Knitamazoo(tm)

Well, 5 pm finally came last Wednesday, August 31, and I was officially on vacation. I zoomed out of work as fast as I could and was never more happy to only have a 5 minute commute. I quick changed out into some shorts and a t-shirt and we started to load the car. I couldn’t believe we got it all in, but we did. We relaxed the rest of the evening and headed to bed around 10 pm. Thursday found us getting up at our normal time (6:15 am) and after quick showers and one last look at the checklist to be sure we had everything we were off. We hit the road right around 8 am and made it to the Mackinac Bridge by 12:30 pm. This bridge connects the lower peninsula of Michigan with the upper peninsula. The only other way to get to Michigan’s UP is through Wisconsin. We had already stopped to eat but we decided to stop in Mackinaw City to stretch our legs a bit before crossing the bridge. We’ve been to Mackinaw several times and everytime the lighthouse has been closed to visitors for renovation. Now you must understand that we are lighthouse freaks, especially Great Lakes lights. So imagine our surprise when the lighthouse was actually open and we were able to climb the tower! They haven’t finished all of the renovations but it is coming along nicely. After a short stop in Mackinaw, it was back in the car for the trip over the 5 mile long Mighty Mac. The views from there are spectacular!

After crossing the bridge we took US 2 west along the shore of Lake Michigan and hadn’t gone more than a mile when we saw the first of many pasty shacks. You will find these in the extreme northern lower peninsula but mostly in the UP. They are almost like little pot pies and quite tasty I’m told. I’ve never had one. I just giggle when I see the name.

About an hour and 45 minutes after crossing the bridge we made it to our campsite at Lake Muskallonge State Park. After setting up camp we fired up our campstove/grill and made dinner. We then made the short drive back to Deer Park to pick up some firewood. Deer Park is a very small town which is mainly just the campstore and laundry. Believe me, if you sneeze while driving through Deer Park you will miss it. We sat around the campfire for awhile and headed for bed early as we were pretty tired from the drive.

Ahhh blissful sleep! Nothing is better than sleeping in a tent out in the middle of nowhere. Too bad we couldn’t experience that our first night. It wasn’t too long after we retired that the wind started to pick up and the first raindrops began to fall. And it only got worse after that. There was 20-30 mph winds and awful rain. The bad part was the only flat place to put up the tent was also a low spot so we had water get in between the ground tarp and the tent bottom. It was sorta like walking on a waterbed. So we got very little sleep that night and woke up to a grey, chilly morning. We decided on scrambled eggs for breakfast and had no sooner finished cooking them and sat down to eat when the rain started up again. We grabbed up our plates and ran to the car and ate breakfast there. It rained off and on til around noon so we took a drive to Newberry (30 miles from camp) and hung out downtown and had lunch at Micky D’s. We finally got a good nights sleep. Well that is I was sleeping wonderfully until around 4:15 am. My husband had gotten up and he woke me up by standing over my cot and saying my name in a loud whisper. Kind of freaked me out. So he tells me that there is something I have to see and that he couldn’t figure out if he should wake me or not. He figured that I would be mad at him if he didn’t so I had to get up and see what he wanted to show me. I then debated whether or not to kill him where he stood but I crawled out of my warm sleeping bag and pulled on my sweats. When I stepped out of the tent he told me to look up. I did and almost fell over. You could see every star in the sky! It was incredible! We walked down to Lake Muskallonge to get a better look at the sky. We were able to see Mars and the spine of the Milky Way stretched from one horizon to the other. We stood out there for almost a half an hour just gaping at the sky.

