Daddy Dave's Weekend

I want to share some of the photos from Daddy Dave's weekend - the weekend of his memorial service in June in Traverse City. We took Cocoa to the kennel and got an early start that Friday. Unfortunately, it was raining when we left Calumet.

It was still raining in Baraga when we stopped for cheap gas.

It rained most of the way across the U.P. until right before we got to the Mackinac Bridge. 

When we were on the bridge, it started raining again,

and it continued to rain all the way to Petoskey. We finally drove out of it and had beautiful sunshine by the time we reached Traverse City.

We made a quick trip to the mall to look for new tennis shoes for Steve (as long as we were back in civilization) and then headed to the home of Steve's brother, Scott. We enjoyed some time with family before taking off to get a Jet's Pizza to take back to the motel.

The memorial service was the next day. It was a lovely, informal gathering with a great turnout. Steve's brother and his sister, Barb, shared some funny and loving words about Daddy Dave, and I don't believe there was a dry eye in the house when a young man played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. We had a nice lunch and a good time swapping memories with family and friends. Daddy Dave would have been pleased. Here's a shot of Steve with his mom and siblings.

After that, Steve's son and daughter-in-law hopped in the vehicle with us, and we headed off to Honor to visit Steve's cousin, Jerry. Steve had asked him to do a taxidermy fish mount for a friend, and we needed to pick it up. We had a nice visit and headed back to Traverse City for dinner with Steve's mom. We had time for a brief goodbye the next morning before setting off for East Jordan. The pastor who married us in the U.P. in 2005 has started a church in East Jordan, and we wanted to surprise him by popping in for the morning service. He was surprised, and the service was a real blessing.

It was then time for the long drive home, and it wasn't long before we were entering Petoskey.

I snapped photos of some of the beautiful older homes there near Lake Michigan.

If you've never been to Petoskey, I highly recommend a visit. It's a lovely town.

I took a picture of one more home. This one was between Petoskey and I-75. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

Yes, it's a purple ranch house - with lots of junk in the yard - and it really draws your attention as you drive by. Not my cup of tea.

We hit some fog as we approached the Mackinac Bridge. It came in and out of view. See if you can find it in the next few shots.

We crossed the bridge and paid the $4 toll and commented on the good feeling we have when we see the sign on the toll plaza.

After exiting I-75, the speed limit is a maximum of 55 mph all the way across the U.P., and it is enforced. You can go about 4-6 mph over, but any more than that, and your risking a ticket. A "downstater" flew by us, and Steve mentioned that he was probably going to get stopped. Sure enough!

The clouds cleared away soon after that last shot, and we drove in sunshine and blue skies most of the way home.

It was a nice day to travel. It wasn't long before the hills of Hancock were in sight,

and we were crossing the Portage Bridge between Houghton and Hancock

and heading up the hill past the ruins of the Quincy Mine.

It was good to be home. Steve went to the kennel to pick up Cocoa early the next morning, and she received a good report card. Whew! We were a little worried about that, as she had tummy trouble when she was there in February.

All in all, it was an excellent weekend. It makes us a little sad to know that we can't share all our home construction details and photos with Daddy Dave, as we know he would have enjoyed that. The final goodbye is never easy, but it's not really final when you know you'll see them again in heaven! We praise the Lord for Daddy Dave's salvation.

All is well in the Keweenaw.