My summer vacation:
Just thought I’d share my trip to the U.P. with y’all.
Wednesday: Drove up to South Manistique Lake in the U.P. of Michigan. Beautiful day, but none too warm. Crisp wind coming off the lake kept the skeeters away and us out of the water. Stayed with another couple we are friends with who were renting a cottage for the week. Visited the thriving burg of Curtis, maybe a half-mile long at its most, along the northern edge of the lake. Stopped by a motorsports dealer on our walk around and tried to figure out how I could justify buying the little Suzuki 80 Jr. they had there. I haven’t ridden a dirt bike in over [sub]20[/sub] years, but when I sat on that little thing, all I could think was “I am Moto-Cross Queen!” Everyone’s got to dream, right? 
The nights up there are quiet in a way I’d forgotten about. No hum of high-voltage power lines, no sirens, barking dogs, or surface street sounds. Plus, it smells good out. Ferns, pine trees and water. Heaven.
Thursday: Again, it felt like September, not July. Headed out to Tahquamenon Falls, Upper and Lower. River was beautifully warm, but the wind was coooooooold. No swimming for me! Drove up to Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. Man, whadda wind. Makes you understand how the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. BIG whitecaps on Gitchigumee (Lake Superior) and the sand was whipping against us. We didn’t stay long. Dinner at Chamberlin’s Inn - a beautiful bed-n-breakfast overlooking Manistique Lake (14,000 acre lake), set high on a bluff. Incredible view from it’s 10-foot wide veranda. Had planked whitefish. Yum.
Friday: Got up, went running. Hubby and friends took the boat out to fish, so I sat on the porch to read and get some rays. It was finally decent enough outside to sit without a coat and the house blocked some of the wind. Due to my rather inept application of sunscreen, I now have a pink racing stripe from my breastbone to below my bellybutton where I somehow missed getting the lotion. You’d think covering my tummy with lotion would be a simple task. :rolleyes:
In the afternoon, the temp dropped (big surprise) and the wind picked up. While hubby went to look for a trout stream, we went for a speedboat ride up and down the lake. Lake was very choppy, but that made it even more fun. Got some air a couple times! Faster! Faster!
Saturday: Alas, time to head home. Drove to Manistique for an art show. Picked up frozen pasties (had to get them in St. Ignace; Lehtos was sold out of their frozen ones), a whole smoked whitefish, and then got 20-lbs of black sweet cherries in Kalkaska for cordial and jam. They are so sweet, their aftertaste is almost floral. Divine. Felt good to sleep in my own bed again.
Sunday: Hoffmaster State Park. Freakin’ cold water - Lake Michigan has not cooperated and warmed up to 75° as I requested. Water temp was probably between 55-60°. Brrrr! Beach was hot. U.S. Navy Blue Angels were performing at the Muskegon Air Show and we got to see a little of their show from the beach. Even with SPF 30 on, I still managed to get a little pink. :sigh: Durned Irish blood!
Anyway, hope everyone had a great 4th of July!