They next morning after breakfast we decided we would make the 18 mile trip out to Crisp Point light. We started out by heading for County Road 410. Don’t you just love that sign? Seasonal road, not snowplowed. Well here’s why. Dirt. Nothing but dirt for 18 miles. We did 25 mph for 18 miles on dirt road. We drove and drove and drove and drove. This area is very remote and rugged. After driving for what seemed like 100 miles we found this growing in the forest. I was so surprised that I had to snap a picture. Yes, that is a phonebooth growing in the wild. I thought they were extinct but apparently not. But after driving for what seemed like forever we were rewarded with this. It was wonderful! They are working on restoring the light and several of the out buildings as well. They have painted the tower and built up the shore around it. Several years ago the tower was in danger of falling into Lake Superior. But they were able to save it and there is now a nice boardwalk around the tower with benches too. We enjoyed walking along the shore and the lovely views of the lake. Right before we were ready to leave we discovered that the tower was open and we were able to climb it. I never get tired of climbing lighthousee towers. The views are definitely worth the effort and you get a little taste of what being a lightkeeper might have been like. I love standing up there just looking out over the lake. It’s very peaceful up there.

On the way back we stopped by Taquahmenon Falls (both the upper and lower falls). I love the falls! Again, very peaceful. Someday I would like to see the falls in the spring after the snow melt. We have seen them in the summer and fall but never in the spring. Maybe next trip.

Sunday we spent a lazy morning around camp and in the afternoon decided to see the bears. Back down in Newberry was Oswald’s Bear Ranch. Everytime we drove by it I would yell out, “Look at the bears! Look at the bears!” I guess I watched too much Yogi Bear as a child. Anyway we spent an hour or so with the bears. They were so cute! A lot of them would come right up to the inner fence so you could see them up close.

Monday morning we didn’t rush to get on the road because Labor Day is always the Mackinac Bridge walk. We thought that they close down the entire bridge for the walkers but as it turns out they only close down one side and leave two lanes open for traffic. But it worked out fine. We did encounter a lot of traffic on the way back though. We ended up taking a couple of “detours” to try to avoid the traffic somewhat and finally pulled into our driveway around 6:30 pm. We went inside to see the kitties (who were pretty miffed that we had left them for five days and left numerous hairballs all over the house so we would know how mad they were) and hubby ordered a pizza. We had to wait 20 minutes for the pizza . . . just enough time to unload the car. Ugh! All the gear got dumped in our 4-season room to be dealt with later. I was still on vacation afterall!

(We had a great time but are really glad to be back. I’ll be even happier when my hair no longer smells of a campfire.)

Well I’m back from my weekend “camping” trip and I’m exhausted. I don’t ever remember camping being this much work. Don’t get me wrong, I had a wonderful time and I can’t wait to go Labor Day weekend but it was so much different when you’re a kid and your parents have to worry about everything else. OK, that’s enough whining. Onto the fun we had this weekend!

Got home from work on Friday around 3:35 pm and hubby wasn’t home yet. Weird . . . but ok, I’ll just start gathering up the rest of the gear so it’s ready to load when he gets home. Haul out the checklist and start running up and down the stairs. Cots - check, lantern - check, pillows - check, sleeping bags - check . . . looking good. Glance at the clock, 3:50 pm, still no hubby. Now he gets off work at 3:30 pm every day. He even said he was going to leave a little early to pick up the ice (oh yeah, coolers - check) so where is his cute little butt? Back to gathering up gear . . . mats - check, food - check, clothes - check, sunscreen - check, bug spray - check . . . 4:00 pm he pulls in the driveway. He changes his clothes and we load up the car. By 4:15 we’re on the road. We stopped and grabbed a bite in Middlebury, IN and pulled up at my mother-in-law’s around 8:00 pm Michigan time. Got the tent setup by 8:30 as we were now racing the setting sun. Had a campfire and then fell into bed.

We got up early on Saturday morning, 6:30 am to be exact. (All my times will be in Michigan time since Indiana doesn’t do DST and therefore they are 1 hour behind us all summer long.) Had breakfast and got ready to head out on the boat. We got our first good look at the tent all set up with our gear and stuff and we didn’t do too bad of a job setting it up. Click on images for a larger view. We even put up the rain fly as they told us it gets pretty “dewy” overnight. The cots were comfortable and the sleeping bags were warm. We were really pleased with the tent and look forward to more camping trips.

