You’re Kidding! It’s Friday? 5/27/2011

Good grief – this week has flown by, and here it is Friday already! 

Weather First:  We haven’t put up our fleece jackets yet!  Frost was forecast two mornings this week, and although I haven’t seen frost myself (and yes, there was one morning I took the dogs out . . . early), it has certainly been chilly enough for two or three layers of clothes before 10 a.m. and after 5 p.m.  Am I complaining?  Are you kidding!  It was 96 in Georgia a couple of days ago!  I’ll just keep putting on layers, thank you very much. 

Some Goodies to Check Out:  During the winter I was always “clicking” the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau website for photos and information.  If you haven’t visited lately, it’s time for you to see the completely revamped site. As good as it was before – now it is awesome!  There’s tons of information about visiting the island, and the photographs are breathtaking.  Check it out when you get a chance at:  www.mackinacisland.org.

One more site to remind you about before I get started on the week’s happenings – Michael Forrester’s Mackinac Island Blog at http://mackinacislandblog.com.  Mike has posted a great piece on everything new on the island for the 2011 season.  Geez!  He was here three days, and he saw way more than I’ve seen so far after almost two weeks!  I don’t think he ever slept!

Ok . . . the week!

My poor hubby was under the weather for a couple of days (bet you already figured that out when you saw I took the dogs out early one morning), and even though he still went over to Cheboygan for Walmart grocery shopping on Tuesday, he really shouldn’t have.  When he got back to the condo, I threw on two layers of warm duds and cleared out so he could take a nice, long nap.  It was a perfect day for photos – blue sky, bluer water, and green – really green – grass.

Lake Huron can still be seen through the trees, although it gets harder each day as the leaves continue to fill in the spaces between the branches.

 

 

Can you BELIEVE these colors! The Jewel Golf Course looks like someone took the Emerald Green Crayon and colored outside all the lines.

 

 

The new Michigan governor hasn't visited his summer residence yet, but the rumor is he and his family will be making their first visit over the Memorial Day weekend. What a perk!

 

 

The Grand Hill trees are smaller, but the view is BIGGER! What a day!

 

 

When I first pulled this photo up on the laptop, I thought, "Why did I take this, and what is on fire?" Then I remembered - that's the top of a freighter going through the cut. Can you believe how huge those things are!

 

Dori, a Bree’s Blog fan, and her sister Barb (both from Michigan) arrived on the island Wednesday, and we met for lunch at Millie’s on Main Thursday afternoon.  It’s always so nice connecting face to face with my readers and getting to know people from all over the U.S. who share a love for Mackinac Island. 

 

Dori in the middle, and sister Barb. Dori worked on the island as a college student and knows a lot about the island's history. In fact, in researching their family tree, she and Barb were delighted to find a blood tie to Magdelaine La Framboise, the original owner of the Harbour View Inn, where the ladies stayed this trip. Madame La Framboise was a remarkable 19th-century French and Indian woman who, when widowed at a young age, parlayed her husband's fur businesses into one of the most successful enterprises of her day. Thank you Dori and Barb for a wonderful lunch and a great time chatting about our favorite island.

 

By the way, Millie’s on Main has great “home-cooked” style food! I love their salads, white fish basket, home-made spaghetti, and desserts. Yum!  Millie’s is named after the owners’ family pet, a Portuguese Water Dog.

 

After lunch I ran a few errands, then met up with Jill (her day off), and we headed for the condo where I downloaded photos she took Thursday morning down at the Shepler’s dock. She had emailed me Wednesday that the Stucks’ four Friesians were being shipped to the island for the summer on the Sacre Bleu. The boat was supposed to arrive at 6:50 a.m., and I begged off being down the hill at that hour. But Jill – and Mary from the Grand – were there to welcome these beautiful horses home to the island, and thank goodness Jill took pics!

 

The Sacre Blue turns into the calm waters of the harbor. You can see the long horse trailer on the deck, still attached to the truck cab.

 

 

Once secured, the trailer is opened and the first horse is led off the boat.

 

 

Beautiful!

 

 

Michelle and one of her boys.

 

 

Leaving the dock . . . .

 

 

. . . . and making a turn in front of the Cloghaun - toward home on the West Bluff.

 

RANDOM SHOTS

 

Marc's Double Oven Bakery has a new employee - Tiffany, who is a master at cupcakes. Oh my gosh, I gained 5 pounds just looking at these yummy concoctions!

 

 

Wednesday night's sunset - taken by Kellie Lawrence from the Grand.

 

I am loving the “picture days” between blogs and hope you are finding them satisfying – and, yes, I know I haven’t limited them to one photo – YET! Some of you might even be wondering, “Why is this different from doing a blog post each day?”  Here’s why.  Starting each day with the little nagging thought in my mind of “What’s the story today?” is a lot different than just throwing the camera in my pocket and looking for a moment (or two) in time to capture with a photograph. It gives me a lot more freedom on the “off” days, and let’s me store up all the “news” for two posts instead of spreading it out over seven days. On Mackinac Island, there are always “moments in time” to freeze-frame. I have never in our now four summers here left the condo and not seen something I wanted to photograph. Such an amazing little island – and we are so blessed to be here.

 

It’s been a wonderful week, and the island is gearing up for a very busy holiday. Have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend, and please take a moment to remember the brave men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice so we may enjoy our many freedoms. God bless our military men and women, and God bless America.