Travel Weekend #2

Let me start by saying that the SS Badger ROCKS!!

We took the carferry from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI. This was the best idea ever... let me count the ways...

1. We didn't have to drive through Indiana

2. It was just like being at home in our living room... except with hundreds of other people

3. We arrived refreshed in Ludington... instead of the usual "exhausted from driving" feel

4. We didn't have to drive through Indiana

We spent the night in Ludington, then drove to our final destination: Mancelona, MI. ON THE MAP, it looked like about a 2 hour trip. Au Contraire! 2 hours in, and we were in Traverse City (which is beautiful, but not as beautiful as it WOULD HAVE BEEN, had it been closer.) Looking at the map was not encouraging, so I made the call to my father's cousin, whose house we were going to. (Sorry about the prepositional ending.) Someone named Chad answered and told us of an alternate route to avoid the detour on 131. About an hour later, we were feeling pretty chumped, since this route, although beautiful, was possible LONGER than the detour would have been.

We were starving when we arrived, but everyone was going on a hike, so we went.

This is a very old pine and an oldish father (for scale):

Here's a nearly beaver felled tree (scale is very important to my dad):

Finally, we got back to Don's. Met Chad. Don wondered why I had phoned Chad instead of him. "Um, I called YOUR phone, and Chad answered." Snide comments were made about the "shortcut", although Beautiful, we were sent on, by Chad.

Also, these signs don't mean as much to us as they used to... Exactly HOW closed is this road? Do people live on this road, and are they still able to get to their homes?

But, THESE signs mean a lot, and it's not good... Lee was laughing at me for taking a pic of this, but I liked the name of the place. Or at least got a grim smirk out of it.