UP Travlelog

Left about 8 am on Friday morning.. first stop was Meijer for some Aloe Vera to slather on already crispy children. Weather reports are calling for 95 today.. glad to be heading north!
Arrive in Mackinaw City about noon, get some sandwiches and go to the park by the lighthouse.. after a quick lunch we headed into the UP. High winds in the Straits.. they had Bridge Authority people at the entrance in Mackinaw and they were making trucks, trailers etc park to the side and be escorted across... First time I had seen that.
Got to the UP and stopped and did 2 geocaches at a rest area south of the Soo. Arrived in the Soo about 2 and toured the locks. It was engineers day, the one day of the year that you can go out onto the lock and see the admin building. The building is beautiful, all marble and tile.. built in 1879... did not realize it was that old. Unfortnately no freighters going through while we were there.. but got to walk across the Mac & Poe locks. Started to rain before we left.. not hard.. just sprinkled for a bit. Headed toward the campsite, and stopped to get some juice which I had forgot to pack.
Arrived at the camp site and got checked in, got the tent set up and our stuff unpacked... walked down to the beach and was stunned at how beautiful it was.. sandy beach and shore.. just spectactular! And a freighter going by too :)
Had dinner, got some wood, then went swiming.. the water was so warm.. could not believe it was Superior!
Campfire was a bit of a disappointment.. had trouble getting it to go.. but good enough for some marshmallows! Off to sleep looking out the tent window at the trees.
Saturday
After a breakfast we headed back into town.. Today there were boats in the locks! One was leaving as we arrived and we saw the OG: Reserve lock through (up bound). There was an indian demostration at the lower park. MM especially enjoyed this.. I was amazed at how many of the indians there were from St Ignace (and the rest from Brimley). No more freighters due in for a while and noon time approaching we left.. but ran out to the Ashmun boat launch on a hunch.. Sure enough the Gott was coming into the canal heading toward the Locks. Very impressive to see the 1000' boat go by so closely. After that we hit Subway and grabbed some sandwiches. Returning to the campsite we had lunch, then laid down for a while. After a nap we went swimming agin.. still can not believe how warm it is.
Off to do some geocaching.. headed toward Bay Mills which is an Indian reservation.. surprised at how strong the Tribes presences is here.. sort of like a different country. Very cool to see! We did a geo cache which ended up being down a snowmobile trail.. which this time of year is called a Cedar swamp. It was pretty to see.. but also wet, mucky and full of bugs that were attracted to my bald head! Found 1 of the 2 caches on this trail and also found some kindling for the fire tonight. Moving on we stopped at a statue to pay tribute to the Indian vets. Could not find the micro cache here.. but did look through the Old Indian Burial ground (1841) across the street. Rather than head stones there are small wooded boxes over the grave sites.. almost like caskets. I noticed they are all facing the same direction and have a small hole in the gable edge.. there must be a story here.. I will have to find it.. obviously has something to do with their beliefs and traditions.
Move further we went to the Pt Iroquois lighthouse.. we climbed the 72 steps to the top for an incredible view. We could also see people setting up for a wedding on the lawn. Came down and walked along the board walk by the lake. Found a geodetic marker here also.. an unexpected bonus!
Returning to the campsite we had dinner, then went swimming again. This time we saw 3 freighters going by. Coming back we had a campfire which went much better this time! Enjoyed being outdoors and the beautiful area.
Sunday
Slept in on Sunday until almost 10! Had breakfast and went swimming got back and had lunch.. by not it was nearly 1. The kids played at the playground while I packed up the tent and loaded the car.
Left the campground at 2:20 and headed south. Stopped at the Father Marquette memorial in St Ignace to do our last Geocache and take some pics of a freighter passing under the bridge.
Returning the the lower Peninusla we made our way home stopping to pick up a pizza in Mt. Pleasant and got home about 7:30

A Sailors Logbook (29)

I finished A Sailor's Logbook: A Season Aboard Great Lakes Freighters by Mark L Thompson last night. Not a bad book.. it was truly a log book, no attempt at background or plot. Picked up some interesting things about life on a ship. The person should interesting, although we only pick up bits and pieces of his life as we go along. This follows a Steward through the 1996 season on the Great Lakes. Enjoyed the parts where he visits the power plant near our cottage to drop coal.. hmm.. wonder if I was around those times to see them go by?? Definately a book for the hard core person who is interested in this!

