The Third Day
Sleeping at the Northland Inn did not go well as indicated by my earlier post. I left the Inn a little after 5 AM and started north on I75 to pick up scenic highway 23 that would lead me along the western shores of Lake Huron all the way to Saint Ignace in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. With a breakfast stop in Tawas and other exploratory stops and detours along the way, I arrived at the Boardwalk Inn and B&B in Saint Ignace at 11:00 AM. Fortunately, my room was ready, so I had plenty of time to unpack and prepare for a 12:30 departure to Mackinac Island on the ferry located just down the street.
But first, a "brief" narrative of my trip north on Hwy. 23. Much of the trip, I was able to see the blue waters of Lake Huron just to the right of me. Early on in the trip, I caught a few sunrise shots, one over the foggy farm fields and another at a scenic view stop for observing Lake Huron. I had intended on taking a photo of my breakfast stop (pancakes, sausage, plenty of coffee, and a closeup view of the lake), but in my haste to get back on the road again, I forgot to take a shot of the quaint little place, called Augies on the Bay (https://goo.gl/maps/Tazd5). The people in the restaurant were friendly and I finally felt like I was sampling the local fare, unlike the previous day at McDonald's and Applebees. Traffic was very light going north on 23 and so I often made great time. After seeing that most of the shoreline of Lake Huron was devoid of high cliffs and dramatic shots, I decided to move on to the Presque Isle region on the northeast side of the lower peninsula of Michigan. There I found the Grand Lake that stretched for miles south to north near Presque Isle. When I was a kid, I had heard of people from Wisconsin vacationing there. For me, it was similar to the terrain in parts of northern Wisconsin. Forests surround numerous lakes, just like Lake Huron. Just north of Long Lake I found one of those rocky, rutted, road turn offs for a trek into the woods. The preference would be for hikers, but I ventured on in my trusty and now dusty Ford Escape. I am not sure how long I followed the trail, but I never met another car or a hiker. I also soon discovered that turning around and going back could be a challenge on these narrow rocky and rutted roads. After about five miles or so, I realized that this adventure was going nowhere. All I could see were tall trees and the rocky, rutted, road. I thought of my late wife Terry, who if she had physically been with me would have been demanding we turn and find our way back, but alas it was only her spirit contained in the metal image of an angel attached to my visor on the driver's side that kept whispering for me to turn back. I did not listen to the whispered advice and just kept going thinking that there would a turn around point just down the road. When I found one, I debated with my self and perhaps my angel to take this opportunity to turn back, but I thought there might be the blue waters of Lake Huron just around the next turn. On I went until finally tiring of the rocky, rutted, road, lined with pine trees, and lots of green vegetation. I did find the next turn around point and proceeded to reverse myself and take the bumpy road back to the entrance. Well, I suppose all of that took about 20 minutes, but I did experience that sense of the unknown and also took a few photos of wild flowers along the way.
Well that was a longer story than what I intended to tell when I began the last paragraph. I approached the famous Mackinac Bridge about 10:30 AM and crossed the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. I found my Boardwalk Inn quite quickly on the Main St. of St. Ignace and spent the next several minutes toting my luggage up the stairs to the third floor. The ever present heart rate monitor on my new Apple Watch began to work over time. At one point I hit 121 BPM. The Inn is quite comfortable. My room is a bit on the small side, but the bed is as good as any I have ever slept in--if only I could sleep on these journeys of mine.
Because I had arrived early, I decided to spend two days on Mackinac Island. My goal this first day was to ride the ferry without my bike and just walk around the main areas of the bustling tourist town that features the famous Grand Hotel, many hotels of a lesser, but not unattractive nature. There are shops of all kind on Main St. and Market St., and, yes, a variety of fudge and ice cream stores, places to eat, and several pubs for having a pint. I tried a locally brewed "red" with name of Huron in it and it was quite nice and complemented my small order of wings. I took lots of photos on my walk, which I will share in the Mackinac Island photo portfolio below. Let the photos of my walk speak for themselves, except where a caption might help to give context.
The Fourth Day
Day two was for bike riding. I left at 9:00 AM and this time we took a ride under the Mackinac Bridge on or way to Mackinac Island. When we crossed under the bridge, we were on Lake Michigan if only for a few short minutes before turned back toward the island. It is only an 8 mile trip around the outer perimeter of the island, but I stopped at various places to take photos of Lake Huron and some of the interesting rock formations on the island. I ended up on my bike for two hours, which was a good workout, but also an opportunity to see the whole island beyond the busy touristy harbor village. . I hope that tells a better story of my two day visit. I enjoyed my stay at the Boardwalk Inn and ice cream in both Saint Ignace in Mackinac. I enjoyed beers in two nice pubs on Mackinac and whitefish in both towns. I talked to a few people on my travels, particularly a nice couple in the Pink Pony Bar and Grill on Mackinac. They have been coming to the island form Port Huron, MI for 27 years. Most of the time they stay at the Grand Hotel, because as Jerry put it, "It is the best deal in town. We get both breakfast and a great dinner each day." It is unlikely that I will ever return to Mackinac Island, but I am thankful for the visit and it is always fun to meet people who enjoy coming to the same place year after year. Not unlike my love of Cape Cod.
