Happy Annversary on the River, watching boats

August 2 ,, Bob and Mary Wedding anniversary.. We decided to spent it on the river watching the boats yet again. It seems the Port Huron Area is the best spot we have found on the Great Lakes for watching. We were real lucky today, the river was very busy. Nine freighters,a car ferry, passenger ferry, excursion "tall ship", tug boat and barge, coast guard training vessel and sherriff rescue boats. In St Clair City we found a State Park right on the river where are considering cammping in the motor home and just sitting and marking off the rest of our 'Know Your Ships" book.
Above is the Adam Cornelius a680 foot self unloader.

Tub boat trying to stay ahead of the freighters.

People who live along the river get to have docks and water toys to play on right in the same water as the Big Ships pass.

We get to see the Sheriff Department Rescue Diver practice dives in the City of St. Clair. There is this great park right on the main street.

Ready. Set, Jump !!!!!!!

See the Teens floating in the 4 mph current in the background. They get to float 1/2 mile and then climb a 12-15 foot ladder up the sea wall and walk the board walk back to the begining. This is all visable in the background including the teens walking back in picture where diver is getting ready to jump.

Car Ferry makes trips to Canada ,ducking in between the freighters..

Pleasure boats looks so small..

Passenger Ferry makes for lots of activity on the river. This one runs to the Casino in Canada. I wonder if you need a passport to get on board?

The Victoria, a cargo ship that carries railroad cars.

The Highlander Sea , a 154 foot excursion ship based in Port Huron. You can take a couple hour ride down the river. While I was taking pictures of the freighters , the Highlander Sea came and docked right where I was standing. The Captain did a good job of getting her to the dock but of course the side mounted propellers help a bit. I could use those on the pontoon.

Boat Races =Bay City, Michigan

Bob,Mary, Tom, Jean , today,the fearless foursome adventure to Bay City for Boat Races called "The River Roar".


This is how they look pulling away from the starting line headed dowwwn to the first and second turn. Around the u-turn and "coming at ya"

Two boats touch and crash. One goes high in the air and is caught on camera by Tom coming back down into the water. Safety and Rescue crews are right there but are not needed except for the tow back to the dock side pits.

It was a hot day so the Ladies in Red find a small amount of shade and take up residence for the rest of the afternoon following the shade.

Spending time at the Small Mall

An afternoon at Small Mall/Perani Museum..Wow,, who knew that such a collection of treasures of old and odd items were gathered for us to reminisce over. All displays are NOT labeled or explained. There was some guessing as to what some things were used for or why someone even made such a thing. Then there were all the goodies that brought back memories.....

Also one of the unlabeled items I was drawn to because I just acquired my paddle boat. I believe it is an early racing boat , I see the hand devise turns paddles instead of using oars.







These are wooden peddle horses [like a tricycle] with medal pipes attached to a center that turns and the horses travel around on a wood track. They are self propelled and No Training Wheels..

Here is a strange combination ,, a horse mounted in a Rolls Royce. You sit in the saddle and use the steering wheel on horses neck to "drive". There is a lever to use to shift but not sure where the gas and brake are located..

This Eagle attacked Mary and Jean came to the rescue.
Who can remember the Burma-Shave signs along the highways and what a treat it was to get to the rhyme on the last sign.

Bob Perani, who owns all this lives on the same street as My Sister Carol. A very nice man.

If you come visit me we will go see this interesting Mall..

A Day at the Lake

Kristy got a new fishing pole and it looks like she is going to follow right along with the family tradition. She has her own system for catching fish , she stands on the end of the dock and drops pieces of bread [her bait]into the water then puts some bread rolled into a small ball on her hook and drops hook and bread into water and "walla" here comes a catch. She called it the "trick the fish method".

Our Unibomber look a like [Alex] never comes up empty handed. Like a true fisherman she keeps her special tricks to herself.

A typical evening in the Bill's front yard always includes food of some kind.


Sage rescued a tree frog from the lake and showed Carson before setting it free under the deck. This week was catch and release..

The Outlaws come to Michigan

Friday July 27 , the "comedy crew" headed for I 96 Speedway at Lake Odessa, Michigan for the famous World of Outlaw sprint car races on the DIRT!!!! This trip our group consisted of Mary,Bob, Tom, Jean, Brett their son , Jayson the son-in-law and Ken who used to work with Brett. It has been a long time since we have been to the Outlaw races. These races are the Top Flight races of the open wheel cars. Mary and Bob have spent years following this group all around the country.

thEven though you tell them they could get dirty the first timers don't get that you will be eating dirt!! After we all look at each other and point and laugh only to be pointed at right back..

Thanks to Tom ordering early we get seats on the top row of the bleachers where we can stand if we like and see over everyone else. The down side is there are lots of steps to climb. Mary tries not to drink too much so she only does the stairs one time. The younger ones do not mind the climb and partake in food and drink.

Mary and Bob's favorite driver, Steve Kinser put on a real show. He crashed in his heat , had to go to a back up car and start last in the B main. He worked his way through the field and won. This feat allows him to start last/[24th] in the feature. He tried real hard but ended up ninth.

