Here are some random photos taken over the last few days. They are being shared while I wait for my eggs benedict at the Breakwater Cafe in Ashland.
UP Photos
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A feel….
Today’s route took us from the KOA in Newberry Michigan through to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We started in the rain as we left the cabin we stayed in last night. The KOA had a worn down feel, but it kept us dry so I was not complaining. Henna was able to fish on a small lake and she caught two fish! She looked so big taking care of it all herself….even baiting the night crawlers on her hook. So while heading along our scenic path, (because the dots on the map told us so) we headed through many small towns of the Upper Peninsula. During one particular drive through a town, I heard from the back seat, “This place is so sad”. Those were my exact sentiments but what struck me the most was that at such a young age Henna already knows when the “feel” is not there. Now I cannot explain what the “feel” is….but I just know it when it’s there. Like the KOA of the previous night, the feel just was missing. The UP seems to just not care if folks come to visit, which is cool and all but sad in a way. We stopped along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and did three hikes…in 48 degree weather. Lake Superior is such an awesome lake, and we were able to walk along the shores as monster waves crashed along side us…it was so loud. We saw the old foundations of sunken ships that had crashed onto the rocky shores 100 or more years ago. We were crabby and cold, with no plans for tonight. We stopped into a local restaurant called The Bear Trap, and the “feel” was there. Henna and Noel played pool and the locals were kind. After filling our bellies we headed off for our last stop along the national lakeshore, Miner’s Castle. It was short walk down to the sandstone bluffs overlooking the lake. The signs all told of the geological explanations for it all, but you’ll have to visit for yourself to find out what it says. Henna and I laughed the whole walk down, Henna was making up her own language along the way, and then pretended that I was a horse the whole way up. The hike had that “feel” again……might be our full bellies to thank. We headed out not knowing what the night would bring……it was teetering on 48 degrees and night was approaching. We stopped at a Holiday Inn Express…but again the “feel” was not there. We found ourselves in Christmas Michigan checking out Bay Furnace national forest campground…….loaded up on firewood from a house where we were able to drop off 8 bucks, on the honor system and set up our camp. The fire is warm, the smores are yummy, my home away from home is set up and ready to keep me warm tonight. Yep it’s got the “feel”.
Is Lake Huron great too?
Lake Michigan has a state named after it, thousands of miles of beautiful beaches and harbor towns, Tim Allen voice overs, and the jewel of the Midwest (my hometown Chicago) anchored at the south end. Lake Superior is truly awesome; the second largest fresh water lake in the world. As treacherous as an ocean you respect Lake Superior. Lake Erie has the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cleveland. Not the most impressive credentials, but something you remember. Lake Ontario is Canadian. And then there is Lake Huron. Yes, Mackinaw Island is on Lake Huron, but most people think it is in Lake Michigan. Lake Huron is that forgotten child, the one that does not get out of the house much. Last night we camped at Bay City SRA which is across the road from the Forgotten One. We arrived at early evening and played at a cool park overlooking the lake. There was a nice boardwalk trail that passed by marshes and delivered us to a beach were we looked for seashells. Later we roasted baby potatoes, hot dogs, and corn. The campground was boisterous and had an odd river/ wet mud smell. Today we plan on moving on in search of greater lakes.
Wedding Day
Had an awesome time at Dan and Liz’s wedding. I like weddings, especially when one is in a wedding (we were in by proxy of our daughter) because you really enter someone elses world. I obviously know Dan and his family well, but over the weekend I got to hang with Liz’s family and Dan’s good friends. All very cool people. And the wedding was fun and sentimental and everything a wedding should be.
I promised in my last post to share photos of the temple. I stated before it was built in 1900 or so. I was pretty wrong on that. Construction begain in the 1860s and was interupted by the Civil War. Roaming the basement of the temple, I found several stone tablets with names, dates, and other information. The most touching to me was the list of deceased benefectiaries. A typical column was “Jeffrey Strause 1895 25 (amount contributed).” There was also a stone tablet detailing a couple who passed away in 1895 in a “R. R. accident.” Their heirs (?) parents (?) donated $2500 which was an amazing amount of money at the end of the 19th century. If you happen to know more about this temple I would love to learn more facts. Below are some pictures of the temple.
Cincinatti
First day out of Chicago and we found ourselves in Cincinnati. This was our first time staying in Cincinnati and I was impressed by its’ distinct vibe. We stayed at the beautiful Netherlands hotel which was built in the 1930 to be a “city within a city.” Restored in the 1980s it is a definite upscale place.
