Unexpected Pleasure

August 28, 2026

Sometimes when we’re traveling, we get a wild hair to do something different. Like when we were in South Dakota and decided to pivot through Wyoming and see the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. What fun that was! And on Day 11 of this trip, we did it again!

Neither of us had been to Milwaukee’s American Family Field so we went to see the Brewers play the Mariners. It was too bad they weren’t playing the Cardinals, but it was still a baseball game at a cool stadium.

After a little frustration figuring out the parking app and then at the gate trying to negotiate the online ticket system, we finally made it to our seats. And they were very nice seats indeed! Right above the announcer’s booth!

Terry was in baseball heaven!

And I was pretty happy as well because my favorite Cardinal player from last year is now a Mariner. Too bad he cut his hair. He just didn’t look the same, wearing a different color and having lost his beautiful locks. But I silently cheered for him anyway (I was sitting next to a true Brewer’s fan that I didn’t want to upset) and he had three hits!

During the last Cards game we attended, several foul balls came fairly close to us so of course I googled the seats we were going to be in to see if we needed to be as alert. I found out it would be rare, so I relaxed about that.

Don’t believe everything google says. The guy sitting right behind Terry ended up with a ball that my favorite Mariner player fouled back! Oh, how I wanted that ball!

I settled for a ballpark hotdog and a lemonade. Not quite the same.

The Brewers won the game, and we hung out for a while waiting for the traffic to settle down as it was rush hour at that point.

The photo above was the only one I took that day. Don’t worry, Terry took a few more which he will share with you on Instagram!

The next few days we mostly relaxed and explored one really cool place we already want to revisit. Check it out in my next post!

 

A Day of Rest

August 26, 2026

Even though Day 10 was a Wednesday, we used it as a day of rest. Since we didn’t have far to drive to our next overnight, one of our absolute favorite locations—Door County, Wisconsin, we decided to have breakfast there.

We headed to Scaturo’s in Sturgeon Bay and had the big room in the back almost to ourselves. It was nice and quiet! We ordered electronically from our table, and the food was promptly delivered. . . I had the delicious quiche with a side of fruit while Terry enjoyed a huge plate of biscuits with gravy, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Then we visited the bakery side of the establishment, and I grabbed a huge piece of cherry pie (which I had been craving since we visited Door County LAST month!).

Our bellies full, we then checked in with our favorite Harvest Host Selina at Bay Marine, just up the street. It almost felt like coming home to be back at that wonderful location!

It was a bit too cool this time to get into the pool, so we did our laundry and took a delightful nap.

We then walked up the street to Kitty O’Reilly’s Irish Pub for dinner.

After a wonderful night’s sleep, it was time for another adventure! You’ll never guess where we went the next day, but I’ll give you a hint: we didn’t wear Cardinal Red!

 

Crossing the Bridge

August 25, 2026

Day 9 of our journey unfortunately dawned cloudy with rain moving in. Terry had wanted to get good photos of us crossing the Mighty Mac, the 5-mile-long suspension bridge that connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The forecast said there would be heavy rain for several hours. The photo opportunity was not looking good.

But we had to get to the other side and continue to our next destination, so we set out anyway. We stopped to get gas, and I wondered why the price was so high, $4.69/gallon, when a little man appeared with his step ladder. He proceeded to clean our huge windshield for us with his little scrubbie sponge and paper towels! I can’t remember the last time a gas station provided that service.

As we paid the $4 toll and headed onto the bridge, the sun came out! And the pictures didn’t turn out so bad after all.

We stopped for a late breakfast at the Beary Patch near Engadine. I had the veggie skillet (it even had broccoli!) with homemade bread. It was so tasty!

And the drive along Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula was absolutely stunning!

We stopped several times along the way to walk the shoreline including at Lakeview Park in Manistique where the beach was sandy with large rocks, with the East Breakwater Lighthouse in the distance. Even the McDonalds in Manistique had a lake view!

We stopped again at the Menominee North Pier Lighthouse. Terry got some great photos!

Before we knew it, we were at our Harvest Host spot for the night at Ahnapee Brewery in Suamico, just north of Green Bay. We grabbed dinner at the 888 Cheese & Co next door and Terry got some beer and we settled in for a rest.

The next day we spent some time in one of our favorite places. . . stay tuned!

 

Why Do I Do This to Myself?

August 22, 2026

Michigan’s Mackinac Island sees 1 million visitors each year. And on Day 8 of our latest journey, we were two of those million.

Our excursion to the motor-vehicle-free resort island had some truly enjoyable moments. From the stunning scenery we saw while tricycling the island’s 8.2 mile perimeter to the free tasting available in 13 fudge shops (no, we didn’t try them all!) to the amazing views of Mighty Mac (the 5-mile-long suspension bridge that connects Michigan’s Lower Peninsula to its Upper Peninsula).

And we could not have asked for better weather. . . mostly sunny with a bit of breeze and a high temperature in the mid-70s.

And to hear clip clop clip clop of horses’ hooves instead of cars, trucks and motorcycles. . . priceless!

But it could have been better. If only my anxiety hadn’t gotten in the way.

You see, being an older female, my body sometimes doesn’t function as well as it used to. And anxiety tends to make certain situations worse. It was over 8 miles around the island with only 1 bathroom stop at the half-way point. No problem, right?

