Quick Trip

Due to our "Bear Encounter" and our "Lovely Drive," we neglected to write about our journey to Saginaw at the beginning of this month.  We had a window of opportunity between snowstorms, so we made a quick trip to Michigan's lower peninsula.  We took Cocoa to the kennel as we left on the Monday morning following the Super Bowl and returned on Friday of the same week.  It was so nice to spend a little time with family and friends again.  We stayed with Steve's daughter, Carrie.  We had some appointments in the area and took advantage of our time there to pick up some items that are either unavailable here or a lot more expensive.  So, the pantry is very well stocked again. 

We always enjoy our time with Steve's daughter and her kids.  Grace is especially fun!  Don't tell Cocoa, but we have to admit that we even liked spending time with their dog, a Pug named Rosebud.  Rosie is very comical.  Steve says she looks like she ran into a wall - face first.  He wants to reach down and pull her nose back out where it should be.

We had dry roads the entire trip down and we made excellent time.  Upon our arrival in Saginaw, we immediately stopped at Menard's to pick up a few items.  We even purchased Steve's birthday gift.  Can a man have too many power tools?  His birthday isn't until April, but we weren't sure we would make it to another Menard's before then.  The closest Menard's to us in the U.P. is in Marquette - approximately 2-1/2 hours away.  We then had a quick dinner at Bob Evans and made our way to Carrie's house in St. Charles. 

The rest of the week was spent at appointments, running errands and doing a couple odd jobs around the house for Carrie.  Dads come in real handy sometimes.  We also had a nice dinner one evening with friends, Bill & Lori Brady and Butch & Ann Jacobs.  Dinner came with lots of the typical laughter.  We do know how to have fun.  It was nice to see everyone at church on Wednesday evening, too.

First thing Friday morning, Steve had a haircut scheduled at his usual place in Saginaw.  He still believes no one else could cut his hair properly.  Is it really possible to mess it up too badly when you have so little?!  (You know I love your bald head, honey!)  As soon as that was finished, we hopped on the highway and headed north.  It was snowing most of the way to the Mackinac Bridge, so we weren't able to make the good time we usually do on that stretch of road.  After the bridge, it snowed most of the way home with occasional heavy snow squalls causing reduced visibility like the photo I snapped between Munising and Marquette.  Can you see the truck ahead of us in that photo?  The skies began clearing about the time we made it to L'Anse, so the rest of the trip went well.   

We made it to Houghton with enough daylight left to snap a few photos from the car as we drove through.  The students at Michigan Technological University had just finished their snow sculptures for the annual Winter Carnival.  As we traveled through Houghton, we noticed they had the lights on at the ski hill.  That's always a pretty sight.  We drove across the Portage Lift Bridge, wound our way through Hancock and saw a few snowmobilers on the trail along the road.  Then, it was up the Quincy Hill and on to Calumet.   It was not yet dark, and Steve couldn't rest with a dirty vehicle, so we stopped at the carwash for a quick cleaning.  A few more blocks and we were at the house.  We had a few inches of snow in our driveway from the week, but not enough to prevent us from pulling in and unpacking the vehicle.  It was nice to be home in the Keweenaw! 

It began snowing again the next morning, and Steve had to pick up Cocoa at the kennel between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m.  They said she did just fine up until the last 24 hours.  That's when she decided she had enough of that place and decided to send a message by chewing a big hole in her bed pillow.  They said that's a common thing for dogs to do.  They feed the dogs twice a day and walk them, but I guess it's still not the same as being home.  Needless to say, Cocoa was very happy to see Steve.  Wait a minute.  Maybe Cocoa didn't chew open her pillow to send a message about being at the kennel.  Maybe she was sending a message about her pillow.  It's brown and camouflage - not exactly a feminine choice.  She might be happier with pink bedding next time. 

It's currently 19° and snowing, and we may be in for a pretty good dumping this week.  All's well in the Keweenaw. 

P.S.  Nice haircut, honey!