A desperate lengthening of days

Yesterday was our last vacation day. Woke up; eggs and cheese for breakfast; state park beach in the morning; read more book on the sand; heading for home.  Home?  Who ever wants to go home from vacation?  While laying on the beach we concocted a scheme to extend the trip a bit… and add one more national park to our belts before our annual pass runs out (next month).  After lunching on the deck with Lonnie we hit the road at 2:30 and headed for Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  It was a great stop and worth the extra time… we haven’t ever seen so much sand in one place.  And we got there as the day was waning, so everything was bathed in an evening shade of mystery.  We didn’t stay for sunset.  As it was we didn’t get home until one in the morning, and four plus hour drive felt like a real crawl.  Just as a note… Tim Horton’s is a good bet if you ever need coffee after midnight while on the road.

We are on vacation...

why are we blogging?  We’ll make this short.  Slept in; great coffee; lunch at the bar; quaint shops; nap in the breeze; read a book (DaVinci Code, together); swimming in Walloon Lake; dinner with relatives; sunset over the bay; reprise of putt putt (Cortney won); drinks on the deck; reprise of the fire.

Beach Blanket Bingo

For a beautiful day at the Sturgeon Bay beach, we took the scenic route through the “Tunnel of Trees,” winding through the “Devil’s Elbow” curve and past “Legs Inn” at “Cross Village.” Is this northern Michigan or Middle Earth? The water was nearly bath-water warm and Jon pretended to be a beached whale, and Cortney got artistic, Tarantino-style, photographing Jon’s feet. We shared a delicious picnic lunch while wondering if a capsized kayaker would ever manage to right himself (we’re still not sure, since he refused help from a rescue boat that his concerned wife sent out).
We took advantage of pay-per-view to watch the Will Smith comedy “Hitch.” It’s all about about the dance scene in the epilogue.
We ended the day with a fire on the deck (in a firepit, of course). The flames, smoke, pine trees, and elevated deck made Jon feel like he was in the Ewok village. Cortney was on firefighter duty, spray bottle in hand, furiously putting out any stray sparks. One landed in Jon’s lap, and he ended up with soaking wet shorts. Good save, though, Cortney.

Tip of the Mitt

We have managed to escape to our haven in northern Michigan, Harbor Springs, for a four-day weekend. Arriving on Thursday night, when it was pitch black, made for a refreshing view on Friday morning, when we were greeted by the beautiful bay view. It has been one year since we last were here, and it has been interesting to see the changes. Pirates Cove Adventure Golf added several pirate mannequins and a big lighthouse, which will certainly warrant a nighttime visit. The Roast and Toast coffee shop added delicious scrambled egg wraps to their menu. The Emmett County Medical Center completed its renovations. More multi-million-dollar mansions have sprouted on the waterfront. New fast food joints have appeared. But in spite of all the development, it still remains a beautiful getaway. And it is the simple pleasures, like a walk along the pier, and a nap on the deck covered with the dogs, that make this a wonderful vacation.

Lost and Found

How many times can you get lost in a single day? We found out quite a few. We got out of D.C., no thanks to Mapquest’s poor directions and the heavy downpour. On the way to Harpers Ferry, we got nervous and, thinking we had missed our turn, went back the other way. Fortunately, we realized our mistake shortly and turned around again. At least crossing the Potomac River was very beautiful multiple times. At Harpers Ferry, we circled the park twice before finding parking because all the signs pointed in the wrong direction. The quaint buildings were enjoyable, and we even saw a fox casually cross the road.
We also made it to the site of the Battle of Antietam, one of the Civil War’s important battlegrounds. Some of the farmhouse outbuildings were the original structures, and it was interesting to imagine thousands of troops marching across the cornfields and down a cobbled ditch. Jon couldn’t figure out the map at the end of the driving tour, though, causing us another trip back and forth in the wrong direction.
Amazingly enough, we got to Wheeling, West Virginia with minutes to spare before Nathan and Diane’s wedding rehearsal. It was great to reconnect with a slew of old friends, many from the music school. The rehearsal dinner was at the First Capitol Building, which was the original seat of the government of West Virginia. Several bills of national importance were signed there, including the 14th Amendment. We can’t wait to celebrate with Nathan and Diane tomorrow. We wish them all the best!