By Charlotte
Trip to Upper Michigan
All photos are taken on July 18, 2008 on our trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Background: Michigan is the only state in the United States that consists of entirely two peninsulas.
It was a chilly foggy Friday morning, chillier than the previous mornings in Michigan. We got up really early for the long drive to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We had been staying for quite sometime at Grandma Maxine’s house at West Branch at Lower Peninsula. It was the day we are going to explore the rest of Michigan.
Mackinac Bridge
Going to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Now imagine all this fog while crossing a really long bridge.
To get to the Upper peninsula, we crossed the Mackinac Bridge. This bridge had got to be special. Afterall, it connect the two peninsula and divides two Great Lakes – Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. From shoreline to shoreline this suspension bridge is 5 miles long, but it still isn’t the longest bridge. It is, however, the world’s longest suspension bridge between anchorages (whatever that means). This is the longest bridge I’ve crossed to far.
The length of the bridge is not exactly the ‘scary’ thing about this bridge, but crossing it on a foggy day. The fog made it appear that the bridge is suspended on clouds. A few feet in front and back is just fog. We couldn’t even see the waters below the bridge. There was low visibility. It looked it we were driving in the midst of white clouds.
Cedarville
 At Cedarville, Michigan. Background: Lake Huron, At neighbor's dock  At Cedarville, Michigan. The house of so many childhood memories. |
Our first destination is to Cedarville, where Dear Hubby’s Grandparents used to live before West Branch. We visited the house his grandparents used to own where dear hubby spent a few summers in his childhood.
We don’t know who owned it at present but if they were looking outside, they must be concerned by this bunch of strangers tresspassing their property, taking pictures of their grounds and just talking about how different the house and everything surrounding it looked like, while some remained the same but now looks smaller.
Dear hubby spent a lot of good times in this property when he was still a child. He last seem the place with a child’s eyes such that he remembers some parts of it bigger than how he sees them now even though through the years they remained the same.
At the backyard, we enjoyed the sight of Lake Huron and its wildlife. There used to be a dock where dear hubby and his grandpa would go fishing every morning. The dock is gone. What’s there are overgrown weeds and a pile of wood that could probably be the dock.
Dear hubby was feeling nostalgic and he simply wanted to know how the place turned out. He was satisfied when we left the property but he couldn’t get over that, around the corner, the Piggly Wiffly store is not there anymore.
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island was home to a Native American settlement before European exploration began in the 17th century. It served a strategic position amidst the commerce of the Great Lakes fur trade. This led to the establishment of Fort Mackinac on the island by the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the scene of two battles during the War of 1812. [Read more.]
From Cedarville, We went to St.Ignace where we took a ferry going to Mackinac Island. It was still foggy so from miles away we could not seethe island. As we were nearing, we were welcomed by the magnificent view of the harbor. They have preserved almost the original architecture such the place still looks like 17th century british colony. It’s a very nice tourist spot and it’s full of history. It’s fascinating that this small island does not allow any form of automobile. Only horse carriages and bicycles can roam the entire island. Even the hotels or big establishments in the island had to use heavy duty carriages pulled by 4 horses to carry the luggages, produce, etc. We climb Fort Mackinac. There we learnt about the island’s history and other intersting tidbits. The most memorable part of the trip at Mackinac Island is when we did the 7-mile bike trail around the island. I can’t bike at all so we rented a three seater bicycle, while DadIL had a regular bicycle for himself so he can trail us. So while we were biking, I felt Matthew’s cold feet in my back that made me jump off my seat. Dear hubby has to tell me to stop fidgeting. Then, Matthew did it again. Only then I realized that Matthew had lost his shoes and socks. I looked back and found out that we had lost DadIL, too. He wasn’t trailing us anymore. We tried to get back and found one of the shoes. And then DadIL appeared with the rest of Matthew’s sock and shoes. He said he had to stop to pick up our stuffs. Apparently, Matthew was taking off his shoes and socks and throwing them in the air. The rest of the trail was easy except for Matthew wabbling head since he has fallen asleep. I had to hold his head with one hand at my back while still keeping the bike balanced. Throughout the trail, we enjoyed more sights of Lake Huron and a lot of seagulls. When it had started to clear up, we saw a little bit of Mackinac Bridge, too. |
 Mackinac Island Main Street  The climb to Fort Mackinac  Inside Fort Mackinac  At Fort Mackinac  Our Bike Trail around Mackinac Island  Our Bike Trail around Mackinac Island |
