feel very possessive about the Veterans' Memorial Bridge' across the St. Mary's River where Lafayette becomes Spy Run. I have watched, and taken pictures of, all of the stages of construction since they started tearing apart and then rebuilding the bridge, beginning almost a year and a half ago.  I have had an excellent view from my tenth floor balcony, a front row seat so to speak. Tonight was the grand finale / dedication / opening.  The mayor spoke, a three volley salute was fired, the National Anthem was sung, the flag was raised, there were a couple of honor guards and a good number of veterans and other people in attendance.  My GPP and I watched much of the action from my balcony which seemed appropriate and allowed us to sit down, but we made it down to street level in time to see the lights come on.  That is what I've been waiting for.  It is a beautiful bridge, and walking across it reminded me of one of the great features of my new bridge.  The walkways on each side are twice as wide as they used to be and have an attractive and very sturdy barrier between pedestrians and vehicles.  It feels so safe.  Kudos to the architects, engineers and construction workers who brought this project to completion.

This picture was taken August 16, 2022, when they were in the process of striping the old bridge down to the beams.  They had been doing prep work, like pouring that bed of gravel on the right into the river for months before. 

And here's the bridge now, finished and all lit up.  I will never be able to stand in the middle of the street safely to get another shot like this, but you can enjoy it any time you drive across the bridge at night.

This is the best shot I could manage of the memorial plaza and flag at the south end of the bridge.  The next time you're at Hall's Gas House or the Deck, it's worth taking a quick walk to the corner to check this out.

Star Wars

 Tonight I had the joy of seeing and hearing the Fort Wayne Philharmonic perform the sound track of "Star Wars V, The Empire Strikes Back" on the big out door stage of the Foellinger Theater.  What made it especially joyful for me was that I was seeing it with my son, as part of his birthday celebration.  That brought back a flood of memories.  When he was six we took him and his little sister to the very first Star Wars movie. The year was 1977. While his sister slept through most of the movie, my son not only stayed awake but was literally (and I do mean that literally) sitting on the edge of his seat through the entire movie.  This began our family's love affair with all things Star Wars , and his love affair with all things space related.  Over the years my son and I, and other family members when available, have seen every Star Wars movie that has come to the theaters.  The episode we saw tonight was first shown in 1980, a movie that has aged very well, and the philharmonic did a marvelous job with the score.  All in all, a delightful experience.  

follow ups...

 First, I must tell you that I followed up on my resolve to eat healthy at I HOP this morning.  I had Cinnamon Bun Crepes, full of cheese of the creamed cheese variety - protein, strawberries - fruit, and whipped cream - dairy.  So all good.

Another, and much more exciting follow up.  My faithful readers know that I have followed the construction of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge, visible from my balcony, for the last two years.  Now, at last, it is really, truly finished and will be dedicated at 6:30pm on Sunday, September 17.  I will be there.  I feel very possessive about this bridge and am anxiously waiting to see the lights come on.  

By the way, the bridge, surrounding streets, and one entrance to our Three Rivers parking lot will be closed for the ceremony.  Feels just like old times.  

Here's a picture of the bridge that I took when it was nearing completion, and they were working on the lights.  It's a beautiful bridge.

All about food....

 My west coast brother informs me that today is 'National Cream Filled Doughnut Day' and also 'National Eat a Hoagie Day.'  It's also 'Food is Medicine Day.'  Interestingly, he was texting me just before he went to the dentist.  I also know of three local friends who have gone to the dentist within the last week.  I'm not saying that has anything to do with eating doughnuts, cream filled or otherwise, but who knows?  I had a hoagie, aka sub sandwich, for supper this evening.  It was at Clara's Pizza King and it was delicious, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't medicine, although I did feel very well while eating it.  Tomorrow a friend and I are having brunch at I HOP.  I'm sure that whatever I have will be delicious, but again I question the medicinal value.  Although, now that I think about it, if I have nuts in my waffles or fruit on my pancakes (ignore the whipped cream, except it is dairy) that definitely makes my brunch healthy, right?  This is good, I'm feeling better and better about my health food brunch tomorrow.

please pass the candy

 All credit to my west coast brother for this one.  He informed me that today is 'National Peanut Day,' 'International Chocolate Day,' and 'National Bald is Beautiful Day.' Then summed it up by saying "I think Peanut M&Ms might cover all three."  Enjoy his wit tonight.  I can't top that.  And munch a few M&Ms while you're at it.  

