I was planning on posting this a few weeks ago when it was new, but you know how the demands of everyday life can supercede the need to post inconsequential material on the 'net. Sad, I know. But I will try to remember anyway. It's been a busy last couple of weeks. I'm beginning to learn the true meaning of the phrase 'TGIF!' Now that my job has gotten much more demanding since moving to the new office, I live for the proverbial Friday afternoon work whistle to let us all off the hook until Monday morning. For me, weekends are no longer about going to bars to drink and lose myself in a noisy crowd and a cloud of cigarette smoke. I now use those days to relax and catch up on all the sleep I missed during the week (and to watch football of course, but more on that later). However, the last few weekends were anything but relaxing. Last Saturday I had my cousin's bridal shower (not to mention a disappointing loss to Central Michigan) and immediately after, my whole family and I left for the Putzburgh, I mean
Pittsburgh area for my other cousin's baby's baptism. I was singing for the service, both solo and in the choir. The choir part went well, especially considering I'd never rehearsed with them before until that morning. My solo went well, too, except for a brief memory lapse in which I forgot half a verse to "How Great Thou Art." (I looked to my mom for some help but she just mouthed the rest of the words to the verse I'd just sang in error, so no help from her there!):) Oh, and on the way to the church that morning, we got behind a young guy who was weaving around the road erratically because he was busy picking his nose and flicking the goods out the window. Seeing that he was wearing a Steelers jersey, I dubbed him "Roethlisbooger." Funny stuff, I tell ya.
After Branden's baptism and a reception afterwards at Pam's house, we left to pick up some Primanti Brothers (a very customary thing to do whenever we're in reasonable driving distance from Pittsburgh) then drove home to see the animals and watch my husband (Tom Brady) try to beat the Colts' so-so defense. That was a bit heartbreaking to watch, but I still think my beloved Pats could still make it to Superbowl XLI.
So anyway, that was last weekend. The weekend before, I went on a road trip to someplace I've never been before but always wanted to see. My co-worker Gail (the nurse midwife) had recently lost Lunker, her Great Dane/Lab mix to a very sudden and previously-undiagnosed case of Addison's disease. She'd been grieving over him for about a month before she finally broke down and decided to get another dog through a Great Dane rescue group. But, alas, the group was not very cooperative with her, since one of her remaining 2 dogs had not been neutered yet and neither were up-to-date on heartworm meds. So, she did a search on "area" humane societies and shelters. And I use the term "area" loosely because she found a Great Dane/Lab mix on a website for a shelter in Michigan. She fell in love with him right there and called the shelter saying she wanted to take him home with her. Only after she'd already agreed to take him did she ask exactly where this shelter was located. It was up in Munising, MI, on the shores of Lake Superior...halfway between Canada and Wisconsin! We're talking an 8 1/2 hour drive! Well, she needed somebody to go with her so she wouldn't have leave him unattended in her car while making bathroom breaks on the road (he may be a puppy, but he's already over 100 lbs!). She asked my mom, but Mom was hesitant about being gone from work on Monday since she's still training our new Medical Assistant. When I heard she was going all the way to the upper peninsula, I volunteered to go because I'd never been there and wanted to cross that part of the country off my "to do" list.
We left on Sunday afternoon, between 1 and 2 pm. I'd brought plenty of CD's, DVD's, and Sudoku puzzles to pass the time. I also brought my camera with me, hoping to get some good shots of wild game or something. I think, up until then, Lansing was the farthest north I'd ever been in Michigan. So I was plenty excited to finally be seeing the Mackinac bridge. On our way up (between mile marker 100 and 107--I know because I checked!) we saw a large fuzzy animal laying dead on the side of the road. It was bigger and blacker than any roadkill I'd ever seen before, so we figured it had to be a bear. (I'd hoped to see a real bear during the trip, but I guess I should've specified to God that I wanted it to be a live one.) We also passed by a sign denoting the 45th parallel, which is the imaginary line on the northern hemisphere that lies exactly halfway between the equator and the north pole. I found that to be quite an interesting milestone! By the time we hit the northern part of the lower peninsula, the sun was setting and it was a combination of blues, pinks, and purples like I'd never seen before. I snapped several pictures of it just out of sheer awe. When we hit the Mackinac, it was already dark and the bridge was alight with thousands of colorful bulbs. There were disconcerting signs flashing 'High Winds--Reduce Speeds' right before we got on. I'd just heard a horror story that morning about a girl's car getting blown completely off the bridge, so I was a little nervous about crossing it, but no less in awe of its size and grandeur.
