The West Coast

Voila.....the Sandpiper Inn on the lake in Union Pier, Michigan. I think of this inn as my home- away-from-home. I fell in love with it the very first time I saw it. In fact, I can still remember driving over from Ann Arbor on a warm evening in June and being breathless with delight at the beauty of the place. It is the mansion at the beach you wish you had, if you had a mansion at the beach.
This is the view from our room. Does life get any better? Summer in Michigan........and how blue is that water?
Looking at things from the other side (always a good idea). I love walking to the beach through the sea grass, and sometimes there are butterflies and dragonflies along the way.
Just over the rise of the little dune is the lake. It's hard not to break into a run at this point, but the DH is usually there to caution me so I don't take a tumble in my eagerness. So difficult to focus on keeping one's feet on terra firma when one wants to fly out to that beautiful shore and splash around in the water with all the other kids.
http://www.sandpiperinn.net/

If you've never been here, you gotta make plans now.

The Other River

Uh-oh, Toto..........we're not in Florida anymore, and those aren't palm trees either. The Huron River, not nearly so volatile or so noisy as the Caloosahatchee, is a peaceful place to spend an afternoon.

Isn't this guy a beautie? And not shy, at all. We occasionally see turtles in the Caloosahatchee, but the water is not this clear so we only notice them if they are near the surface. Of course, they can't play hide-and-seek amongst all the lily pads because there aren't any. Florida turtles seem to swim a lot faster than their Michigan cousins - maybe because there is no place to hide and no shade.

Aha............more evidence that we have wandered off. These big birds are swans, not pelicans. Much more beautiful, but they have the same slurpy table manners. However, I do believe that they are enjoying the salad special rather than the fish du jour.

What is more regal than a bevy of swans? Actually, a group is referred to as a herd of swans. I mean, really.........how disrespectful.........it's not as though they're a bunch of cows, for pete's sake. Swan Lake, anyone?

No one was having this fish for lunch, and he, along with his swan friends, was noshing on the salad greens.

Just an aside: Didja know that swans are prey for wolverines? Tsk.

Back in AA

The view from our hotel room.......some of the many cranes around campus.

It's the Big House from a distance (still from our hotel room). That M is as recognizable as McDonald's golden arches. Yeah, yeah. I know. It's maize. Jeez.

And here is the Big House up close. Obviously, we have not been following the local news because this monstrous sight was a shock to us as we drove into town. How ever did the House get that much BIGGER?

Main Street --- although I'm sure that this is not the section of Main Street that Bob Seger was singing about,

http://www.bobseger.com/music_detail.aspx?upccode=724383033423

but I can imagine what Main Street must have looked like back then because remnants do remain.

Here we are -- closer to campus. Amazingly enough for a state that's at the bottom of the economic ladder, you cannot go any place in Ann Arbor without observing new construction and rebuilding.

What can I say? Go Blue. It's good to be back.

Spending the Day with Fay

Fay came ashore early this morning while we were asleep, and she took her time coming up the coast to our neck of the woods. The wind was insistent and the rain was relentless (that pond of water is not part of the usual landscape), but there was no flying debris, no thunder and lightning, and the Caloosahatchee did not come up over the sea wall.

The winds increased, the rain came in sheets, and we could no longer see the bridges down the way.

This was the view out the back, facing south. Not a lot to see, and the wind was merciless.

Just at sunset, the sky put on a spectacular display to apologize for the travails of the day. Who can complain after a gift like this?

And the remnants of Fay rolled along to the northeast. The wind is still with us, but we are just thankful that we didn't have to use the items in our hurricane survival kit. We've probably seen the last of this particular storm, but I don't think Florida has. I hope we don't run into her on our flight to Ann Arbor tomorrow.

From South to North

Fay is coming from this direction, and those are her little scouting clouds out in front of the big guns. She is not a hurricane yet, but people are taking precautions - metal hurricane shutters all over the place, the shopping malls closed at four, and most restaurants didn't even open their doors for the dinner crowd.

So the lady visited Cuba, then the Keys, and she'll be in Fort Myers soon - 230 miles from Cuba. Believe it or not, a few years ago when we were in Key West, we stood next to a marker just like this one that was the southernmost point, as close as you can get to Cuba, and still be on U.S soil.

Our United States passports don't permit us to travel to and from Cuba, but Fay doesn't need a passport.

Waiting for Fay

The news in southwest Florida is all Fay, all day with a few breaks for the Olympics. Governor Crist has declared a state of emergency (Just in case. You know how slow those FEMA people can be,), and we are all being nagged about buying our hurricane supplies. There are huge pallets of water at the supermarkets, and the newsbots are urging us to purchase enough batteries. Sounds like no water and no power during these events. Egads. Gotta have cash too since the ATMs don't work when the power's off. What are we going to buy during the storm?

We need to bring in everything from our balconies and lanais. Today the pots, tomorrow the table and chairs. Don't want those bad boys banging into the windows. I don't think they can jump the railing.

Some people must already be ready for Fay. They are enjoying a beautiful day, taking their yacht (you can't call that one a boat) out for a spin.

And some people are taking a dip in the pool. Well, it is Florida, after all. You gotta make hay while the sun shines (Is that how that saying goes?). The pool shuts down tomorrow, and the maintenance crew will remove everything that isn't bolted to the ground. I think they have to lower the water level also.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Fay is going to change her mind so we better be prepared.

Pearly Gates

Gotta have a gate to keep out the uninvited because people are just too darn curious. Folks might just wander up some inviting lane without realizing that the expensive landscaping signifies private property, especially since the council put in that new bike path this summer that runs all the way out to the very end of the island just to please those pesky tourists. Tsk.

(Who wouldn't want a gate with a mermaid on it?)



And this is the view if you could get past those gates. Maybe not heaven, but close enough.

From A to B

For those of you who know me well, you will recognize that in the first photo I am about halfway through one of my least favorite chores, the gathering of the goods. Alright, I confess all chores are my least favorite. At any rate, the second photo shows the ideal way to get the food on the fork - using a menu, not a shopping cart. Just wanted to show you that life in the sunshine state is not a vacation 24/7.

We should be playing beach volley ball instead of watching it on TV, but it's just too darn hot. Loved seeing W at the Games. I suppose all you Wolverines are claiming Phelps as your own. You might as well........football season starts all-too-soon.

The other grandpapa of the World's Cutest Future Gold Medalist told me that New Zealand excels only in Olympic sports that require sitting down, such as the equestrian and sailing events. Oh, those Kiwis have such a wry sense of humor, but no medals, as of this posting.

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/medal-tally/

@ the Beach Again

You know, I'm not the only one scanning the beach for the perfect sea shell. Of course, the serious seekers are patrolling the sand much earlier than I would ever think of getting out of bed. Besides, it's more challenging discovering the ones that others have overlooked.

I'm in luck....it's an apple murex.

http://www.seashellworld.com/page/S/PROD/S2445

OK. So you can buy one for 49 cents, but it's not the same. And who among you would not stoop down to pick up two quarters?

Ah, time to relax after the treasure hunt.

Only the hardy are at the beach during the dog days of August, and it's crucial to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Place your chair right in the sea water, and take big swigs of that bottled water. Don't confuse the two..........a sure sign of sun stroke.