TSA TT

 Over the last three days I've gone through the process of applying for a TSA precheck known traveler number (KTN).  This is supposed to expedite air travel within the US.  First I applied on line, and the process was quite straightforward.  I completed the form and was told where to go to get my passport and driver's license scanned.  I was also warned that the whole process could take up to 90 days.  I still had hope that I might have the information in time for a scheduled trip to my niece's wedding in October.  I used the online prompts to schedule an in person appointment for the next day, so on Monday I presented myself at the address I was sent to, spent less than 10 minutes answering a few questions, having my fingerprints taken, passport and license scanned, and a "take your glasses off and don't smile" picture taken.  I didn't see the picture but I'm sure it was fabulous. As I left, I was reminded that it could take up to 90 days for me to get my number bur it might come sooner.  My number arrived by email this morning.  I am now a Trusted Traveler.  I certainly can't complain about the service of this government agency.  

Please pass the cookies.

Today we at First Pres began the annual project of baking cookies to sell at the Johnny Appleseed Festival which will be held this weekend.  This festival is an annual event in Fort Wayne, the grave site of John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed.  It's a fun festival with lots of historic overtones and many, many goodies for sale. Organizations use this as a major fundraising opportunity.  For our church it's a chance to raise money for our Day School.  Our booth sells cookies - thousands of cookies.  We sell molasses, oatmeal, chocolate chip and sugar cookies and snickerdoodles.  Today was molasses cookie day.  My favorite.  We baked over 3,000 cookies in six hours and the wonderful scent of baking cookies wafted through the whole church.  As our head maintenance man strolled through the area where we worked, he commented that it was too bad that "Overeaters Anonymous" was meeting upstairs today.  Ah well....

another holiday....

 Happy 'Grandparents Day' to all you other grandparents.  To be honest, I didn't even know that it was Grandparents Day until late this afternoon. It doesn't seem to get much hype.  Hallmark is obviously falling down on the job.  Honestly, I'm not even sure if we need this holiday.  Grandparents are typically parents first, and that status is covered by Mothers Day and Fathers Day.  I know I've seen cards that say "Happy Fathers Day, Grandpa" and I've personally received cards that say "Happy Mothers Day, Grandma."  But enough about greeting cards.  My GPP and I celebrated the day by going to Ziano's for supper, yum! and three games of Gin Rummy.  i really do enjoy this game, which is good because my GPP has an annoying habit of winning.  Not always, you understand.  We usually play a series of three games.  Today he won two and I won one. This is an all too frequent pattern, But never fear.  I have my revenge when we play scrabble.  

more flying things...

 According to my west coast brother today is 'National When Pigs Fly Day.'  I did see something large with wings yesterday but it was definitely not a pig.  Pigs do not have feathers.  Of course flying pigs may have feathers.  On the other hand, bats can fly and they don't have feathers.  But that's not what I want to write about.  Whenever I hear the phrases 'flying pigs' or 'when pigs fly' I am reminded of one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver.  The first books of hers that I ever read were "The Bean Trees" and "Pigs in Heaven."  They entranced me and I have read several of hers since.  The one you may be most familiar with is "The Poisonwood Bible" about a well meaning missionary and his family and their experiences in Africa.  If you haven't read it you really should.  Her most recent book "Demon Copperhead" is a heart wrenching look at poverty and addiction, with a hero who she admits is based on David Copperfield.  So keep your eyes pealed for flying pigs, and take time to read anything by Barbara Kingsolver.  

bird watching

My west coast brother has informed me that today is "National Iguana Awareness Day."  I kept my eyes open all day but have not seen a single Iguana, captive or running free.  I did, however, see a really big bird.  No, it wasn't yellow.  I was driving south on Maplecrest early this afternoon, when I spotted a really really large gray and black bird standing in the median strip, patiently waiting to cross traffic. The bird was heading east but didn't seem to be in any hurry.  As I went past, tail lights were coming on in the north bound lanes.  I hope it made it safely across.  I've not heard anything on the news about an escaped peacock but it was about that size and female peacocks (peahens) aren't very colorful.  Or it might have been a big gray vulture like some we saw in Michigan.  Birds and mosquitoes grow large in Michigan.  I hope it didn't follow us home.

home again, home again....

 Since we saw Lake of the Clouds fairly early on day eight, we were able to make it to our last tourist destination of the trip that afternoon.  We turned back east and headed for the bridge and south by way of Iron Mountain, where we stopped and toured the iron mine.  This time we actually did go underground, and the 45 minutes we spent down in that mine (even with electric lights and marked walkways) was more than enough for me. It was while we were underground that I realized I had been there before.  Many years ago my husband and I brought our kids north for our summer vacation, and before heading west to Baraboo, WI, stopped to tour the mine.  That was about 40 years ago but the view underground has not changed much.  