Sleeping at the Northland Inn did not go well as indicated by my earlier post. I left the Inn a little after 5 AM and started north on I75 to pick up scenic highway 23 that would lead me along the western shores of Lake Huron all the way to Saint Ignace in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. With a breakfast stop in Tawas and other exploratory stops and detours along the way, I arrived at the Boardwalk Inn and B&B in Saint Ignace at 11:00 AM. Fortunately, my room was ready, so I had plenty of time to unpack and prepare for a 12:30 departure to Mackinac Island on the ferry located just down the street.
But first, a "brief" narrative of my trip north on Hwy. 23. Much of the trip, I was able to see the blue waters of Lake Huron just to the right of me. Early on in the trip, I caught a few sunrise shots, one over the foggy farm fields and another at a scenic view stop for observing Lake Huron. I had intended on taking a photo of my breakfast stop (pancakes, sausage, plenty of coffee, and a closeup view of the lake), but in my haste to get back on the road again, I forgot to take a shot of the quaint little place, called Augies on the Bay (https://goo.gl/maps/Tazd5). The people in the restaurant were friendly and I finally felt like I was sampling the local fare, unlike the previous day at McDonald's and Applebees. Traffic was very light going north on 23 and so I often made great time. After seeing that most of the shoreline of Lake Huron was devoid of high cliffs and dramatic shots, I decided to move on to the Presque Isle region on the northeast side of the lower peninsula of Michigan. There I found the Grand Lake that stretched for miles south to north near Presque Isle. When I was a kid, I had heard of people from Wisconsin vacationing there. For me, it was similar to the terrain in parts of northern Wisconsin. Forests surround numerous lakes, just like Lake Huron. Just north of Long Lake I found one of those rocky, rutted, road turn offs for a trek into the woods. The preference would be for hikers, but I ventured on in my trusty and now dusty Ford Escape. I am not sure how long I followed the trail, but I never met another car or a hiker. I also soon discovered that turning around and going back could be a challenge on these narrow rocky and rutted roads. After about five miles or so, I realized that this adventure was going nowhere. All I could see were tall trees and the rocky, rutted, road. I thought of my late wife Terry, who if she had physically been with me would have been demanding we turn and find our way back, but alas it was only her spirit contained in the metal image of an angel attached to my visor on the driver's side that kept whispering for me to turn back. I did not listen to the whispered advice and just kept going thinking that there would a turn around point just down the road. When I found one, I debated with my self and perhaps my angel to take this opportunity to turn back, but I thought there might be the blue waters of Lake Huron just around the next turn. On I went until finally tiring of the rocky, rutted, road, lined with pine trees, and lots of green vegetation. I did find the next turn around point and proceeded to reverse myself and take the bumpy road back to the entrance. Well, I suppose all of that took about 20 minutes, but I did experience that sense of the unknown and also took a few photos of wild flowers along the way.
Well that was a longer story than what I intended to tell when I began the last paragraph. I approached the famous Mackinac Bridge about 10:30 AM and crossed the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. I found my Boardwalk Inn quite quickly on the Main St. of St. Ignace and spent the next several minutes toting my luggage up the stairs to the third floor. The ever present heart rate monitor on my new Apple Watch began to work over time. At one point I hit 121 BPM. The Inn is quite comfortable. My room is a bit on the small side, but the bed is as good as any I have ever slept in--if only I could sleep on these journeys of mine.
Because I had arrived early, I decided to spend two days on Mackinac Island. My goal this first day was to ride the ferry without my bike and just walk around the main areas of the bustling tourist town that features the famous Grand Hotel, many hotels of a lesser, but not unattractive nature. There are shops of all kind on Main St. and Market St., and, yes, a variety of fudge and ice cream stores, places to eat, and several pubs for having a pint. I tried a locally brewed "red" with name of Huron in it and it was quite nice and complemented my small order of wings. I took lots of photos on my walk, which I will share in the Mackinac Island photo portfolio below. Let the photos of my walk speak for themselves, except where a caption might help to give context.
The Fourth Day
Day two was for bike riding. I left at 9:00 AM and this time we took a ride under the Mackinac Bridge on or way to Mackinac Island. When we crossed under the bridge, we were on Lake Michigan if only for a few short minutes before turned back toward the island. It is only an 8 mile trip around the outer perimeter of the island, but I stopped at various places to take photos of Lake Huron and some of the interesting rock formations on the island. I ended up on my bike for two hours, which was a good workout, but also an opportunity to see the whole island beyond the busy touristy harbor village. . I hope that tells a better story of my two day visit. I enjoyed my stay at the Boardwalk Inn and ice cream in both Saint Ignace in Mackinac. I enjoyed beers in two nice pubs on Mackinac and whitefish in both towns. I talked to a few people on my travels, particularly a nice couple in the Pink Pony Bar and Grill on Mackinac. They have been coming to the island form Port Huron, MI for 27 years. Most of the time they stay at the Grand Hotel, because as Jerry put it, "It is the best deal in town. We get both breakfast and a great dinner each day." It is unlikely that I will ever return to Mackinac Island, but I am thankful for the visit and it is always fun to meet people who enjoy coming to the same place year after year. Not unlike my love of Cape Cod.
