Boy, it didn't feel like it was only an easy 4 hour drive from Grosse Pointe to Petoskey, it sure looks like a lot more on the map than the driving time would indicate.
I had forgotten just how beautiful northern Michigan is...the temp when we got here was 82 and today it's almost a perfect 76.  I think that the last time I was here was about 10 years ago, here at Helen and John's with Colin and Courtney (maybe it was 15 years ago).  It really is pretty at their house with the late Spring flowers blooming and the green of the trees contrasted with the blue sky, butterflys doing what butterflys do and the quietness, with the only sound being the rustling of the wind through the trees....is quietness a word?

This is John and Helen's "cabin"....when we visited the last time Courtney ran through the house checking it out and ran down the stairs saying excitedly "this isn't a cabin you could live here"!
It truly is a magnificent home with deer, racoons, squirrels, chipmunks, possum and even bear on occasion...you name it and it's probably on their property, they have a mink living under their dock!
Ruby has had a blast chasing the squirrels and chipmunks and getting Divit (Helen and John's dog) to like her...she eventually wins them all over!
John and Helen split their time between Naples, Florida and here in Petoskey.
SWEET!!!

This is the back of their home...the picture was taken from their dock which houses 2 cool boats and extends about 20 yards into Walloon Lake.  Walloon Lake is one of Michigan's most beautiful and desirable.  Earnest Hemingway and his family would come here from Chicago to spend summers.  Remember that there are a LOT of lakes in Michigan.
I think that someday Michigan will be to water what Texas is to oil.  If droughts continue and Nevada, Arizona and California go to war over water, the much maligned Michigan will be in a position to dictate water prices to the rest of the dry country....they have a lot of fresh water here!
LOTS!

The view from John and Helen's back yard...not to shabby..ehhh!

Harbor Springs is a charming little town just north of Petoskey.  It sits on a perfect little bay in Lake Michigan and has a wonderful small town feel to it...well I guess it is a small town..another duh!
This statue is at the American Legion branch in Harbor Springs...I thought it to be a fitting tribute to those in our armed forces, our country and to the indomitable American spirit that the Rubes and I have found so prevalent as we have traveled about the country.
Memorial Day should be a day for remembrance...not just an extra day off.

Meet Paul!
As we were looking around Harbor Springs we met Paul.  Paul is a model shipbuilder and was on his way to deliver this model ship to a client who had ordered it months before...Paul said that it took him almost 2 months to make...when I asked him what he was selling it for... he just smiled.
Probably out of my price range then!

Out in the distance you can hopefully make out Mackinaw Island.
Mackinaw is loaded with history, which I will try to avoid dwelling on. Apparently I've been spending too much time on the historical aspects of places we have gone to...please bear in mind that the east is loaded with American history.  I couldn't avoid it!
We won't be encountering nearly as much as we continue west...PROMISE!
As you can see the Great Lakes have some teriffic blues...it reminds of the Gulf to a certain degree..I love blue!
This shot is of Lake Huron.
The classic movie "Somewhere in Time", starring Jane Seymore and Christopher Reeves (one of the all time great romantic movies) took place and was filmed at the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw.
If you haven't seen it do yourself a favor and take a peek sometime!

The Mackinaw Bridge which connects lower Michigan with, you guessed it...upper Michigan!
This is a magnificent piece of enginnering excellence.
The strait that the bridge spans is one of the most treacherous stretches of water anywhere in the world, it also is the point where Lake Michigan (which Petoskey sits on) and Lake Huron come together.  Over 10,000 ships have been lost in the Great Lakes, many of them in this stretch of water.  The Great Lakes can get very, very ugly...very quickly.
Makes me want to listen to Gordon Lightfoot's song (one of my favorites)..."The Sinking Of The Edmund Fitzgerald".

You have to know by now that my favorite 4 legged touring buddy would get into todays entry somehow!
The Rubes wasn't really all that interested with the beautiful bridge (where's the bridge, the goddamn bridge-Zepplin)...
She was intrigued once again with the smells of this historical site...I've been collecting memories...the Rubes...smells!
When I looked at this photo I realized that I have pictures of Ruby with sand on her nose from the Gulf, the Atlantic, and now Lake Huron!

Last nights sunset from John and Helen's deck...as I said earlier...not to shabby!
I close today with a big thank you to Courtney for patiently walking her dad through the portion of the blog that I blew up yesterday.
As I've said repeatdly...my momma didn't raise no techie!
Thank you Courts!