After our tour we spent the night at a motel in the city of Iron Mountain, and headed home the next day.  Another exciting crossing of the Mackinaw bridge with a surprise at the south end.  We had decided to stop for food and gas in Mackinaw City before heading on home.  When we got off the interstate at the first possible exit, we were greeted by our new favorite restaurant, Darrow's.  We had come to it from a different direction when we were staying in Mackinaw City and didn't realize it was right off the interstate.  Needless to say we lunched there.  Then had a safe, non-eventful (the best kind) drive home.  

One of the passages we walked along in the mine.  I did not like the feeling of massive rocks above me and slippery wet rocks under my feet.  Family lore says that my maternal grandfather worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania to earn money to go to college. He succeeded and  became a minister.  I imagine coal mining was just as miserable as iron mining and copper mining.

This is a view of the largest stope (a man-made excavation) in this mine.  The yellow 'light' in the center is actually the figure of "Big John" like the one outside the entrance to the museum.  It stands 40 feet high but looked miniscule from a distance of 600 feet. The stope is also 300 feet wide and 180 feet high.  I would have been impressed by this cavern anywhere, but found it even more astonishing  to know that it was all dug out in the process of getting the iron ore out.  When it came to earning a living, the "good old days" really weren't.

and either farther west...

 The end of day seven found us settling down for the night at the Sunshine Motel and Cabins in Ontonagon. I haven't commented on the motels we stayed in, except for the one with the view of the bridge. Every motel we stayed at was clean and comfortable, regardless of brand name, and most provided very ample breakfasts.  The Sunshine Motel stands out for it's quaintness.  We were informed when we checked in, that the Sunshine was a 'mom and pop' operation. It was definitely not part of a chain.  We didn't stay in a cabin, because we were only there for one night, but I'm sure they were cute.  Our second floor room had a screen door and screens on the windows, but there was also AC.  The decor was knotty pine/patriotic.  Our room was full of bald eagles - on the bedspread, table lamps, shower curtain and framed pictures, and lots of red, white and blue.  I thought it was a little overwhelming but great.  After enjoying the hospitality of the Sunshine, on the morning of day eight, we headed for the Porcupine Mountains to see Lake of the Clouds. We got there early which was lovely.  No crowds, quiet walks on empty trails, and, of course, beautiful views of the lake.  What we didn't have was breakfast. The Sunshine didn't serve breakfast, but we assumed we would find a place for coffee and food somewhere along the way.  Along the way turned out to be lunch at a nice little restaurant which we came to about 1:30pm.  Since we had a stash of granola bars with us, and had certainly not been skimping on meals, we didn't starve, but we were getting a bit anxious for coffee. 

This  is my favorite view of the lake, especially because of the clouds. So peaceful and beautiful.

And here is my GPP who climbed some rocks to get a better view.  Once again I graciously stayed below, to take pictures and be prepared to call 911.  Happily, that wasn't necessary.  We weren't that desperate for coffee.  

Keweenaw Copper

 Thursday, day seven of our UP odyssey, dawned on us with the realization that our trip was winding down.  We would be heading home on Saturday. But speaking of winding down, our seventh day took us to the Keweenaw area of Michigan, the north-western most point of the UP and the northern end of highway 41, which also goes south to Florida.  It was there that we toured the above ground features of the Quincy Mine, a copper mine that produced amazing amounts of copper in the late 19th and early 20th century.  We saved going underground for a later mine tour.  I've mentioned earlier in this blog the tough jobs of loggers and sailors, but, if it comes right down to it, I would probably prefer the fresh air and storms of a ship on Lake Superior in November (with the chance of drowning) to working 12 hour days, by candlelight, a mile underground, with chunks of rock tumbling around you, digging out copper (or iron, depending on the mine) with the very real chance of being crushed to death, or trapped in a collapsed tunnel.

This huge, 30 ft in diameter steel ball, was the centerpiece of a humongous hoist.  The cables winding around it and extending from it lowered and raised men in groups of 33 on a steeply angled wooden 'sled' with a stairstep arrangement of seats (no seat belts of course), and raised heavy loads of copper ore from over a mile down.  The cable tunnel ran 9,000 feet at a steep diagonal, actual depth of the mine about 6,000 feet. to keep it in to perspective, a mile is 5280 feet.  Not at all my idea of a fun place to work.  Top wages were 18 cents an hour, for the most dangerous jobs. 

