Thursday, July 20, 2023

Monday on the Upper Penninsula

Sunday night, July 16, we were driving up from Wisconsin into the Upper Penninsula, known to locals as the UP.   I was doing fine as long as I was behind another car, who I let set the pace, which was withing legal tolerance, but when he turned off after awhile, my brand new car started "speed creep" and it wasn't five miles before I had company in my rear view mirror.   He had more flashing lights than a Meadows Place cop!   67 in a 55, he had me, by all rights, but after a few minutes, he let me go.   So, I crept the last 1 1/2 hours at 58 miles an hour!   It was quite late before we got to Marquette. 

 I guess the main purpose of this trip is to visit my sister Kristen, and husband Mark, at their new vacation home in Marquette, Michigan, on Lake Superior.  Sister Lauren is also visiting for the week.   We made Monday a down day, and took it easy.   I did laundry.  I'm afraid I did not pack right, as I only brought two pair of slacks, and yesterday it was maybe 65 degrees!   


We took a drive along the shore of Lake Superior and saw the massive ore dock.   Iron ore is mined from a nearby open pit mine, and is carried by train to the ore dock, where the ore is dumped into a ship that will then transport the ore over four of the Great Lakes, to wherever.


We drove along the lake in the afternoon.   The water was a bit choppy.  As far as the eye can see, you see Lake Superior.   In fact, the guides tell us that 25 miles out, in a boat, all you can see for 360 degrees, is water!  Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built early 20th century, and are in various states of restoration.   The pace is rather relaxed.   The picture below is of the homes across the street.   Kristen's place is not very photogenic at the moment, but wait a month!


Kristen and Mark bought a house that had been home to about 5 college students.   They hauled a lot of junk away, and are starting to re-work the outside.   They have painted swatches of various shades of blue on the shingles so they could select their exact color. 

Our restaurant last night is in an old foundry, overlooking the lake.   The fish and chips featured Lake Superior whitefish that had come from the boat just that morning!  Delicious and fresh!

I'm starting to think I could live here, except it snows here for long parts of the year.


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