August 29, 2010

I Still Blog




Well it’s been a while since I last posted but I think of this blog as a place to chronicle my travels and I don’t consider traveling to Honeoye Falls every day an epic journey (beautiful though it may be). But Jess told me my blog is gathering dust so I had to think of some things to say. If you want a more consistent and hysterical blog to read, head over to Jess's blog.
http://www.adventureswithjessica.blogspot.com/
I can’t believe summer is almost over. Ever since I started work, time has just been flying by. I have managed to do some fun things though. My proudest accomplishment is finally getting my parents to update our house. Nothing has changed since I was born and I’ve been harping for years that we need a change. However they see "renovating" as picking the same color paint and putting a new coat on. So far we’ve managed to get some paint up in the living room and computer room and the carpets have been ripped out of those rooms and new floor is in. No more 80's brown carpet, now we have beautiful oak laminate. It look so much better and everything looks much bigger. We did get one bathroom painted with a nice new shower curtain that I picked out and they approved.A few weeks ago I headed off to Syracuse with my Grandma, Aunt and cousin to take in the Central New York Scottish Games. I used to go every summer when I was little and it was great to go back. I got to hear some amazing bands, watch some hot men throw cabers and eat a bridie.Last weekend I went to my first RIT Alumni event. They offered cheap tickets to Seabreeze, a local amusement park, so I rounded up Kyle, Devin, Don, Amber, and Kurt and headed out. My cousin Ted was there for his company picnic so we were quite the impressive gang. I had so much fun. I hadn’t been to Seabreeze since high school and it was great to feel like a kid again. They have a new coaster that spins around as it flies around the track so you never know which way you’re going next. They also have the Music Express where you sit in a car and go flying around in a circle while music plays. The first time I was on the inside and with the centrifugal force, I was thrown into Ted who was subsequently thrown into Kurt. They complained that I squished them but I maintained that I couldn’t help it. So to get back at me, we hopped on again and this time I had to sit on the outside. OMG. I was nearly folded in half. As soon as the ride picked up speed both of them threw themselves across the seat and with the added force of the speeding track I was half out of my seat and falling off the cart. I’m pretty sure my shoulders touched, that’s how squished I was. We went to the water park after and my entire left side was red. Thanks a lot cousins. My favorite part of this summer has been digging through my Grandpa Burns’ old things and discovering tons of family history. I uncovered about 52 reels of old 8mm film and a projector that still works! That thing probably hadn’t been fired up in 20 years and everything worked like a charm (thanks Kodak). There was tons of video of when our homestead was a thriving farm (combining, chickens, hay, etc), when my dad and aunt and uncles graduated, got first communion, went swimming. There’s all their vacation footage from FL, MD, MI, WV, WY, SD, MT (recognize those states? Yeah pretty much everywhere I’ve been, my Dad had been first.) It’s amazing to watch. My favorite is when my Aunt is graduating high school and she’s trying to pose in front of the house with my dad and uncles and they want nothing to do with it and they all get into a shoving match. Classic! It’s really neat to see how our property used to look in the old days and how much has changed. I just dropped them off to a transfer place so we should get them all on DVD in 6 weeks. The above letterhead is from my Grandpa’s business. I also found my grandma’s wedding planner book (down to what the bouquets were and what her outfits were). Now I know where I get my insane organizational skills from. I also went to Boulder Coffee to see Lucas Carpenter. My sister in law went to high school with him and introduced me to his music and he is insanely talented. Usually I don’t enjoy live performances but he does this thing called looping and he is amazingly skilled (plus he has a really engaging personality that makes it fun). Check him out here
http://www.myspace.com/lucascarpenter