The smelting facility for the mine (an unrestored ruin now) was located about a mile from the giant hoist, and getting there was an adventure in itself.  No well marked streets with welcoming signs. But once we got there, a very knowledgeable docent led us on an interesting tour.  The above ground jobs there, which had a lot to do with ladling boiling hot liquid copper into molds, were physically no better than the underground jobs, Except, of course, that they were above ground.  

moving right along

 Day 6, heading west, our minds and cameras still full of beautiful images of the falls, we came to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, on the shore of Lake Superior of course.  It was a little gray and drizzly when we arrived, and not at all crowded, but we decided to be brave and sign up for the noon boat ride along the shore.  Happily, the sun came out as we took the ride and we saw some fun and beautiful sites, including dozens of kayakers bouncing about in the waves.  I was not tempted to join them.  When we were planning our trip and I came across the name Pictured Rocks I thought it might be referring to prehistoric pictographs but that's not the case.  There are pictures and formations that look man-made but are actually natural occurrences. It really was quite an interesting ride along the cliffs. 

You may need to enlarge your view of this to see the "drawing" on the rock.

The strata was beautiful, even without any pictures, fascinating to geologists, like my son.  All of the layers are varieties of sandstone, tne hardest on top, which explain why the lower layers eroded.

Not hard to imagine this as the ruins of an old castle.
 

simply beautiful...

 After spending the early part of day five at the shipwreck museum, we were ready for something more relaxing and less intense, so we headed for Tahquamenon Falls State Park, one of the most beautiful sites on our trip.  The site consists of upper and lower falls and the upper falls are the second largest in the US east of the Mississippi.  The largest, of course, is Niagara Falls.  While Niagara is massively impressive, Tahquamenon compares quite favorably for sheer beauty.  We walked several trails to get different views and my GPP decided to descend the 181 steps to the lowest level for the best view of the lower falls, and then of course to climb back up again.  I declined to accompany him on this jaunt, but purely for altruistic reasons.  I wanted to be on top, ready to call 911 if the need arose.  He made it, all the way down and up again, but has admitted to resting a couple of times on the way back up.  

One view of the upper falls. The rusty looking streaks are from tannin, naturally occurring color from the surrounding vegetation.  Have I mentioned that Michigan has lots and lots of trees? 

And the lower falls.  You can't see it clearly here but people were splashing around in the pools and eddies at the edges of the falls. More power to them.  I have a fear of slipping and falling on wet rocks, and besides, that water was cold! 

the deadliest profession...

 Day five, we left Sault Ste. Marie, heading west then north through Paradise and on further and further north to the community of Whitefish Point, on the shore of Lake Superior, and home of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.  A few days ago I wrote about the dangerous life and work of lumberjacks, cutting and hauling huge logs.  Having explored the Shipwreck Museum, I have now concluded that being a sailor on Lake Superior was exponentially more dangerous.  I'm sorry I didn't write down the numbers of ships and lives lost in the transport of coal, copper and iron from the mines, and logs from the forests.  During the 19th and early 20th centuries, storms, fog, freezing weather, lack of lighthouses and collisions due to lack of radar contributed to hundreds of wrecks on Lake Superior.  Many of the wrecks happened during the month of November, as they pushed to get the last loads through before 'real' winter set in.  I was surprised to learn that the ill-fated "Edmund Fitzgerald," made famous in the song, sank on November 10, 1975.  I had no idea it was such an historically recent disaster. I was also surprised because November 10 is my daughter's birthday.  She was two that year.  A side note - one of the buildings of the museum housed a rescue boat of the kind used by brave men to row out to shipwreck sites to try to rescue the sailors as the ships went down.     I highly recommend this museum.  

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This is a view of the staircase leading up to the lighthouse tower.  We weren't allowed to climb up (not too disappointed about that) but we did get to tour the housing for lighthouse keepers and their families.

The museum is housed in several buildings from the time that the lighthouse was in operation.  

Soo? Sault?

Day four, continued:  We arrived in Sault (pronounce Soo) Ste. Marie in time for a ride through the Soo (pronounce Soo) Locks between Lakes Huron and Superior.  It was fascinating.  I have actually been through several locks over the last few years.  On a Danube River cruise we went through five locks and on a Rhine River cruise five or six locks.  They were all fun and I understood and appreciated the concept of going through locks but none of them came close to the size of the Soo Locks.  On our cruise through the smaller of the Soo Locks (and earlier from an observation deck) we were able to watch a huge ocean-going cruise ship and a 1,000 foot long, 80 foot wide cargo ship, that carried I don't remember how many tons of cargo, go through the larger lock.  We had an excellent narrator on our trip through the locks and I learned more than I had ever learned before about how they, at least the Soo locks, actually work. It's all about huge pipes and gates and water pressure, no pumps involved.  For details, you will have to read a book. 

Here we are going into the locks. We were raised to the top of this wall by the time we were through.

After we came through the locks we took a large looping ride on Lake Superior, and came back through a smaller lock on the Canadian side.  On the way we saw this lift bridge called a 'jack-knife' bridge.  I'm sorry that I didn't get to see it action.