We finally headed out on the boat and spent the day cruising around Lake Mississinewa. The lake was back up to it’s normal level. For the last 5 years they have been working on the dam so the lake was about 40′ lower than normal. Isn’t it gorgeous? I even managed to knit some on the boat. Though I had to quit when I dropped 5 stitches. I did manage to get them on a stitch holder and was able to fix it later when I was back on dry land. I know I’m pretty pale in this picture but trust me I now have some color. Albeit some of that color is red and is on my butt along my bathing suit line so that sitting isn’t always comfortable. I missed that spot with the sunscreen. Oops!

We came back in at lunch time and grilled up some burgers. Then after we had rested for awhile we went back out and this time took the jetski. My hubby wasn’t thinking so there is no picture of me on the jetski. But I did get one of my mother-in-law and her husband having fun. They also just got a new puppy, Rascal and I just had to put up a picture of him. He is so cute but very much a mischievous puppy! He chews on everything including your toes. Ouch!

After a full day of being on the lake we came back to camp and built a really nice campfire. We sat around chatting for awhile and then did what most campers do . . . made s’mores! Yummy! Anything with chocolate is good in my book. It was so nice to just relax around the fire at night. I really wish we had a fireplace at home and we can’t do a fire outside either living in the city limits and all.

Sunday morning we got up, packed up our gear and headed back out on the lake for a couple of hours after breakfast. We came back in for lunch and grilled up some chicken and corn of the cob. (This was Indiana after all.) We finally hit the road around 4:20 for home. They claim that there is more than corn in Indiana but you couldn’t prove it by me. This is all you saw for miles and miles and miles. It’s no exaggeration. Oh yeah, before I forget I also promised you all a picture of the “big, yellow chair”. So without any further delay . . . here it is! I told you it was big!
And just to prove I did do a little knitting this weekend, here is a progress picture of my Liberty Sock #1.

And now I’m going to attempt to stay awake while at work. I am dreading all the unpacking and laundry I have to do when I get home. Was camping really all this work or am I just getting old? I really don’t seem to remember. Can someone please pass the coffee again?

Well the long weekend is finally over and it’s back to work. Why do vacations go by so quickly? They take forever to get here and then they are over before you know what happened.

We flew down to Tampa on Friday afternoon and were picked up from the airport by my father-in-law and his wife. From there we drove out to Longboat Key and ate dinner at this cute little restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. After dinner we stopped at a beach and went wading in the gulf while watching the sun set. Then we drove to their home in Lake Placid.

Saturday dawned hot and humid. We packed a picnic lunch and spent a good portion of the day on the float boat cruising around Lake Francis. I even managed to get some sun despite the 45 SPF sunscreen I had on. We spent Sunday morning on the boat and then had my husband’s grandparents over for a bar-b-que. It was really hot again and I spent some time swimming in the lake to cool off.

Monday was another scorcher. It got up to 98 degrees and it was really humid. Out on the boat yet again for a few hours. Then out to lunch and shopping in the afternoon.

We had storms on Tuesday morning but it had cleared off by the time our plane took off from Tampa. We arrived in Detroit and then drove 2 hours back home last night. I really could use another day off but I guess we have to work to pay for this short vacation.

I did manage to crank out some dishcloths and work on my socks while I was there. I am so glad that I was able to knit on the plane. It really helped to pass the time. Now if I could only figure out how to knit while I’m at work . . .

I don’t think this week or day can go any slower. Just because I’m all psyched to be leaving for Florida tomorrow time has decided to stand still . . . maybe even go backward. DH and I are going to Lake Placid, FL to visit his dad. I so need a break from work and the thought of sitting around knitting all weekend is heavenly! My FIL has a float boat and lives on a lake so I’ll be soaking up the sun and knitting til my heart’s content . . . sigh. Why oh why is the clock against me? I could swear that it is moving backwards. Oh well . . . I’ll get there eventually . . . I hope . . .