Travel Woes

Adam, Jacob, and I left Michigan on Tuesday afternoon to drive to Colorado. The traffic jams we encountered on the road were simply hideous, including a stretch in Illinois where it took us 55 long minutes to crawl five miles on I-80. We eventually stopped in York, Nebraska to find a place to stay for the night and were disappointed that every hotel at the exit was booked. We ended up at a dingy-looking Super 8 that had vacancy, and were pleasantly surprised that our room was actually quite nice. On Wednesday morning when we set out for the rest of our drive, we were dismayed to discover that the battery was dead in Adam's Jeep. After no one in the hotel lobby would agree to jump start the vehicle, I called AAA and used my road service for the very first time. The battery was so far gone that I had to keep my foot on the accelerator to keep the motor from dying. I drove two-footed - left foot on the brake and right foot revving the engine - out of the Super 8 lot and across a major highway to a Walmart where, fortunately, the mechanics were able to replace the battery in about 10 minutes. Whew. We arrived at Adam's apartment six hours later.

Jacob and I stayed in Colorado until Friday, when we were scheduled to fly to Houston. We carefully monitored Tropical Storm Don, which was due to hit the Texas coast Friday evening. Sure enough, we arrived at Denver's airport and found all the flights to Houston delayed. Luckily, the storm ended up striking far south of Houston and we arrived there only an hour late. Naturally, it is as hot as blazes here in the Lone Star state, but we are having a fun time running from the air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned stores. And we're doing lots of swimming to keep cool in the 100 degree heat. We still have an exceptional drought going down here, so a bit of rain would be welcome. But, please, no hurricanes for our poor, unprepared house.

Camping

Jim, Adam, Jacob, and I just returned home from our annual friends-and-family camping trip. We had a big crowd this year - 26 people in all. The weather was the warmest it has been in a long time, and the only rain that fell came in the form of a quick shower while everyone was sleeping on Saturday night. We had a blast frolicking on the beach, cooking over the campfire, playing frisbee, canoeing, walking, talking, eating, drinking, and telling anecdotes of past trips. (One of the more popular stories was of the time our group walked in a parade. Most of the twenty-somethings & younger had never heard about this rather embarrassing venture from long ago.) It was nice to welcome back Char this year, who has missed the "Bear" trip for the last decade or so due to work commitments. Hooray for her recent retirement! Unfortunately, there were also some very aggressive ground bees hanging around our campsite and 11 - yes, 11 - people were stung by the pesky critters. Luckily, the stings were minor and no one had a reaction - other than a few choice words for the annoying insects.

The group cavorted on a beautiful Lake Michigan beach.

Adam and Hollie tried to beat the heat.

Seven hardy souls started out on a grueling 4+ hour hike across the sand dunes. Three dropped out early. Four completed the trek.

Adam and Julia assessed the coastline.

Lots of digging and building took place at the lakeshore.

Upper Peninsula

Jim and Adam drove from Colorado to the U.P. last week to meet up with the rest of us. We visited our little cabin on Lake Superior, where - despite the fact that the black flies were out in full force & the water temperature was 55 bone-chilling degrees - we had a great time. We also toured the very interesting Quincy Copper Mine in nearby Hancock. After several days of eating pasties and roaming around the area, we headed back to the Lower Peninsula to prepare for the wedding of Adam's old roommate. Pictures of that event will follow soon.

Adam and Jacob built a sand neighborhood on our Lake Superior beach.

Jim had a unique way of keeping the pesky black flies off his head.

The boys posed at the beach.

The entrance to the Quincy Mine. We ventured in about a half mile.

Our mine guide showed us an old fault line that went through the wall.

Christmas in July

Jacob, Nancy, Irma, and I are meandering through the Upper Peninsula, making our way towards Calumet. We left Detroit this morning and, although we could easily make the 570 mile drive in one swoop, we always stop overnight when Irma is with us. Something about 87-year-olds not enjoying sitting in the car for long stretches at a time. We traveled about three quarters of the way to our destination today and ended up in the town of Christmas for the night. We have breezed through this little city many, many times in the past, but - with the exception of dropping in on their local casino for short stints - we never really took the time to check out the area. There are decorated Christmas trees, colorful lights, and holiday displays everywhere. It is quite gimmick-y and cute. I like the atmosphere a lot.

Notice Jacob standing by Santa's boot. The picture is a bit dark because it was taken around 10 p.m. and there were clouds everywhere as well.

The streets in Christmas all have holiday-themed names.

This display is outside of the Christmas casino, where Irma won almost $80 and Nancy & I each dropped $10.

Brushes with Beasts

I have been doing a lot of walking lately. I usually wait until dusk to go out since the temperature is much more comfortable at that time of day than it is in the middle of the afternoon. The mosquitoes have not been too much of a problem yet this summer and the bats that inevitably appear around twilight are not nearly as plentiful here in Michigan as they are in Texas. (Bats are, in my opinion, the absolute creepiest creatures ever! YUK!) I come across the occasional frog in the neighborhood, or maybe the critters are toads - I don't know if I will ever learn the difference. Typically, though, my walks are uneventful. Jim and I did encounter a fox while on a stroll near Adam's apartment in Colorado in May, but evidently foxes are common to the area. I didn't like that at all.

This evening while walking, I had a chance rendezvous with a skunk. I'm not sure if the weaselly varmint is a regular resident of our condo complex, as I have never smelled any skunk aroma around here. What I do know is that I was really surprised when I spotted the animal right out in the open moseying along on a neighbor's lawn. I'm just relieved that, while I was shocked to see it, I apparently did not frighten or agitate the skunk at all because, happily, I am odor-free. I will have to ask Norm what types of wildlife he comes across while out on his nightly treks, as he walks more than anyone I know. Ever since 2006 he has gone for a walk almost every single day. I'll bet he has some interesting stories about confrontations with animals.

Stormy Weather

The oppressive Texas heat has found us in Michigan. The "official" temperature reached 98 degrees today at Metro Airport. It climbed to 100 degrees at nearby Willow Run Airport. I checked the Houston temps from this afternoon, and, naturally, they recorded a high of 100. It would have been rare for Detroit to top Houston. Everything is bigger in Texas.

I filled in for Eric tonight at Amico's and it was pretty hot in there. I was unbelievably sweaty & sticky until a wind storm whizzed through around 8 p.m. and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. Jacob was at Richie's house at the time and they had quite a thunderstorm that produced hail over an inch in diameter. The storm knocked out electricity at Pattye's apartment, as well as at 100,000 other residences in the area. Fortunately, the upcoming week looks as if it will be much more tranquil. And cooler - if you consider the mid 80s to be cool. Sounds good to me.