Mackinac Bridge as seen from Straits State park in St. Ignace (Lake Huron side of bridge). 

St Ignace.

Its been a tough week.. starting last week just been having some problems.. Does not seem to be an end in sight. On the highlight we went to St Ignace last weekend and camped. This was a great experience and it turned out to be a wonderful day! The park was cool and right next to the bridge. Went swimming in Lake Huron.. a tad bit cold, but considering it was June, I would say it was warm. Would like to try to do Northern UP this weekend.. not sure if that will work or not.. time will tell. A few obstacles to overcome before that falls into place.
Hopefully the rain will hold out today.. I need to get the lawn cut.. it is out of control.

Life...

Ok, going to St Ignace tomorrow. I have rented a mini cabin at the Straits State Campground. I will leave in the morning with the kids.. should be fun.. not quite sure what to expect with all of this.. and weather is not looking as good as it was earlier in the week? Either way it will be a new adventure and I think we can have some fun.
Wife is very upset with me this week, and not entirely sure why... That bothers me more than I would like to. Not quite sure what to do with that.. ignoring it really wont make anything better..
Got a cc yesterday.. so I dont feel quite so much as a financial loser now.. the extra job has really helped out with my finances.. I am in a much better place than I was last year, so that is an improvement.. 2 more years and I should be in much better shape.. this is the 5 year plan.. got fuzzy in the middle for a while, but I am back on track now!

Books

The Dilbert Future (27)
What can I can say about Scott Adams.. he has this amazing way to capture what it is like to work in an office.
Know Your Ships (28)
I Flipped though this one quickly, it is a guide book about ships on the Great Lakes, but also includes many Ferry boats (including the one I worked on), work boats, as well as Salties that you may see here.
It had some interesting articles.. I wasnt impressed with the actual data, it seemed hard to find things.. I think Boat Nerd is better, it has all the same information, plus pictures.
It was intersting, and I did learn a few things, so it was not a waste of time.

Half way

Made it through half of this week.. and it is going fast. Trying to figure out what to do this weekend. Wife is mad at me and does not want to go camping, or probably anything else with me. I checked on the local State Park and I have to buy 2 nights stay (not just Sat). But in the UP I can do 1 night... so I am toying with the idea of getting a cabin at the State Park in St Ignace.. might be kinda fun.. and will be easier if I am alone with the kids.
I work the next 3 nights... glad to have more hours again.. the union finally caught up with me and took a chunk out of my paycheck.. now I will await the benefits - lol
Cooler today.. a nice change.

The cabin

The weekend was great! Left about 7:30am on Saturday and arrived around 11. It was already hot there, the kids played on the beach while I got things put away in the cabin and cleaned up. The cabin made it through the winter in good shape. We had rain in the afternoon, but it cleared up later. Keith and Ursula came out and we hung out on the beach, and BBQ later.
On Sunday it was overcast and not quite as hot. We drove to Charlevoix, but went around the lake first.. Tried a geo-cache but could not find it.. we then went north on US31 and stopped at a few road side parks on Lake Michigan. Had a good view of Big Rock which CE is decommisioning Then had lunch and tried another geocach.. this led us to a beautiful view of the Lake from the top of a sand dune.. After some looking finally found the geocach deep in a cedar forest.. which was also *very* cool. We played on the dunes and in the water for a while, although it was quite rocky.. went to the public beach by the lighthouse and went swimming.. by this time it is about 4.. headed to the cabin picked up, and packed. Went swimming again then got dressed and hit the road... grabbed a pizza on the way home and we arrived in Lansing about 9 pm.. a full but enjoyable weekend

I Married A Logger (26)

On Friday I finished I Married A Logger by Julie Anderson. An interesting book.. the woman was a young school teacher in the UP and met and married a man who had a lumber business. She lives with him at the camps and gets to view the camps from the outside. An interesting view point as she is not familiar with everything. Also this takes place in the 30's & 40's so the techniques are different.. they have trucks, and toward the end they even have chain saws.
Not the best book I have read about logging, but worthwhile none the less.

