Mackinac Island Trip

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Hey Guys! Wow I had a great time on Mackinac Island! It's so beautiful there. This was the second time I've been there and I still haven't seen it all. There is just so much to see. It really has something for everyone.

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life... then this is the place to go. No motorized vehicles of any kind except snow mobiles in winter, and emergency vehicles like ambulances. The main mode of transportation is bicycle, foot or horse. Imagine waking up in the morning to the sound of birds chirping, and the clip clop of horses hooves. No honking, no revving of engines, no squealing of tires, no car alarms accidentally going off. the loudest sound is the tink tink of  bicycle bells.

If you love nature, you would love the island. Flowers of every kind and color decorate the Victorian style homes along the boardwalk, lilacs in bloom between May and June... the lilac festival held the 2nd week of June. Bunnies come out early morning and allow you to get close enough to watch them play in the dew sparkling grass. There are so many places to sit and view the crystal clear blue Lake Huron, a beautiful view of the sun setting behind the Mackinac Bridge, the moon shimmering in the water on a clear night.

If you love visiting places of history, this is also the place for you. Mackinac Island was originally sacred land to the Native American people indigenous to the area. When their loved ones would pass away, they would be sent to the island for burial. It is where the "Great Spirit" lived. As the island was built up by explorers who settled there... many remains were unearthed during construction, and reburied in a place where they wouldn't be disturbed. Even in modern times, most recently, this last winter - remains were unearthed during renovations. Even today the people of Mackinac, with a great respect for the island's history, will bury the remains in an undisturbed place, send the remains to Native American Elders for proper burial, or to the state of Michigan's government for them to properly handle the precious remains.

The island was home to a missionary who built Mission House to house and teach Native American children. He also founded Mission church, and thus the southeast end of the island became known as Mission Point. It was next home to a well known evangelist. He used the area as a religious retreat center, which only lasted 2 years. It next became a college, which only lasted 4 years. Not long enough for most people get get a degree.

Eventually it became a resort. It's important to note, the main lodge is made of tresses that weigh 9 tons each... in the shape of a giant tepee. The reason this is notable, legend has it that there was a Native American prophecy that said "Some day, a great tepee will be erected in the east, under which all nations will come together to learn about peace."

And they do. While there, I've met people from Jamaica, Cuba, England, Japan, China, Korea, Finland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, and one said he and his wife were from Italy. When on the island, everyone are friends. They talk, they smile, they laugh together. I've never heard an unkind word while there. Everyone is ready to greet you with a smile. The people who work there are amazingly nice and helpful.

If you're into movies... Visit Mackinac Island, take a horse by the Grand Hotel, visit the Mission Point Resort Theater... walk by the Orpheum theater, get some fudge from Murdick's Fudge shop... then watch "A Moment in Time"... the 1980 movie with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

Speaking of Fudge... there are so many shops downtown where you can buy clothes, gifts, souvenirs, rent bikes, and of course fudge. I bought a shoe, completely made of chocolate. All handmade from the chocolate itself to the shape of the shoe. It was solid chocolate. I cracked a few corners off the night I bought it and it just melted in your mouth. it was the most delicious, pure chocolate I've ever eaten. When leaving the island, my mom was in charge of the shoe and suitcases. I was in charge of the dogs and stroller. My mom put the suitcase on the sidewalk, the shoe in a small box tied to the top... it was top heavy because of that and fell... right in horse pee. Shoe had to go bye bye. *sniff* I was going to share that with my brother and his family who were coming to visit when we got home. saved me calories I guess. lol

and of course, for those who like a thrill, there are many haunts. From the scary Orpheum theater which is now a haunted house... to real life haunts. go to Mission Point Resort and visit "Haunts of Mackinac". get tickets for the various tours. One tour takes you on a tour of the whole downtown telling you about all the ghosts that still roam the various taverns and bed and breakfasts, and what they do to scare and tease guests. One tour takes you just around the Mission Point resort where the ghost history flourishes. Mission house, where many children died from illnesses they didn't have the medical advancements to cure, can still be heard the sound of children's feet running through the halls despite no children living there. The straights lodge is haunted by a heart broken man dubbed "Harvey" who committed suicide after being rejected by his girlfriend, on the cliff behind what was once his college dorm. he still haunts the lodge as well as the theater. The theater has many ghosts, Harvey and a little girl named Lucy being the most famous.