"Working Woody" is ooperated by Carol and Art [Woody] . They started out 20 years ago as volunteers and are now a part of the WoO crew. They are the first ones to the scene of a crash and have saftey equipment on board. They also push start cars to get them going again. These cars have no starters and must get a push to get running.

The races are one of the many good times together.

Hinkley

We arrived at the Grand Inn of Hinkley at 1 PM and was able to check in right away. The flowers, golf course and campground are all well kept and very spacious. Our room was large and on the first floor.. We soon learned the routine goes like this; Breakfast from 7:30 -10-30, free time to socialize and visit the casino. There is a shuttle bus that runs every 15 minutes 24/7. Of course you can drive your own car or walk the sidewalk. Is is a bout 1/2 mile.

Four PM back to the Inn for Happy Hour where there are tables of food that we all brought. Crock pots with hot food come with the people who live a few hours away, and the rest us of provide the chips , salsa, cheese, and there are always the sweets..Got to love Senior Citizens and their deserts.

Our group of 70 have the hospitality room with french doors that let us spill out onto the patio with wicker furniture with comfy striped cushions. Ceiling fans keep us cool.

On Wednesday George and Lavonne ,Wallin Don and Bea Ringbloom and Bob and Mary Bills went to the casino restaurant for a good time over food. While Mary fumbled with the camera a nice gentleman next to us offered to take our picture. When he started posing us and moving us "a little more to the right, lean back a bit", I knew he would get a good picture of all of us. After eating too much, we say good-by, drive safe and we will see you in 3 months, back in Texas..

Bob and Mary and a handful of others stay another night and check out on Thursday and head east on two lane hwy 8 across Wisconsin towards Michigan. We get to the Island Resort Casino at Bark River Michigan and check in to another nice room. Island Cascino is pretty new or just remodeled. Our room was 70.00 and we got 10.00 each to play the machines and 10.00 each "match play". Mary won her 10.00 back in the machine and lost Bob's 10. Bud and Evelyn are staying at the Evergreen Motel about a mile away and take the van to spent a couple hours at the Casino.. They are surprised when Mary walks up to them as they did not know we are staying there. Mary and Evelyn are entertained by a few different machines. At midnight Bud and Evelyn take the van back to their motel ,we say "goodby, we will see you back at the ranch"!!!!

Taking a side trip to the Soo locks to look for more freighters to mark in our book. We sit in the Sault Ste. Marie city park and watch the car ferry makes trips to Sugar Island right in front of us every 10 minuntes. The current here is swift and the Ferry Captain uses his engines to reverse and thrust to get the boat right into the dock. We can tell he has done this many times. Mary thinks her pontoon docking is a piece of cake compared to the car Ferry. No freighters come by but it was enjoyable anyway.

An hour later we are crossing the Mackinaw Bridge, always a good thing, and back to Fenton at 10 PM.

Fenton to Hinkley, about 750 miles, a good trip !!!!!

Duluth

Duluth/Hinkley

Mary and Bob left Fenton Saturday July 14, in light rain, going to the Texas reunion in Hinkley Mn, by way of Duluth; we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge with a moderate wind warning for RVs and trucks. There was one freighter crossing under the bridge and one coming in the distance. We exit the Expressway onto Highway 2 west with good views of Lake Michigan. At Blaney Park we turned north to Mi-28. Not many cars or people.

We had to stop on the road for a family of birds, not sure what they were but they were big. Our guess is geese but they are white like a swan. When we turned around to get pictures they were crossing the the road and traffic stopped in both directions.

We drove 500 plus miles to Ironwood, Mi for the first night. Stayed at an older motel that had a sign saying “welcome bikers”. A few bikers were there and the price was right, for 40.00, we got a fridge and Microwave. We fit right in.

Sunday night we stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Duluth and were very impressed with the town and all there is to do there. We took a Harbor tour aboard the Vista Star and learned so many interesting facts about the area.

There are three bridges, the Lift Bridge which had to rise for us to go under, the High Bridge that the freighters pass below and the Richard Bong Bridge. The Canal Park Parkway goes 5 miles along the water and is a bike walking path. It is a well used and well maintained area with fantastic views.

Duluth is a town built on a hill side. From Skyline Parkway Drive I took many pictures which do not do justice to the beautiful views.

On the boat tour we see three freighters. The Cason J Callaway being filled with iron ore and the St Clair who just unloaded 30 new stainless steel wind turbines, that will be erected around the area.
The James R Barker is 1004 feet long, one of the largest vessels on the great lakes, being loaded with coal at 3 ton a second. [The Callaway]



Market Square is a good place to stroll and sit and watch people go by. The pond and fish statues of the “Muskie “spitting water seem to catch the eye of everyone. Each child passing can not resist sticking his finger, hand or head into the flowing stream of water.