A Digression: My Process for Working with Photos
I am finding it very difficult to keep up with this blog, largely because it takes time to write and edit all of these words and because the processing of the photos, although somewhat systematic, is still time consuming. During this 10 day part of my adventure to Madison, I may fall behind, but I hope to bring the Blog up to date during my two week stay in the same place. Just a few words about the photo processing:
1. I take the photo with either my Canon or Olympus Cameras. I have used the Canon on this portion of the trip because it is easy to carry and allows for rapid photo taking with quick zooms in and out.
2. I review the photos in the camera and make the first cut. I should be more brutal here, but I know there will be other opportunities to cut and I want the opportunity to review the borderline photos in the Photos software.
3. I load the remaining photos into my Photos software on my Macbook Air. I use an external hard drive to store the memory hog RAW photos without stressing my laptop's limited memory.
4. I go through the download and do a Favorites selection in somewhat rapid fashion. I can always go back to Photos and select other Favorites at another time. This is where the borderline photos usually miss the second cut.
5. I copy and paste the Favorite photos from the shoot to a subfolder for the Wisconsin trip contained in a Lightroom Folder on Dropbox (I have a subscription for 1 TB of memory).
6. I do a fairly quick post processing in Lightroom to each of the Favorite photos as needed and in accordance with my taste in a finished photo. This is also where I make a third cut of photos that are repetitious or that I deem uninteresting. They are aways there, if I want to resurrect a few of them.
7. I export the processed photo to a Modified folder without a watermark. I also export the same finished photo to a Watermarked folder. These are the photos that I will place on the Website as I will do shortly with the photos from my visit to the Mackinaw region of Michigan. I also make fourth cut here of photos. It may not seem like it, but I try to limit the photos I put on the Blog.
8. Once in iPage, I can sequence the photos for display in the slideshow or gallery presentations, which are the two primary formats I use for displaying photos on this Blog.
9. Following all of that, I do final text edits to the narrative, check the captions and the sequence on the photos, and then publish to jayvoss43.com.
The process varies little from the sequence described above. My wish is that I could do this faster, but the process just takes time. I can always edit the text, or add or remove photos from the published site. For me, this is a great hobby and gives me significant personal pleasure , a little of which I can share with you.
I am finding it very difficult to keep up with this blog, largely because it takes time to write and edit all of these words and because the processing of the photos, although somewhat systematic, is still time consuming. During this 10 day part of my adventure to Madison, I may fall behind, but I hope to bring the Blog up to date during my two week stay in the same place. Just a few words about the photo processing:
1. I take the photo with either my Canon or Olympus Cameras. I have used the Canon on this portion of the trip because it is easy to carry and allows for rapid photo taking with quick zooms in and out.
2. I review the photos in the camera and make the first cut. I should be more brutal here, but I know there will be other opportunities to cut and I want the opportunity to review the borderline photos in the Photos software.
3. I load the remaining photos into my Photos software on my Macbook Air. I use an external hard drive to store the memory hog RAW photos without stressing my laptop's limited memory.
4. I go through the download and do a Favorites selection in somewhat rapid fashion. I can always go back to Photos and select other Favorites at another time. This is where the borderline photos usually miss the second cut.
5. I copy and paste the Favorite photos from the shoot to a subfolder for the Wisconsin trip contained in a Lightroom Folder on Dropbox (I have a subscription for 1 TB of memory).
6. I do a fairly quick post processing in Lightroom to each of the Favorite photos as needed and in accordance with my taste in a finished photo. This is also where I make a third cut of photos that are repetitious or that I deem uninteresting. They are aways there, if I want to resurrect a few of them.
7. I export the processed photo to a Modified folder without a watermark. I also export the same finished photo to a Watermarked folder. These are the photos that I will place on the Website as I will do shortly with the photos from my visit to the Mackinaw region of Michigan. I also make fourth cut here of photos. It may not seem like it, but I try to limit the photos I put on the Blog.
8. Once in iPage, I can sequence the photos for display in the slideshow or gallery presentations, which are the two primary formats I use for displaying photos on this Blog.
9. Following all of that, I do final text edits to the narrative, check the captions and the sequence on the photos, and then publish to jayvoss43.com.
The process varies little from the sequence described above. My wish is that I could do this faster, but the process just takes time. I can always edit the text, or add or remove photos from the published site. For me, this is a great hobby and gives me significant personal pleasure , a little of which I can share with you.
From Kawkawlin to Saint Ignace
Photos from Mackanac Island
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