Up North - Part 1
Most of you know I'm keen on traveling. I've even entertained (bored?) many of you with tales of treks through the Himalayas, train trips through Siberia, and temple crawls in Burma. Naturally, living in Taiwan as I did for 15 years, I made it a point to seek adventure in Asia--and there was plenty of it to be had.
What I suppose I had forgotten was how my own state of Michigan--while it might not promise exotica on the grand scale that Asia does--can offer up some pretty fantastic travel possibilities. With more freshwater coastline than any other place in the world, Michigan--with its lighthouses, sandy beaches, and pine forests--can be downright beautiful. When I was growing up, no one in my family hunted or fished, so we failed to choose to go "up north" with the frequency and enthusiasm that many others in Southern Michigan did. (My culture-minded mom, who more or less planned trips, usually had us visiting museums in big cities like New York and Chicago.) So here at age 38, in the past week or so, I've seen more of Northern Michigan than at any other time in my life. And I have to say, I'm pretty impressed.
We visited a couple locations, so I'll call this installment "Part 1" and feature only the 4th of July visit with friends who have a place on Lake Huron.
First, the place where we stayed...
...and the view Kitty and I were greeted with in the morning...
As it was 4th of July, Sabrina enjoys a celebratory pinwheel...
...and my niece, Haley, got me to pose in these goofy things...
The beaches, while not as spectacular as those in Southeast Asia, are perfectly clean, with soft sand and clear water. Here, my niece does some beach-combing...
...and Kitty and I pretend it's Thailand all over again...
What I suppose I had forgotten was how my own state of Michigan--while it might not promise exotica on the grand scale that Asia does--can offer up some pretty fantastic travel possibilities. With more freshwater coastline than any other place in the world, Michigan--with its lighthouses, sandy beaches, and pine forests--can be downright beautiful. When I was growing up, no one in my family hunted or fished, so we failed to choose to go "up north" with the frequency and enthusiasm that many others in Southern Michigan did. (My culture-minded mom, who more or less planned trips, usually had us visiting museums in big cities like New York and Chicago.) So here at age 38, in the past week or so, I've seen more of Northern Michigan than at any other time in my life. And I have to say, I'm pretty impressed.
We visited a couple locations, so I'll call this installment "Part 1" and feature only the 4th of July visit with friends who have a place on Lake Huron.
First, the place where we stayed...
...and the view Kitty and I were greeted with in the morning...
As it was 4th of July, Sabrina enjoys a celebratory pinwheel...
...and my niece, Haley, got me to pose in these goofy things...
The beaches, while not as spectacular as those in Southeast Asia, are perfectly clean, with soft sand and clear water. Here, my niece does some beach-combing...
...and Kitty and I pretend it's Thailand all over again...
Of course, we had Sabrina along, and she was fascinated with the new sight of such a big body of water...
...though the sight of us wrapped up in sweatshirts and blankets attest to the fact that it was a cool 21 degrees C or so...
Still, Sabrina couldn't resist the temptation to do her film star bit...
My brother-in-law, John, and I pursue a football (the American type) out of view above...
And it wouldn't be the 4th of July (a holiday I always seemed to forget about in Taiwan) without a bonfire...
...and sparklers, which seem to look a lot more dangerous in photos than they actually are...
Stay tuned for "Up North - Part 2"!
posted by Brian Kleinsmith | 9:15 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for these pictures, what a nice holiday! Of course it must have been strange to have a fire burning without some green peppers and chicken butts sizzling away on it. And it must have been nice to "watch" fireworks as opposed to "dodge" fireworks!
Post a Comment
<< Home