Tuesday we took a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to our place on Lake Michigan. It’s about 90 miles west of the Big Mac Bridge, south of Thompson off Highway 2 down the east side of the Garden Peninsula.
I’ve explained in previous posts that this place isn’t anything fancy. It’s an old 1960’s 12 x 50 foot trailer on a foundation with a newer roof over it and a large covered deck with a lovely view of Lake Michigan. (This is the beautiful view from our deck. It is truly a spectacular sight.)
It’s tranquil and quiet, but it does have it’s shortcomings:
It smells musty! The old furniture, which came with the trailer when we bought it about 20 years ago is mismatched and harbors old odors of a closed-up place. It always looks messy and not very clean.
It seems there are always pesky insects. Mosquitoes are a bother most of the time, and some seasons we have to avoid big wood ticks that latch onto you whenever you venture out. Spring is black fly season and in late summer we fight swarms of biting beach flies. (Thank heavens this trip we’ve just had mosquitoes.)
There’s no access to the lake. Over the years, because of the drop in the level of Lake Michigan, the beautiful white sand beach we purchased has turned into a weedy, mucky, no-man zone. You can’t walk across it without sinking to your knees in ooze. When we first got here Wednesday, John tried to get to the water’s edge but lost the battle. If we were here more, build a long deck or some other way of getting over the muck, but since we’re only staying for six days, it’s not worth the effort. Winter storms would erase anything we would do by next year when we return. Our hope is that by the summer of 2014, a grant which has been secured to spray the lakeshore, will eliminate some of the weeds.
We are totally isolated. No TV and little internet. We brought a small TV with us this time, as well as a digital converter, and an antenna. We hoped that we could watch some of our favorite TV shows. The first night we were successful for a couple of hours, but since then, not at all. Internet access is spotty. I find it nearly impossible to use my cellphone as a hot spot. I had hoped we could view some of the on-line “programming” or videos but the connection just isn’t strong enough to download anything.
But even saying all that, I’m glad we came up.
Temperatures have been about 70 most of the time and even warmer some days, but certainly not hot.
I’ve loved watching hummingbirds at our bird feeder. Their antics are amusing. I’ve had time to read a book and relax.
So even with all the negatives, I’m glad we came up here. John works hard but seems to enjoy it, and we’ve had lots of time together without distractions.
And the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is lovely. The drive through untouched areas is beautiful. The scenery unmatched.
But when we head back home Monday, we will both be more than ready! If only packing wasn’t so much work. I don’t look forward to hauling everything out to the truck and trying to fit everything in. We’ll start packing Sunday. Monday John will winterize the water system and we’ll try to pull out by about 9:30 a.m.