Mentioned in an earlier post, we were in Cincinnati for a wedding. Dan, my first cousin, was marrying the super cool Liz. The first place we went was the Wise Temple. The Wise Temple is impressive. Built around 1900, it is easily the most ornate temple I have ever seen. Maybe it is my Midwestern upbringing, but most temples I know are built circa 1960. This temple was so, so churchlike. Stain glass windows, pews, cathedral ceilings; for someone like myself, a secular Jew who loves churches, it was almost a religious experience. Almost. As the wedding party practiced walking Corey and I chilled in a pew. Later we had an awesome dinner at this cool Scottish themed pub (the waiters had to wear kilts). It was fun to be somewhere away from home and eating with my parents, brother and sister in-law, niece, aunts and uncles. Dan was nice enough to invite me and my brother back to his place to have some drinks with his friends. We talked dued stuff until the wee hours (about 11:30 P.M.) Came back to the hotel to an awake Henna and an almost sleeping Corey. I promise to post pictures of the temple and the wedding soon.
City of Chilli (Skyline that is)
Note: I was messing around with the blog and came across this in the “draft” section. Enjoy this classic Hennacornoeli from the vault.
First day out of Chicago and we found ourselves in Cincinnati. This was our first time staying in Cincinnati and I was impressed by its’ distinct vibe. We stayed at the beautiful Netherlands hotel which was built in the 1930 to be a “city within a city.” Restored in the 1980s it is a definite upscale place.
Mentioned in an earlier post, we were in Cincinnati for a wedding. Dan, my first cousin, was marrying the super cool Liz. The first place we went was the Wise Temple. The Wise Temple is impressive. Built around 1900, it is easily the most ornate temple I have ever seen. Maybe it is my Midwestern upbringing, but most temples I know are built circa 1960. This temple was so, so churchlike. Stain glass windows, pews, cathedral ceilings; for someone like myself, a secular Jew who loves churches, it was almost a religious experience. Henna and the wedding party practiced walking while Corey and I chilled in a pew. Later had an awesome dinner at this cool Scottish themed pub (the waiters had to wear kilts). It was fun to be somewhere away from home and eating with my parents, brother and sister in-law, niece, aunts and uncles. Dan was nice enough to invite me and my brother back to his place to have some drinks. Dan, his very cool friends, me, and Brad talked dude stuff until the very wee hours (about 11:30 P.M.) Came back to the hotel to an awake Henna and an almost sleeping Corey. I promise to post pictures of the temple and the wedding soon.
Fevers and Storms
With one week before our departure, it seems that if we were to believe in omens….there were quite a few. The last day of school for Henna resulted in a three day fever for her, which took us off track but ended well. For a while I thought nothing of our trip but only of Henna and what her temp was.
Then as a welcome of Summer, a storm blew in as Henna was taking a cold bath. I scooped her up soaking wet to the shelter of our basement. Her only concern was of the cats left to fend for themselves up stairs, and then of the poor tree that lost it’s life that night. The photo says it all…everyone was safe and the mighty evergreen remained.
Again, we don’t believe in omens so we continued our week getting ready to set off. Only a pair of white dress shoes for Henna stood as our last obstacle, but a wonderful neighbor saved the day with a brand new pair Henna’s exact size! Whew….again, omens. This one was a good one.
So excited
I am excited about vacation every year!
Test picture
I have to admit, I am posting this picture mostly as a test. This is our first blog and I need practice sharing pictures. The picture is a beach at Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick, Canada. For a Chicago native like me, the place was pretty exotic. One reason I enjoy traveling is becoming exotic too, a curiosity piece within the landscape. Within the Maritime provinces, people will often give our car a once over before asking where we are from. Although most people know of Chicago, Illinois is sometimes seen as a faraway and mysterious place. Sometimes one finds themselves traveling a great distance only to suddenly re-enter the familiar. That is what happened when we drove to Alaska and found ourselves surrounded by Midwesterners when hiking in Denali National Park. It had been a month since meeting someone from Chicago and it was weird to talk to persons who had been at a Cub’s game just a day or two before. It felt like traveling through an hourglass with the Alcan highway the most narrow point of the familiar and the two ends (Edmonton and Fairbanks) spread thick with the known.
Noel
In the beginning there was…..
It is fitting that last night, in the parking lot of the Skokie Swift, there was a car parked that was everything I do not want this blog to be. It could have been a race car it was so covered in advertisements. But not many people race family sedans. Somewhere on the door was a website and surrounding that banner was commercials for everything from auto repair to insurance that help the drivers of that car pay for gas, hotels, sport tickets, etc. Over the last couple of months, Corey and I have talked about building a sort of low key travel site focused on people who travel like us; cheaply, kindly, in tents, KOA cabins, nice hotels time to time, and distant cousins’ couches. Persons open to the road and the trail and the opportunities that are often just around the next corner. Having just purchased a great road trip vehicle where we sacrificed our choice of color for a good deal, we were thinking of ways to justify putting some sort of a design on the door, a little something that would break up the gold that neither of us like. And as we let our conversations wander we considered advertisements on our site that might make us some money. We would become professional travelers. Like William Least-Heat Moon. So yesterday when confronted with what a professional traveler looks like, I realized that we are destined to be bush league. And that is OK.
Hennacornoeli Days 