You can also buy tickets to investigate the theater. A paranormal investigation. because I'm doing research for the book, the owner of Haunts of Mackinac set me up with a free investigation. So many things happened that night. being touched, being told to get out, the light stick incident that no matter what theories I tried, I could not replicate or explain the incident... If you do not believe in ghosts, you will leave an investigation believing.

So definitely visit Mackinac Island. It is a great time! I got a lot of exercise, lost a little weight, the dogs were quite famous (which I explain in the video so watch the video.) you won't regret going. It is quite expensive... I have to save up an entire year to go... but it's worth it in the end. (Click on images to enlarge)

Got in the Paper 2x.

So, I'm thinking the local paper should start paying me as a freelance photographer. a few years ago I got a picture of an ultra rare weather phenomenon called a Roll Cloud. Not only did it make the paper, with the write up I did of it, they even interviewed a meteorologist about it. It was 2 pages long. I got a photo of a tree fire caused by the tree falling on a live wire that made front page news... I put a photo of my Catholicism class in the paper for the food drive they collected.... I wrote an article about wildlife and put it in the "letters to the editor" section.

Now, about 2 weeks ago, I was leaving my house to catch a video of a momma Doe and her newborn fawn sleeping in tall grass, when a big black flash caught my eye. A black bear! AH KAWAII! Such a chubby bubby rolly polly cutie pie. I followed him for a while taking video. My mom drove while I recorded it. He even stood up and looked at me on his hind legs

(Black Bears don't stand on their hind legs to look larger like Grizzlies... they do it to get a better smell of what's going on around them and see better.) It was really cool. When he realized we weren't a threat, he carried on his way. The 2nd photo made it in to the local paper with a write up I did.

Then, on Tuesday a rare event called the Venus Transit occurred. That's when Venus passes between the Sun and Earth (or another planet) becoming visible for a brief window of time. You would view the transit as you would a solar eclipse. With special eclipse glasses, with a pinhole projector, from a camera attached to a telescope, or the way I did it, with lvl 10 - 14 shade welder's glass.

It was really amazing. The most amazing thing... for those, like me, who missed it (or didn't know about it) when it happened in 2004... this was the last time we'd see this transit until 2117. so it won't happen again for over 100 years, and it felt good to be able to see it happen live. I used my welders glass as a filter for my camera and got a few pics of the transit, which made front page of the paper along with a small write up.

That itty bitty black speck is Venus. Makes you think huh? Think of how large the sun must be for Venus to look that small. Think about it this way... Earth is only a smidge bigger than Venus... So yeah... puts things into perspective.

anyhoo. That was cool I thought. Made it into the paper 2x in less than 2 weeks. lol! Like I said, soon they should start paying me for my submissions. ha ha.

SUNBURN! WAAA

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I've been really busy.

Dojo is doing really well on his medication and new diet. (Knock on wood). He hasn't had any bile vomiting, his poops have never been normal. this is the first time he's had normal poops... he's feisty and energetic, his eyes are crystal clear... God willing, he'll continue to improve. so far so good. My other dog is doing great too. She's a total momma dog. She was so sad and stressed when he was sick, so when he's healthy, she's a happy baby girl. She loves her little brother.

Things are good here too. I am taking guitar lessons, just learned my first 6 notes, and my first song that implements 5 of the first 6 notes I learned. I got a really nice guitar from Japan. Pretty guitar, great sound. I'm really enjoying the guitar.

I lost the weight I gained during those 2 weeks I had to leave town to take care of my pup, plus I lost an extra pound. So I'm not where I expected to be had I not gained that weight back... but at least I'm back on the right track.

I had a rummage sale to make a few extra bucks. got rid of a lot of stuff I really didn't need, and made some $$ for my vacation which is really cool. but I got REALLY sunburned.

I had close to a 3rd degree burn on my shoulders, and eventually I needed to get a prescription medicated salve from my doctor which has seemed to help.

But talk about pain. Wow. It was overcast the first day of the rummage so I didn't expect to get burned so I didn't use SPF... and got burned. The next day I wised up and used SPF I found in my bathroom... but it turns out SPF does have an expiration, and it was basically useless. So I got burned worse. (Word to the wise, change your SPF every year.)

I'm finally starting to go from purple to red to tan. I think in the next day or two the burn should finally be completely gone (fingers crossed).

Anyhoo

Things are good and God willing, they'll keep going that way. thanks for all your prayers and messages of well wishes. I really do appreciate it. I'll talk to ya'all soon.