Here is the view of the Capitol 2 blocks away when I am working Booth 6. In the foreground is the new Townsend Ramp, part of the Capital View complex 

Moving quickly

been a busy week... Lots to get done.. clean the house up for Amy's get together. Which led to cleaning out a lot of stuff we dont need. I sure like Freecycle I was able to get rid of a bunch of the kids stuff quickly.. you can walk through the breezeway it is amazing :)
I work M-W-F so that just leave T-TH to do everything. The plan is to leave early Saturday morning probably between 6-8 am. That way we can get up there before noon and enjoy the *whole* day. Lots to do there too... cleaning, getting things unpacked from the winter, but mostly just enjoying ourselves!! Want to do some geocaching.. I still have this TB from St Ignace.. would like to drop that in Lansing and grab another to take up north. It is suppose to be warm this weekend so that is good news.
Mood B-
Morning Music - Megadeth & Billy Squier (as if those go together)

Children taveling alone

This made me laugh.. maybe it is the lack of diet Coke today...
From and article at CNN about kids flying alone.

She has also devised a four-part test for parents to determine whether a child is "travel-worthy," or ready to travel alone.

The child must be able to follow instructions quickly, without argument; control impulse behavior; cope with minor inconveniences; and be trained to not wander away.

These same 4 questions could be applied to all sorts of things...
Job interview, dates, etc.... think of the possibilities

New week

Saturday the GM plant was cool... hard to describe.. very clean.. amazingly complex... how they route the cars through the line.. they were not producing when we were there, would love to see the line in operation. Yesterday it was HOT got the pool up for the kids.. they got into it cold water and all. Also started cleaning the breezeway a bit and got rid of all the stuff on Freecycle this morning.
Work M-W-F this week.. glad to be getting some more hours again. Heading to the cabin on Saturday and already looking forward to that!
My goal for this week is to get the downstairs clean up a bit, and get rid of some things via free cycle.. so far I am off to a good start!

Incredible Seney (25)

My reading has been *way* down.. mostly becuase I have not been working much and that is where I do most of my reading.. I was surprised to see that it has been nearly a month since I finished a book.
I read Out Of A Wilderness which is a book my mother-in-law gave me. It is a history of Lansing written in the early 80's. It was actually quite an interesting book, starting with when the area was surveyed and the early days. It also covered some of the development of the University. The end of the book looked at notable businesses in Lansing. This was interesing now to look back 25 years later.. many are gone now.

Last night I finished Incredible Seney by Lewis Charles Riemann, I have read another book by him also. This book was from the State Library and had been signed by the author. A good look at life and stories of the times in Seney when it was at its peak as a hell raisng lumber town. I believe the book was written in the early 50's.. in the end of the book it talks about the author accompanying an old timer to a cemetery where he pointed out fallen friends and talked of the old days. Interesting to see this direct link in history.. talking to people who were actually there to witness events. I love reading stuff like that. I have a few more 'Lumberjack' book I want to read.. then I may read some more about Henry Ford.. and possibly a few other topics that interest me :)

Quick Week

The week is going quickly.. and we have had very nice weather.. sunny and in the 70's. Worked last night which was a pleasant change.. and I have more hours next week which is very welcomed.
One Tue took the kids to a park and sat and read for a while.. really nice day.
Looking forward to going to the Cabin next weekend.
Suppose to be nice this weekend.. hoping to do a few things.. Tourist in your own town is this week.. and you can walk through the GM Grand River plant.. so I am not going to pass up that opportunity!
Tonight Mitchell has a soccer game and maybe I can get a few things done around the house :)