To Mackinaw City, Upper Peninsular, Michigan.
I had a Bev dream last night. Bev had been ill, and sleeping much of the time, but now had recovered it seems, and was really pissed with me as I hadn’t previously told her about Jerry and his hospitalizations and very recent surgery to remove the small mass from his brain. I tried to explain that I hadn’t told her because she hadn’t been well and had been sleeping a lot, and I didn’t want to upset her. This sort of helped, but Bev was still annoyed with me and put out, which I think is pretty much how Bev would have reacted in real life had I not shared important information with her. Okay… now on to real life.
Today was a very a different day of driving. Not at first, but as I neared and then entered Michigan, taking state route 8 east, the highway became far more wooded , sometimes with thick green leaved evergreens, sometimes with bare trees, and sometimes with trees colored with autumn foliage, but far more forested, and in the summer the woods would be even thicker.
I actually didn’t even realize I’d entered Michigan, until I saw a cannabis shop near the highway, and I realized this must be Michigan. It’s like when you enter a fireworks state from a non-fireworks state, and as soon as you cross the state line there’s a couple of fireworks stores.
But things got even more interesting as route 8 turned into route 41 north for a short while and then route 2 east, and I turned a bend and, quite unexpectedly, the shoreline of Lake Michigan burst into view. Actually, it was Green Bay, which is a bay of Lake Michigan. Wow was my experience, as it just popped up when I wasn’t expecting it, and from then on the drive was along the lake coastline, along route 2, or Top of the Lake Scenic Drive, following the western and then northern shoreline of Lake Michigan.
Now the drive was quite different. From flat grasslands and then along wooded state highways to now driving along a wide open coastline. What a change. Now I was traveling along the northern edge of Lake Michigan and the southern shore of the Upper Peninsular of Michigan, heading toward St. Ignace. Up ahead, I could see Mackinac Bridge, which not only spans the confluence of Lake Michigan to the west and Lake Huron to the east, but also connects the Upper Peninsular to the Lower Peninsular, and leads to Mackinaw City where I’ll be staying the next two nights.
Before crossing the Mackinac Bridge, which in totality is almost 5 miles long, I stopped in St. Ignace and drove and walked around for a while, getting the feel. I hadn’t really thought too hard about what this area might look like, but almost immediately the area put me in mind of the New England shoreline and its seaside towns; not quite the same, but not very different, and with the same feel. If I didn’t know where I was, I would have maybe guessed Maine. St. Ignace is small, with just one main street, and at this time of year pretty empty.
After my short visit to St. Ignace, I drove over the bridge to Mackinaw City. Although it’s almost 5 miles from start to finish, the actual suspension bridge is a little over 1½ miles.
Again, I’m not sure quite what I’d imagined Mackinaw City would like, but the “city” part made me think it might be bigger and more bustling than it actually is. I imagine during the season, which is clearly over, it is bustling, and then some, but it isn’t now, and although not empty, it’s pretty quiet. Although larger than St. Ignace, it’s still not a large town, with one main downtown street and surrounding downtown streets, with a small outdoor mall just off the main street.
I drove and walked around a while, enjoying the town, and frankly the fact that it was pretty empty, and checked out the Mackinac Island ferry, as I plan to visit the island tomorrow, which doesn’t allow motorized vehicles, so it’s a walking or biking island (although I can’t imagine renting a bike, as it’s been so long since I’ve been on one). I also hope to take a visit back over the bridge ($4 each way) and head up a little further into the Northern Peninsular, which is described as lovely and deeply forested.
I’m far now from the spectacular. rugged, and awe inspiring views of the south west, north west, and west coast, which I’ve been among for weeks and weeks now. This area, of course, is beautiful, but it doesn’t have the same power and breathtaking quality, for me, at least. Areas like this are must see for those wanting to see America, but they don’t match up to the incredible views and landscapes of the west. I miss the west already. Remember what Jim Morrison said: “The West is the best.”
With respect to going home, although I continue to feel unmotivated to be there, I think it’s time to be back and then see what’s what, and figure out what’s next. I realize that a large part of not wanting to go home is that once I’m home I’m going to have to figure things out, at least for the immediate future. This trip has put that off in a way. The trip, not only filling all sorts of purposes and needs for me, has also been the thing I’m doing. It takes up every day, it’s given shape to my day and life, it’s given purpose, if only temporarily, and it is the thing I’m doing. Once I’m home, I don’t have a plan or set of activities I’ll be doing each day. Once I’m home, I really will have to figure how now what. But, the thing is, I don’t have a clue.
As Bev’s condition continued to decline and it became more and more clear there would be an end to that journey, I knew that when that time came I would go from having a very defined and purposeful life to, literally overnight, having no definition or purpose at all. All the options for what I might do, where I might be, would flash through my mind, but I would disregard them and not think more about it as there was no point, but I knew I would have to consider all those options and make choices once Bev passed. But I wouldn’t have to deal with any of that until the time came. And then the time came.
This trip has, in a way, been a distraction from having to choose between life options and pick one. Now, though, once home I am going to have to think about which option to take, although I know that none are necessarily permanent. But I know I can’t just sit around the house all day. That time, the time for decision making, even temporarily, is drawing closer as I draw closer to being home.