Lake Michigan Summer Vacay 2015: Day 3

Post now complete!

Today, we were still in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but we would be leaving Mackinaw City. First, I went to get continental breakfast, and was soon followed by Mom. We ate, and then got things together to check out or something. Before we left, we went across the street to look around a bit.

I bought post cards from this shop.

We took some photos of our hotel.

No, not that place, we were across the street.

At the intersection of Huron and Henry.

And then we were off to Marquette, MI, and you know what that means! More driving!

As we approached Marquette, we saw a waterfall, and although there was a lot of mud on the climb to the waterfall, my mom clarified that it was "just dirt", and boy did my feet get dirty.

On the left, you see a photo of my mother taking the photo on the right.

We were then on our way to Marquette, driving past Lake Superior.

On the way, I read the Wikipedia page for Marquette aloud so we would know something about the city.

And after long last, we were in Marquette, where our goal was food. We parked in a public parking structure and walked to a well-rated (on Yelp) restaurant on a street downtown. Donckers on West Washington. I got a sandwich and a pasta salad. Mom got a burger and some chips.

After lunch, I washed my feet in the bathroom, then we got some chocolate from their store downstairs. Next, we went to Book World, which smelled and looked exactly like the Book World that I worked at in Stevens Point in 2003.

Book World is amazing, and I recommend visiting one near you today.

We visited a few other shops as we walked down the street, back to the car.

Our next destination was, as according to the Wikipedia page, Marquette residents' favorite park, Presque Isle Park until we remembered that we also wanted to see the Superior, or "Yooper" Dome. As luck would have it, the largest wooden dome in the world was on our projected route to the park.

Take in the awe of the World's Largest Wooden Dome.

After this stop, we went back on the road to the park, and to view and wade in the Superior Lake.

The Superior Dome and a port for an industry of some kind are part of the view in this part of the park.

I waded into the lake, in part to further clean my feet, and made a video.

Gitche Gumee was calm today, so we could venture out onto the breaker, but the rocks to the lighthouse were just a little too difficult to traverse, so we both turned around at that point.

We then walked along a trail on the land you see in the photo on the right, above.

One of the great things about the Superior Lake is the clear water.

We walked for a little while, then turned back and followed the other cars around the park.

We soon found out where everyone was headed, parked, and then wandered off in different directions. Here is what Mom photographed.

Meanwhile, I wandered down a path and made my way down the rocks to experience the cold waters of the Superior Lake.

Eventually, I sent Mom a text and told her where I was so we could meet up. I told her to go wade in the lake a little too, but she was in for barely a minute before coming back.

Although they were rolled up, I waded far enough into the lake to accomplish this wet-pant look.

Soon enough, we left the park, got some gas and refreshments, and were back in Wisconsin.

As we drove and drove, my mom explained how to get from Shawano to my parents' house before the change in the road numbers, then after the change in the numbers. It went a little something like this:

You used to take 29 to 43 to 66 to P to 127 to O to 34, but now, you take 29 to 49 to 39, which is also 66, but not P, then you go to 137 to Q to C to 13.

Near the end, I realized that it was a real shame that I didn't record it, but I'll always have the memory.

She then proclaimed that "P isn't P anymore. Of course it's still P, it just goes through Milladore." She might have said, "of course there's still P," but that's just as nonsensical. Like, what was she thinking? That part of my self worth or my retirement investments depend on living close to a County Highway P? It's just a road!

In any case, it is true, the highway that was once P is now 66, and the old Highway 10, through Milladore and Blenker, is P. The new Highway 10, at least east of two of the three roundabouts south of Marshfield, is pretty 'effin sweet, fwiw.

Then, soon, we were in Shawano, so I put my bags in my rental car while my mom and aunt talked. They went through a string of numbers to other numbers to letters too, but it was too quick for me to get any footage. My aunt gave me directions to get home: 29 to past Wittenberg, then left on 49 to the T intersection. Turn right toward Rosholt on 66, not Iola. She stressed this enough for me to write it down: Don't go to Iola. 66 would take me all the way to Point, and I know how to get home from Point (66 to C to O to C through Rudolph to 13/34). My mom and my aunt were talking and talking, and I decided that I was going to go, so I said goodbye, got in my car while the directions were fresh in my head, and headed out, past the Perkins to stay on 29.

It was excessively pretty.

Eventually, I passed all the exits for Wittenberg, but 49 wasn't coming up. Then, there it was, with a tricky left turn, but I made it. I was driving along 49 when my mother called. With no traffic around me, I took the call on speaker and learned that she called to tell me to go to the Copps in Point on 66 and she started telling me how to find the Copps in Point on 66, but I had to cut her off as I was driving and I knew where the Copps in Point on 66 was, and sure, I hadn't put on deodorant since Thursday morning because we couldn't find a store that sold the kind I needed (I have sensitive skin), but I didn't NEED to go to Copps THAT night. So I hung up the phone and kept driving.

Soon enough, I left Marathon County and things started looking less foreign.

I bet that you have no idea what is growing in this field, and that is why you fail.

I drove by the fields pictured above, and if I wasn't so ready to be done writing this post, I would tell you what is growing there, but I've already moved on. I'm driving driving driving, and I finally get to the T intersection with the choice to go right, to Rosholt, or left, to Iola. This was when I looked at my directions and read, "Don't go to Iola," so I turned right.

Polish Heritage Highway, so it drinks and farts a lot? I kid, I kid.

I drove some more, and learned that Rosholt, despite only having 550 people, has TWO gas stations with fancy digital signs, what looked like a high school, and seemed to go on forever. But then I kept on driving.

There is a country bar on the left, and tall pine trees on the right.

Eventually, I got into Point, and while I've driven into Point many times, I didn't recognize this particular road. Something was odd because I didn't see Fleet Farm, much less the Copps, but I did go by some UWSP buildings on the left. After I crossed Michigan, I decided that I was going to turn around at Division and go back up 66 - the 66 that I knew - to find the Copps. I did just that, but I couldn't find the Copps and eventually went past 39, then turned around after I passed the Fleet Farm and left my mom a crabby-pants voicemail about how I couldn't find the Copps and I was just coming home. However, as I drove back through Point on 66, I saw the sign for the Copps, which was different than the sign I remembered from 15 years ago, and decided that I would go to Copps.

I parked, then texted my mom something like, "nm, I found it," and went in. There was flavored licorice on sale, so I petulantly put two bags of it into my basket, then got some candy fruit slices on account of my can't-find-the-stupid-Copps-that-I-didn't-NEED-to-go-to-and-now-it's-after-sunset crabbiness. Suddenly, I felt like I was overdoing it, and put one of the bags of licorice back. I bought the right deoderant, some hair bands, a 12-pack of La Croix, maybe something else, and finally some cheetos and barbeque chips, again, on account of my petulance that it was now so late.

But then I was on the road again, driving through Stevens Point, then to C, to O, and to C, where I saw a beautiful crescent moon at the top of the hill where this one farmer - we'll call him Mack Beiber - lives. I tried to photograph it, but mostly failed.

And then, like magic, I was at my parents' house. I'm sure that I did things, showed off stuff that was acquired, maybe even had a La Croix, but I forget the specifics. I must have gone to bed, cuz the next day begins with me getting out of bed, so yeah.