We ate supper at Grandma’s Sports Garden Bar & Grill. It was a very large place with all sports covered. There is an Ice boat hanging from the ceiling and a 30 foot rowing skiff over our heads. An old air plane is suspended; a race car is mounted on one wall. A Hockey scoreboard is in the corner and TV’s with baseball games are all around. I spy a sign I had never seen but made us laugh. You can Text Message the DJ for your favorite song. Is the place too big to find the DJ, or do you just want to be anonymous? The phone number is on the sign.



After making our waffle at the breakfast bar in hotel we drive around town once more vowing to return, we go south 75 miles on highway 35 for Hinkley.

our trip around michigan's thumb

Our trip around the thumb of Michigan.

Thursday, June 21, Tom, Jean, Bob and Mary set out for a scenic road trip. We headed to Port Huron and stop at Arbys to pick up our picnic lunch. We went to the park on the river and ate at a sunny spot, not to be detoured by the brisk wind and chilly temputures. Watching for the freighters Mary has her “Know your Ships” book in hand and is anxious to start marking them off .. We watch a few pleasure boats and then spot a big ship coming south under the bridge.. Grabbing the spy glasses Mary hands the book to Jean and waits to spot the name on the front of the ship.. It is American Fortitude, [690ft]
the same ship we seen in April at the Soo Locks. We see another tied at the dock across the river in Canada and mark it in the book. It is the Agawa Canyon..[647 ft]

Jean and Mary convince the boys to make a stop at the Mary Maxim, a craft store before leaving Port Huron. Jean gets some cotton yarn and the boys act bored.

North on Michigan hwy 25, we drive and go for miles and not see another car. We only get peeks at the water between cottages as we drive. Stopping at a few roadside parks provide us the opportunity to get out and stretch and view the water and marvel at how big the lake is and listen to the waves crashing on the beach. Tom must be getting hungry from the groans we hear when we pass a Dairy Queen or an Ice Cream shop. We stop in Harbor Beach on the main street and are the only ones in the local Ice Cream shop.

We continue on to Grindstone city where Mary misdirects us onto a small road around the actual city so we only see a few large grindstones lining some driveways. In Port Austin we pull into a Marina and see 3 boats moored at the docks and one truck and trailer in the large empty parking lot. We see a young man working and ask,” when is the busy season” and he laughs and says “NOW”, it is the week end before July 4th.

One small town we drive through has not a soul on the streets or not one car park on the streets of the town. It is 6 PM on Thursday. We finally see one boy about 8 years old walking alone with a milk carton filled with clothes. Is he the only one left in this town?

Caseville has a bit of activity going on and we stop to take pictures of the jet skis and boat lifts far out in the water. You must get wet before going for a ride. Mary reminisces about her camping days in a tent at the state park. There are many growing up memories
here.
South of Caseville we drive out to Sand Point. Mary tells us you can walk on the end of the point and look back at the shore line for al long ways. It is a few miles out to the end. Homes fill both sides of the road. When we reach the end there is a new development with building lots and homes up to 1 .3 million for sale.. We see a deer run across the road onto the beach with no where to go. Improvements are not always a good thing. We see lots of deer in the farmer’s fields on the ride today.
Back south to Lapeer and stop in Davison at Whitey’s for a fish dinner. Home at 11 PM. What a great day for a ride and talking and sharing laughs with good friends.
Back south to Lapeer and stop in Davison at Whitey’s for a fish dinner. Home about 11 PM. What a great day for a ride and talking and sharing laughs with good friends.

Fire in Linden

After hearing about the fire in Linden so many memories came flooding back and I had to share them.. Only two months ago I read my Grandma Risk's diary from 2 of the years she lived there. Those years were 1943 and 1944.. Life then was very different. From before I was born until I was 11 years old my Grandmother and Great Grandmother lived upstairs in the apartment over the Drug store in the building that burned. My Grandma , Edna Risk, worked at the post office until she retired..Great Grandma Allen would sit in her chair by the front window and watched the goings-on down on the street. She did not go out much. I had 2 Aunts and Mother and Father that lived in the Apartment off and on also. When I was born that is the place I first lived. Sometime in my first year of life there was also a fire in the building. I am told that I was carried down in a dresser drawer and set on the sidewalk while other furnishings and other family treasures were brought to safety. The fire did not end up damaging our apartment. Other things I remember were the 2 stoves in the Kitchen/laundry area. One was wood burning and one was for coal. Grandma called one the laundry stove as she would heat water for the wringer washer on this stove. Coal was delivered to the back alley and hefted up to the back porch by bucket with a pully system and dumped into a metal 'horse trough' until needed. The back porch was always scary to me as I thought it was rickety and would collapse at any time. What did I know as it lasted for many years. It had a metal roof over it. Front to back were the front room/pallor, living room, dinning room . Parallel to them on the west side was Grandma Allen's bedroom, "the dark room" , Grandma Risk's room . The Kitchen and bath were across the back with a door and stairs going down to the Alley. The front stairs were off the main street , they were steep and were shared by the apartment to the east. Some times a stranger [usually one who had been drinking at the beer garden] would wander up the stairs and come into Grandma's door. When we would come to visit we would always go to the Mill Pond and watch the ducks. The water rushing through the gates kept our attention..Thanks for letting me remember and share

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