Follow the Lights ... Day 4

Starting Tripometer Reading: 726.1
Ending Tripometer Reading: 873.0
Lighthouses Viewed: 3



Day 4 was another truly BEAUTIFUL day with simply GORGEOUS weather!! We started out heading north on the Leelanau Peninsula towards the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Since this was the only lighthouse we truly visited today, it easily won the Lighthouse of the Day title for Day 4. We actually "saw" three different lighthouses today, but two of them were very distant views. We did get a couple of descent zoomed-in pictures, but not good enough to share.



On our way back from the light, we saw another winery, and just couldn't pass it up. So, we took a few minutes and tried a few wines from the Gill's Pier Winery. My favorite was the Apple Wine (probably understandable to most of you since I prefer apple ciders)!! We then made our way to the Sleeping Bear Dunes, but only walked up about half way. We were told it was about a 1.5 mile hike, uphill and through the sand in order to see Lake Michigan. We decided it wasn't worth it, and we're glad we did. As we were leaving, we saw a sign for The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. This was a 7.4 mile self-guided auto tour that provided insight to the history of the area, a sampling of the vegetative communities found within the park and, best of all, spectacular overlooks of the Glen Lakes, the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Lake Michigan. Here are a couple of pictures from one place we found overlooking Lake Michigan (450 feet above the lake).

We then came back to the condo, enjoyed a glass (or two) of local wine, and the watched the sunset. We then made the decision to grab a bite to eat, and decided upon the local burger joint called Don's Drive In. We had a delicious hamburger, and chased it down with an amazing chocolate milkshake. And yes, the diet starts again on Monday ... HA!!

Okay, now for the moment you are all waiting for ... the lighthouse of the day. Again, we technically saw three lighthouses, but the two Manitou lights were so far away, that the winner had to be the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Here's a picture of it:

No, that's not a real picture of it ... that's actually a reproduction of the lighthouse made entirely out of LEGO bricks (I know GrantBob will enjoy this). Below is a real picture of the picturesque lighthouse. The present Grand Traverse Lighthouse was built in 1858, replacing a deteriorating tower that had stood only since 1852. A fog signal building was added to the station in 1899.
Deactivated in 1972, the lighthouse was replaced by a light atop a metal tower. The light is located at the northern tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, marking the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay from Lake Michigan

Tomorrow is going to be a longer day for us, and we're not sure how many lights we're going to see. We are currently planning on heading up to Mackinac Point which is about a two hour drive from where we are staying. We know there are a couple of land based lights we can see, and many off-shore that we might or might not be able to see. I guess you'll have to check back and see for yourself which one we saw!!

Follow the Lights ... Day 3

Starting Tripometer Reading: 549.4
Ending Tripometer Reading: 726.1
Lighthouses Viewed: 3

Day 3 was a GREAT DAY all around. The weather was almost perfect (sunny, breezy, but slightly on the cold side - at least according to Dannie). The day started out at the Old Mission Lighthouse (pictured below). This particular lighthouse was not only pretty, but sits on the 45th Parallel. The 45th parallel is exactly halfway between the North Pole and the equator. Bet you didn't know that!!

The next stop of the day was at Chateau Chantal Vineyards. We sampled several of their best wines and bought one for us to enjoy out on the deck of our condo. They have over 66 acres of grapes, and grow 10 different varieties. Dannie enjoyed the table variety grape the best - see for yourself!! I tried to get her to stomp on it and make some of her own wine, but she decided to eat it instead. We then headed to the downtown area and walked around and did some shopping (mostly window shopping). We found out that Traverse City is the cherry capital of the world, so we sampled many cherry products including cherry salsa, cherry wine, and cherry jam. We just might have to bring some home with us.

The day ended at Turtle Creek Casino. It is a brand new casino that opened just three months ago and is only 7 miles from our condo. After stuffing ourselves on their buffet, we decided to try our luck on the $5.00 blackjack tables. Dannie tried her hand at craps as well. Together we walked out of there winners of about $125!! Woo Hoo ... that's plenty of money for souvenirs!!!

The lighthouse of the day would have to be the Point Betsie Lighthouse down in Frankfort, Michigan. The cylindrical tower with attached dwelling was built on the point in 1858. In 1891, the fog signal building was added, making necessary an additional keeper at the station. The dwelling was thus enlarged to accommodate two keepers. This was also the last manned lighthouse on mainland Michigan.

Tomorrow is probably going to be another "easy" day for us since we were up late trying to gamble our kid's college fund away!! I think we are planning on visiting only one lighthouse, as well as the Sleeping Bear Dunes. That's a cool name - I just might have to get a T-shirt from there!!!