I thought I had it all planned out. I did my research. I studied the facts. With a destination as popular as this one I knew we would need to get up early, take the first ferry of the day to the island, be the first in line to rent a bicycle, and bike around the island before we did our shopping and before it got so crowded. It was going to be a “perfect day” because I knew what I was doing.

Some of you may remember Terry’s post from February of this year about how our plans are not necessarily God’s plans. Check out that post if you’re new here or don’t remember it. . . it’s a real eye-opener.

We did get up early that day. We were on that first ferry to the island (which I still highly recommend). But because of the undue stress I put on myself, the ride around the island was pretty miserable for me. All I could really think about was if I was going to make it to the pit stop.

And I did. Thank you, God.

But I missed out on the joy of the day.

Has this ever happened to any of you?

I went through the motions of checking things off my game plan. We biked around the island. We sampled the fudge. We bought souvenirs. But an unsettled feeling lingered and then guilt crept in because I felt like I had spoiled the “perfect” day for Terry.

In the several discussions about this trip we’ve had since then, Terry continues to say it was still a good day. We came away with lots of unique memories and wonderful photos. And it was a learning experience for both of us. He’s becoming better at understanding what it’s like to have anxiety and I’m learning to communicate how it feels when it tries to control me.

It certainly wasn’t the easy going, enjoy the day as it happens kind of pleasure Terry and I prefer. Maybe next time I will remember:

Isaiah 56:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”

And hopefully next time, I’ll leave my anxiety behind.

 Off to the Races

August 21, 2026

Day 7 began with a rooster crowing at 6am. . . I thought this was a horse farm!

While Terry enjoyed his pot of coffee, I enjoyed the company of one of the vineyard’s resident horses. For those of you who don’t know, horses and cats (domestic and wild) are my favorite animals!

Then we packed up and headed up to Petosky, home of Michigan’s official state stone which is a 350-million-year-old fossilized coral famous for its distinct six-sided, star-like pattern.

While we didn’t find a Petosky Stone, we did find a delightful healthy food cooperative where we enjoyed a couple of very tasty blueberry muffins. And Terry had another cup of coffee!

As we were heading out of town, I asked how about we check out that little park across the street?

At first, it just looked like a parking lot with an overlook to Little Traverse Bay. But then we saw the staircase going down. . . 65 steps. . . to the most wonderful park with a waterfall, flower gardens, and an amazing view of the bay!

We waited our turn to get some photos of the waterfall, but we were in no hurry. Then we headed off to our next campsite in Mackinaw City.

Can you guess where we went the next day?

A Challenging Day

August 21, 2026

Six days into our journey and I wasn’t feeling quite myself.

Terry enjoyed a pot of coffee and then we hit the road, heading on up the Michigan coastline. We attempted to eat a decent breakfast at a couple of cafes in Ludington, but the wait time was longer than we wanted. We should have known as it was a Saturday. McD’s to the rescue!

We then stopped at Traverse City as there was an item I was interested in purchasing but wanted to check it out in person before I committed to the item. More on that later.

There were so many people in town walking around, enjoying the beautiful late summer day. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t feeling it.

So, we made our way to Charlevoix, a charming town on an isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix where we stopped for a midafternoon snack of beer (Terry) and wings.

Then we set up camp for the night at our Harvest Host, the Blu Dot Vinyard, which used to be home to a horse farm. In fact, we parked on the oval that used to be a racetrack. A couple of horses grazed in the pasture nearby and there was a lovely breeze blowing that seemed to rejuvenate me. I worked on writing several posts and finished my second book of this trip.

The vineyard came alive that evening with a crowd of wine/beer and music lovers when a live band began playing. Terry and I grabbed our lawn chairs and parked ourselves in the shade with the others and enjoyed music by the Jelly Roll Blues Band.

We met another traveling couple parked next to us, the Bufkin’s, and swapped scenic travel recommendations. Then we munched on a huge pretzel with cheese and watched the clouds roll in.

The next day held several delightful surprises!

 

Another Day, Another Lighthouse

August 19, 2026

The 5^th day of our latest trip began quite and healthy. My sweet Hubbie made my favorite avocado toast for breakfast.

We then headed to Grand Haven South Pierhead Lights. The Outer Light was just extensively renovated and is currently open for public tours from 10am-5pm, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We showed up on a Friday. But we still enjoyed the walk out to the lights even though it was quite warm that day.

If you also wish to visit this lighthouse, note that it sits in Grand Haven State Park which is in Grand Haven city limits. This park has right-on-the-beach camping available. The campground was packed tightly with rigs of all sizes stacked right next to each other. Not our kind of campground. But it was just a short walk to the beach and the lighthouse.

We were fortunate to find a parking spot on the street just outside the park. It was a longer walk but we didn’t have to pay for a Michigan State Park sticker.

To refresh, we lunched at Lucy’s where I enjoyed their flatbread pizza and Terry had the Lakeshore Special (a fancy turkey sandwich).

We went back to our campsite on a much smaller lake and did a couple loads of laundry, enjoying the peace and relative quiet.

And then. . . a large multi-family group checked in to the four sites next to ours. And they had several children. . . two boys of which decided to play King of the Mountain on top of one of their cars that was right next to our van. . . for a couple of hours.

One of the little girls wanted to join them but her mom wouldn’t let her.

But this was our last night at this campground.

You won’t believe what awaited us at our next stop!