The National Debt

The national debt, now that is a depressing thought. Our national debt is some eleven trillion dollars and rapidly growing. My calculator doesn’t handle numbers that large. Apparently a calculator had to be invented to work with those kinds of numbers.
You will have to read the story of Big Red – The Official Calculator of [...]

Lunch at the Grand Hotel

I have to confess that having lunch at Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel is not something I’d have thought to do on my own. My mind just doesn’t naturally drift toward forty-dollar noontime meals, no matter how good the food may be and how elegant the setting. I’m good with a baloney sandwich.
But for her eighty-fourth [...]

A Day on the Island

In Michigan, we call it simply, “The Bridge.” Everyone knows what you mean when you say that, for while countless bridges punctuate our highway network, there is only one Bridge, and that is the Mackinac Bridge. The Mighty Mac: that elegant, five-mile-long structure which,spanning the turbulent, blue Straits of Mackinac, connects the Upper and Lower [...]

Mackinac Sunrise

Bright days start with a pale glow. With clouds present to serve as tinder, the glow becomes a sullen smolder that kindles on the horizon and spreads slowly upward, up across the eastern sky, its gathering flames invading the darkness with tranquil intensity.
I was lying in my bed in the Hamilton Inn on the Mackinac [...]

Construction Ahead

If you live and drive in Michigan, you are sure to have seen this warning many times this summer. And while construction is inconvenient for awhile, when the work is complete, the improvement is worth the short time of inconvenience.
Well, we are going to be asking for your patience for a short time while we [...]

Roadside Produce Stands

Among the many advantages of living in Michigan is the abundance of fresh fruit available this time of year. Thanks to the lake effect climate and the sandy, fertile soil, Michigan is one of the major fruit growing states in the country. And that is very evident as you travel along the major roads near [...]

Dumpster Pools

So you think you have seen everything? Here is a new idea for those city dwellers who desire a quick swim without heading off to a Michigan Lake. Personally, the lake still looks better to me.

The Patterns Around Us

Rarely have I felt so insulted, at least by a plant.

Roast and Toast

On our most recent trip  to Petoskey,  the moment we spotted the Roast and Toast on East Lake Street, we knew it was a place we had to try.  The coffee shop/café is located in an old brick building, but stands out because of the brightly colored mugs and plates surrounding the entrance and street [...]

Orchids and Dragonflies

They come from across the state and from out of state. They come from as far east as Ann Arbor and as far west as Chicago, and no doubt farther—naturalists and outdoor photographers on pilgrimage. To this small tract of land in Portage, Michigan, they come to see the orchid.
Michigan is home to many wild [...]

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