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Quebec City 1
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Quebec City 2
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Quebec City 3
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Quebec City 4
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Quebec City 5
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Pictured Rocks, MI
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Larry at Pictured Rocks
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Janice at Pictured Rocks
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Mackinac Island - The Grand Hotel
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Mackinac Island - Outside at The Grand Hotel
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Mackinac Island - no motorized vehicles allowed
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Mackinac Island - FUDGE!
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Sleeping Bear Dunes 1
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Sleeping Bear Dunes 2
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Sleeping Bear Dunes 3
Maybe Larry & I had just been in peaceful seashore settings for too long, because the stop in Quebec City, with its noise and congestion, was a bit jarring.
But, like France, there was good food to be enjoyed! Again, more on that in my next "foodie" blog. We did manage to huff & puff our way up to "old town" a couple times but the funicular was worth the money!
Actually, we found Quebec City more interesting at night: "authorized" street performers were fun (and the city even provides bleachers where you can sit and enjoy the show!!!) and lots of unusual street "art" (see photo).
And then there was the music scene! We inquired of several people who we thought would know where we should go to hear "real" Québécois music. Finally, we were sent to Napoleon's Vault (my translation), a huge, below ground, cavern with old stone walls and arches. (See photo). Very cool, I thought. It was crammed with mostly 30 to 40somethings. On stage: one guy and his guitar. The crowd was happy and EVERYONE was singing along really enjoying themselves.
And what was the music?? "Sweet Caroline", "American Pie", "Take Me Home, Country Road". You get the idea. Not what we'd hoped for although we agreed there was probably NOwhere in the US where you'd find this age crowd happily spending the evening singing along to these particular songs.
Au revoir, Quebec.
Two long days of driving west on the two-lane, bumpy Trans-Canadian Highway (Americans, be proud of your Interstate system and the quality of the highways!!) - including a relaxing lunch stop along the beautiful canal in Ottawa (which locals use to skate to work on in the winter!) - brought us back into the USA at the locks in Sault St. Marie. There began several days of exploring the Great Lakes: Superior, Huron, Michigan.
First to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where locals call themselves "Yoopers"....you know, like UPers.
Now you may remember in a previous blog that, in PEI, Larry & I ran into a man who had gotten married at the SSI lighthouse and talked about honeymooning at King & Prince. Well, in the teeny town of Munising, in the UP, in a little coffee shop/used bookstore/ice cream parlor (the kind many of us can imagine owning), we walked in just as the Monday night Open Acoustic Jam was finishing up...about a dozen guitarists strumming and humming!
We struck up a conversation with one of the guitarists and his wife: Sam & Maria. When the conversation turned to "where you from?"....small world! They are from Athens! When we said SSI, their faces lit up, they laughed and proceeded to tell us how their first romantic getaway was to SSI and how they spent the weekend in a place at the beach, didn't leave the room, just stayed in bed subsisting on grapes and peanut butter all weekend!!! SSI is for lovers!
During our week in the Great Lakes, we saw amazing lake shores that we had never imagined.
First: if you looked at the water and didn't know, you'd think you're in the Caribbean. It is so clear and green.
The south shore of Lake Superior (the biggest, deepest, coldest of them all) has an area called Pictured Rocks (see photos). Rising several hundred feet straight out of the lake, reminiscent of the California coast, these sandstone cliffs are colored orange, yellow and green from all the minerals. Weird how trees have withstood wind and erosion and now grow at a 90 degree angle to the sky. (See photos). Lunching mid-day ...9 mile hike one day & a 20+ mile off-road bike ride the next (mostly single track, over rocks and tree roots with no gears!) ...a white sandy beach with gentle little waves was a relaxing spot, looking northward over 100 miles across the water toward Canada.
Next, on to Lake Huron where a short ferry ride brought us to Mackinac Island. No cars or trucks allowed. We left our car parked on the mainland. By law, EVERYTHING....people, taxis, restaurant produce, hotel linens, horse feed....is moved by bike or horse. (see photo)
A gorgeous, enclosed horse-drawn carriage met us and our luggage at the dock and slowly made its way to the historic and picturesque Grand Hotel, famous for being the setting for Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. And wow! That front porch: the view, the row of American flags, all the white rocking chairs and cheery geraniums. Loved it!
The clap-clap-clap sound of horse hooves is a constant and we soon adopted the easier, slower pace. For some reason, the island is famous for its fudge, which was everywhere.
To my gardener friends: I cannot begin to describe the beauty of the gardens!!!!! The color!!! It was obvious how much the flowers love the cool nights and moderate, sunny days. I was quite jealous and imagined myself getting a summer job as a gardener for a hotel or wealthy resident.
Then finally, to Lake Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore. Again, that beautiful blue green water, but now edged with humongous sand dunes that drop 400 feet straight into the lake. See photo and how far far down and how tiny the people are. Too bad the water is only about 65 degrees!!
This was a new part of the country for Larry and I which we thoroughly enjoyed. Expecting flat shorelines thick with trees, we saw a lot that surprised & delighted us.
But it's been thousands of miles (all by Larry!) and nearly five weeks. Time to turn south toward home.
But first: food and funny signs, next on TIRE TRACKS.
