Hell’s Half Acre

We found the sun!!!  Woke this morning to ice on the car for the first
time; I guess we found the humidity also.    Arrived late last night
(around 5:30) and we’ll never start late in the day again.  Made the day
seem incredibly long.  Kids had a blast at Grandma Elinor’s and were
having so much fun playing that we couldn’t bear to break up their play
and put them down until after 10pm.  Ellen was not ready to go to sleep
and I actually fell asleep before she did.  Had a really nice visit with
Elinor and emailed Dan some pictures (he’s down in the Gulf overseeing
repair from the damage of a hurricane).  Jamie says "bye" to his Ma The kids say "bye" to Grandma Elinor

Didn’t get on the road until 8:30 (ugh!) and while I’d like to make it
to St. Ignace or Mackinaw City (great, incredible hotels at really low
prices) since we’ll be driving along the shore of Lake Michigan, the
going will be slow.  We’ll see how far we get.  If absolutely nothing
else, we’ll have a pretty trip especially since the sun seems to be
sticking around.  Kids are cranky and annoying each other.  Listening to
NPR for the first time…  Kids at the hotel in Mackinaw City

"Sweet Home Alabama" on the radio (hey, up here they call THIS the bay
area also - Green Bay Area) and it occurs to me (as it does each time I
hear this song) that Alabama has neither Sweet nor Home connotations for
me.  I lived there for 4 years in the early 70’s and have no sweet or
home memories of the gawd forsaken state.  Jamie promised me rolling
hills in northern Wisconsin, but we’re seeing farms and dairies up
close.  LOTs of dairies and numerous billboards for cheese.  I think
that maybe Iowa and Wisconsin got exchanged because we had wonderful
rolling hills in Iowa (going up 35) and it is flatter than a pancake
here along 41 (heading for the top of Lake Michigan) in northern
Wisconsin.  Eeeep!  I must have forgotten that Wisconsin had cheese
because here is yet another gigantic billboard announcing CHEESE so’s I
don’t forget again.

Driving along the coast of upper Lake Michigan, we are surrounded
alternately by forest and wide open shoreline.  These lakeside homes
must be incredible in the summer months and this route must be congested
as hell.  This is a great time of year to be travelling through; no
tourists (save ourselves), no traffic, blue sky, beautiful deep blue
lake and water as far as the eye can see.  I don’t think we’d do well in
a landlocked area; we are all drawn to water.

"They" always say how resiliant kids are and it is so encouraging to see
it in action.  We started by selling the house and moving the family to
my sister’s guesthouse (500 sq ft) and they rolled with that.  Then we
moved out of that "home" and their world consisted of sitting in a car
all day and playing in a pool every evening.  They have completely
rolled and accepted each change that came into their lives (though we
wouldn’t have attempted this trip if they weren’t so able to adjust) and
thrived.  Sissy is always very interested to know where we’re going and
where we are (even if the answer is "St. Ignace" and "10th Ave") even
though I can’t imagine any of hte answers make any sense to her.  As
long as Ellen gets "nipsea" a few times a day she is happy.  The boys
are quite content to play in the evening and listen to tapes all day.  I
think they’ve exhausted all the books I got them, "The Theif Lord",
"Oliver Twist", "Black Beauty", "A Wrinkle in Time", and the "Chronicles
of Narnia".  I know I bought them "Inkheart" but haven’t been able to
find it lately.  A favorite new game is for one of the four kids to
think of a painful event, announce it to the others, "what if a car ran
over my foot?" and the others will answer in unison, "EXCRUCIATING; very
painful!"

Diesel in Michigan continues to amaze me.  For the first time ever we’ve
found diesel cheaper than Supreme.  Everywhere else in the country it
has been the most expensive grade, but consistantly since weve been in
Michigan, it is cheaper than WI (2.09) and only the 3rd most expsensive 
grade.

Since midday yesterday, we’ve been surrounded by hunters.  Along each
and every hiway, freeway, county and state road there are minivans and
trucks pulled in clumps and figures in impossibly bright orange vests,
jackets, bib overalls stalking their prey with even more impossibly
gigantic rifles.  I am finding myself sickened by the sight but also
recognize the need to feed the family over the winter.  I wonder how
many of these hunters are filling their freezers for the winter.  We
also get to see the results of the hunt; a pickup hauling a dead animal;
all four legs completely straight and stiff sticking up into the air
from the back of the truckbed.

Here is a picture of one lucky hunter (deer not so lucky) that I accidently got as we came to the toll plaza to cross Mackinaw Bridge (over from the UP to "mainland?" Michigan) Dead deer