SEPTEMBER, 2020 [Michigan Seems Like a Dream to Me Now] pt 1

Yes. It happened. There was a September this year. It haddeth 30 days. I ventured up to the great state of Michigan, via Pennsylvania and Ohio. Even via the great state of Michigan, since I was going all the way up to the other state of Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, where it had been established I should be able to see Dad at his present lodging in a rest home.

For a while--since March, of course--Dad's been inaccessible, and we've been sending stuff in to him and writing notes and letters with very large print. Then someone told Kathryn (my sister nearby who's been handling all this) that since he's in hospice, the rules are different, and she and I could have been seeing him in person any old time in there. I made my plans, fussed a lot, worried more, then drove up in two days; somewhat nervously, what with the plague and all. 

I had a smooth and uneventful two days going up, though, and my rest between drives was pretty solid. Check out this cool not-an-Airstream-at-all trailer I saw on the way! A few years back, I saw dozens of Airstreams heading for the same place I was going, and didn't take a picture of the shiny gaggles of them on the highway. They all parked together near the fairgrounds, and I may not have even gotten a shot of them then. Whoopsy.

I managed to stop at both my White Castles that are up there. Ann Arbor, and Flint (above), though I couldn't go inside this time. The ones in northern Ohio all closed one year. 

I mostly kept going, but I took breaks as needed--timed catnaps in rest stops, and even went out a scenic overlook to check for good blog photos.

Well, a view's a view. They can't all be Silver Streaks. I kept an open mind, and most trailers or RVs I saw, I lived in for about a mile while the owner never suspected a thing. Pulling those boxes on wheels, or even just driving one, is work. 

I got to the cabin of my sister and brother-in-law out on the little peninsula they're on. After a settling-in period, I started taking a walk now and then. Four or five times, I went out to the end of the driveway (actually a state road, but it connects them with their mailbox on the larger gravel road their address is on). The first two times I just went to the mailbox and back, but after that I doubled the walk by going a mile on the larger road, once to the left and twice to the right. I can tell this was taken in the half mile closer to the mailbox because of the major sedge action on the forest floor there. Closer to the house, the ground looks like someone--a wise, wise politician perhaps--has raked them all out.

I also took a couple of remote walks that I was driven to and then picked up, giving Kathryn a chance to run an errand or three each time. I started my first walk involving the nearby town of Gladstone by this city park (this water adjoins Lake Michigan). I told this duck I'd race it, and it took off like a shot. Never saw it again.

I was trying photos of this and that. I love what the sun does on the water, and here's a snap of that from somewhere on the trail in Gladstone. I followed it till it seemed fully played out, then retraced my steps and got in a decent walk. The pack I take on walks was much fuller than usual because I was on this trip, so I was often aware of what great exercise I must be getting.

My second Lake Michigan walk involved some of the same trail, but this part of it started a handful of miles closer to Escanaba, so the walk was this lovely paved path with cars streaming by on one side and the lake stretching off endlessly on the other. There are three or four of these little sit-downs with convenient trash and recycling bin at hand. I sat down on the last one I got to, as it had nothing obstructing the lake view (like the obtrusive shrub that this one has). I put on ear buds to muffle the wave front of the car noise and took what may have been the best such walk on the trip.

Each time I turned my head to the right, I could watch the clouds lollygagging across the sky over the water. I'd be happy to take that walk now, but distance prevents. I hear they're having a really nice day today.

Considerately, there is an overlook that seems eminently accessible for a variety of people.

This task has expanded and mutated. I was at first going to simply acknowledge that September had, indeed, taken place in spite of my failure to blog anything. Now that I've opted for an illustrated trip report (as a "lazy" way of adding content!), I find myself editing all the photos. Besides, I can milk this for at least another entry here, and maybe even two! So I'm going for it. I can procrastinate this! YES!!

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