Follow the Lights ... Day 2

Starting Tripometer Reading: 279.3

Ending Tripometer Reading: 549.4

Lighthouses Viewed: 6

Our second day was just as rainy, but ended up being a very good day. It appears that we have spent the last two days in the remnants of Hurricane Ike. They say it's supposed to clear up by tomorrow afternoon, and we should have a sunny week!! One of the prettier lighthouses that we saw today was the White River Lighthouse (seen here):

We actually got to climb this particular lighthouse, although it wasn't very high. It is actually surprising that we were able to make it to any of the lighthouses over the past two days. It seems that each time we tried to follow the GPS system, we saw the following signs:

We got so frustrated at seeing those stupid signs, that I just had to take a picture. Okay, now on to the light of the day. Dannie and I picked the Big Sable Lighthouse (pronounced \sa-bul\). Although it might not have been the most beautiful lighthouse, the story behind it makes it special.

We arrived at the State Park in pouring rain (yeah, I know, hard to believe, huh). We were told we had to walk to the lighthouse, and it was a 1.8 mile hike over packed sand each way. We thought about it, and when Dannie looked at me and said "You up for an adventure??", we paid our admission fee, put on our rain jackets, and off we trekked. We arrived at the lighthouse cold and half soaked (the rain was only blowing in our faces, so only our front halves were wet). We spent over 1.5 hours at the lighthouse touring the facilities, climbing the tower, and touring the lightkeeper's house. The two volunteers were so friendly, they took us upstairs to an area of the house that is usually off limits to the public. They also allowed me to walk out on the catwalk, even though the wind was howling around (Dannie was a little too scared, cold, and wet to step out on the catwalk). Here is a picture of the wet trail that we hiked down to get to the lighthouse grounds; taken from the top of the tower.

Tomorrow is another day, and we're not quite sure how we're going to spend it. We might spend the day around Traverse City, we might take in some local lights, or we just might not do anything at all!!! I guess you'll have to check back tomorrow to see for yourself.

PS at 10:30 at night, Dannie is STILL COLD!!!

Follow The Lights ... Day 1

Starting Tripometer Reading: 000.0
Ending Tripometer Reading: 279.3
Lighthouses Viewed: 4

Today was a GREAT DAY to start our week-long vacation. The only problem was the rain ... and there was a LOT OF IT!! This first picture is perfect proof of that (I promise there is a lighthouse out there behind that blanket of rain)!!

I took that picture in the middle of a monsoon (just ask Dannie). I stepped out, got soaking wet, and within two minutes the umbrella was destroyed!! Not just inverted, but literally cut in half. Here, see for yourself. What's even funnier is that five minutes later, the rained stopped, and I was able to take a perfect picture!!

Well, my favorite lighthouse for the 1st day would have to be the Grand Haven Lighthouses. Luckily the rain cleared up before we arrived. The two lights are connected to each other, and to the shore, by a long catwalk. The larger light is a 51-foot steel sided near-cylindrical tower that has been painted fire engine red. Its companion light is a square building, also painted red, and houses not only a light, but a fog horn to assist mariners who are in the vicinity.

Tonight we're in Muskegon, and tomorrow we continue heading north to Traverse City stopping at numerous lights along the way. When I get back, be sure to ask me about the Tornado Warning, and the work-from-home meteorologist and his dogs (a blog just can't do the story justice)!!!

Who Says ...

... you can't have your cake and eat it too?? Obviously it wasn't JP (insert link to JP's Blog if he ever gets one here). He snagged some cake from lunch, grabbed a fork, and dove right in. I guess he wasn't going to share it with ANYONE!!!

Karma??

On Monday, we noticed a car parked in our area of the 2nd floor taking up two parking spots. Personally, that pisses me off when someone does that. If you're going to take up two spots, go somewhere out in the "North 40" where no one else parks their car ... don't do it in a croweded part of a parking lot. It just so happens most of the spots on the 2nd floor are usually full each and every day. Well, today I felt a little better when I saw a parking violation on his window.

The parking violation says that their car could get booted, although I doubt that will happen. I'm not real sure the security around here can do too much to them. However, I'll keep my fingers crossed that one of those yellow boots appear soon (personally, I'll giggle a little on the inside if one does)!!

Odd Looking Automobile

We saw this on the road the other day. It's called a Doran Electric car, but I don't know anything else about it yet. Notice the single wheel in the rear!! Pretty funky, huh??