August 1, 2010

Sleeping Bear Dunes Part II

Next stop was the National Maritime Museum and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip because I love museums. They had an old lighthouse station that was outfitted with exhibits and tons of old artifacts. It was devoted to the lifesaving crews that were stationed there and were a precursor to the U.S. Coast Guard. What a life they led! I stopped at the Glen Haven store which is restored to look like a 19th century mercantile. Unfortunately, they had no food (except for Necco Wafers) so I ate more of my string cheese and crackers and drove on down a dirt road to yet another trailhead. I had a hike planned that I wasn’t motivated for but decided to do anyways since it was less than 2 miles round trip. It was a gorgeous overlook much like the one at Pictured Rocks except no demon insects thank goodness so I was glad I went. Of course there was yet another death defying sand cliff. As much fun as it would be to run pell mell down a sand dune and dive in a lake, I didn't want to face the return hike. I relaxed and soaked in the view and listened to a group of middle aged teachers debate the real meaning of words. For instance, did you know that dork=camel penis? One lady was convinced there was another meaning for the word twit but I got out of there before they could brainstorm that one. Apparently, Sleeping Bear has the largest collection of preserved farmhouses in the NPS. I stopped at one that was undergoing renovation to be turned into exhibit space. The guy said there wasn’t much to see but I was free to wander around. So I of course took that as an all access pass and found my way upstairs because the door was open. He runs up after me and tells me that I’m not allowed up there and ushers me out. I didn’t see anything too incriminating up there but if he didn’t want me up there then why was the door open!?I drove back along Glen Lake (stopping at Inspiration Point) and continued to the beach because I was exhausted and grimy and wanted a swim. Earlier I had seen an overlook where there was a lake, a sandbar and then Lake Michigan. It was so cool! When I found out it was a beach, I was even more excited so decided to make that my last stop. North Bar Lake was calm and warm but very deep. I look 3 steps in and then the bottom fell away. Then I walked across a dune and there’s Lake Michigan in all its glory. The waves were huge! This is what I thought the ocean would be like but it was even better because this was freshwater. However, waves scare the crap out of me. I went in up to my ankles and the waves sucked me right in and they are relentless. I was so hot and grimy that I didn’t care at that point. By the time I surfaced and turned around to look at the beach I was a couple hundred feet away from my towel. Oops. I then tried to get out which proved difficult but finally the waves spat me out in a most ungraceful manner (but at least my bathing suit was in place). Normally when I travel I hate lingering anywhere but I was beat so I laid out on my towel for a while and enjoyed the crashing waves (the pic doesn't do it justice).I was still hungry though and decided I needed real sustenance so I stopped at a little cafĂ© in town for a sandwich. I was exhausted and starving but I had planned one more hike and because of where it was I thought it best to do on the way to my campground. It was a creepy hike because I kept hearing the tree branches above me creaking and swaying. I thought one would fall on my head. The overlook was pretty. It had a nice view of where I had just been swimming.

I ran back along the trail and nearly plowed over an Indian family. I sped down the road to check-in at my campsite and promptly devoured my delicious dinner. I considered going to fireworks (because it was July 4th) but the closest ones were about 20 minutes away and I was exhausted and facing a long day of driving the next day so I laid in my tent and listened to them. I gave up on my broken cot and just slept on the ground. It poured rain most of the night but luckily I stayed dry. The next day I headed out bright and early.

I made a stop in Frankenmuth, MI. Grandma Doyle said that they had stopped there on their way to Mackinac. It is famous for its Bavarian Inn where they have a glockenspiel (which I didn’t get to see go off). I wandered the gift shop and bought some strudel and a pretzel. It’s a cute tourist trap. Somehow that stop threw off Lee so I ended up on some back roads detour through farm country to get me back on the interstate. I always enjoy a good farm road though so I didn’t mind.

When I reached the Canada border crossing I had about a half hour wait which was a lot better than I was expecting. Driving across Canada it became increasingly hot and by the time I hit the U.S. border it was about 100 degrees (they kept exclaiming about the temperature on the radio while I was driving but I don’t understand Canadian). Ughh. I saw signs saying both the Lewiston and Fort Erie crossings were delayed a couple hours so I thought I’d take a chance and cross at the Rainbow Bridge which goes over Niagara Falls. However, that traffic was so backed up that I sat at a light and it kept turning green and red but traffic wouldn’t move. Thanks to Lee, I cut out of traffic ASAP and zipped through downtown and came out right across from where people were turning onto the bridge. I forced myself into line and waited 20 minutes to go back across which was awesome. I finally made it home about 5:30 pm after about 10 hours of driving. Overall, despite all my bitching about the state trying to harm its tourists, I’m glad I went to Michigan. It is a beautiful state with gorgeous coastlines and nice people but it was a bit too far to drive for a weekend trip (never thought I’d say that ;)