Once across the bridge, we were finally in the U.P.! But, we still had 2 more hours to go to get to Munising. (Gail joked that this dog had better be a good one!) We decided to stop to eat somewhere before continuing on up, and decided on a truck stop diner just off the main road. What an interesting place that was! For one thing, it's the first restaurant I've been to that puts the non-smokers in a small section towards the back (we're obviously a very small percent of their patronage). When I went to use the restroom, there was a bit of writing on the wall that said: "Pooping is for Pansies." I thought that was freaking funny, so I took a picture of that, too! The waitress had a very distinct accent that sounded almost Dutch. I wasn't sure if it was a regionalism or just her own personal speech. Also, I was feeling adventurous that night, being in a part of the country I'd never been to before. So, in keeping with trying new things, I decided to order one of their "world-famous" bison burgers. Yes, that's right! Me, Miss "Never Tries Anything New Especially When it Comes to Strange Food" ordered a burger made out of Buffalo meat. According to the menu, it's a low-fat, low-carb alternative to beef. And you know what? It tastes like beef but without all the fat. I only ate half of it, though, because I wanted Dad and Rob to try it. They usually like that kind of stuff and I figured they could appreciate the novelty of it.
Well, the rest of the scenery on up to Munising was quite lovely. Even in the dark, I could see how many trees the place had to offer. The road was only 2 lanes and we'd go up to half an hour without seeing another car...or any place of residence! I imagine I'd go stir crazy living that far out in the woods, away from civilization. But some people must love it. It was after 10 when we reached Munising. We were staying at a brand new Holliday Inn Express that had just opened less than a year ago. Judging by the empty parking lot, I think we were the only 2 guests there. It makes for wonderful personal attention, though. I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting very many amenities at a Holliday Inn Express, but I was quite pleasantly surprised! I didn't find any chocolates on the pillows or anything, but everything was very high-quality and clean. Gail decided to take advantage of the hot tub before retiring for the night, but I stayed in the room to catch the local news and call the fam to give them an update. (My signal up there was so weak, I had to stand by the glass door on the balcony to get anything.) I could hear the lake from the balcony but I couldn't see it, since it was completely pitch black out with maybe one streetlight below. I imagine this place must be full to the brim during the summer tourist season!
I watched a bit of the local news before going to bed, just to see what they had to report on. Most of their news comes from the Marquette area. I discovered that the UP very much thinks of themselves as their own state. Several political ads referred to events specific to "upper Michigan" and showed an American flag in the shape of the UP, as opposed to the entire state. Nothing earth-shattering, but I found it interesting enough to note.
We got up very early the next morning, hoping to pick Boomer up at the shelter by 9 and be back in Ohio by 5 or 6. Before getting ready, I took advantage of the sunrise to capture some beautiful scenery shots from out on the balcony. It was pretty chilly out there, but the lake was so still it looked like glass. I decided I had to come back sometime during the summer and do one of those glass bottom boat tours.
Downstairs, there was a room just off of the lobby with a full continental breakfast buffet, and the walls were adorned with framed pictures of the local scenery (most were for sale, by the way). There was also a fireplace in the corner, a large TV on a wall mantle playing a morning news show, and a large window that allowed you to look out at the lake while eating breakfast. I not only looked out at it, but I walked outside through the glass door to take more pictures. (Gail had to let me back in because it was locked on the outside) :) After a very filling breakfast, we checked out at the front desk (I took a picture of a large light fixture hanging in the lobby that was made entirely out of elk antlers) and asked the clerk for directions to the animal shelter. It turns out, her sister volunteered there so she knew right where to go! Not that we had many choices, though. The town is small enough that any nimrod could probably find his way around even without a compass. We stopped to gas up before going to the shelter. The gas station had those old-fashioned square-shaped pumps like they had in the 50's, and their window cleaner was in buckets on the sidewalk. It was quite nostalgic, actually! Made me think back to when my dad owned the Marathon station and my brother and I would take those window squeegies and dilligently clean the sides of the vending machines. Downtown Munising reminded me a lot of the town from the movie "My Cousin Vinny." It even had a large second-hand clothing store where I probably could've bought one of those maroon magician's suits. LOL! On the way to the shelter, we discussed which route to take back to Ohio. We could either go the more scenic route, the way we came, or drive to Sault Ste Marie and take I-75 all the way. I was in favor of Sault Ste Marie because then I will have seen every inch of I-75 from the top of Michigan to the southern point of Miami, FL. I figured it would make a nice little known fact about myself. After all, how many people can say they've done that?
Anyway, the shelter is a very modest white building with a kennel off to the side and some runs out front, in the parking area. The guy running it is a retired police officer from Chicago whose life-long dream was to operate an animal shelter in a small town, like Munising. While he took Gail out to the dog runs to meet Boomer, I went to the kitty cat room and talked with all the 'putties. There couldn't have been more than 20-30. Most of them were young and all of them were friendly. I assured them all they wouldn't have any touble finding homes! After greeting them, I went back to the front office to meet Boomer. Already he and Gail were getting aquainted, and seemed to have hit it off right away. He took to her immediately. She gave him treats while he scared the crap out of the kitty guarding the front desk. We stayed and talked to Don, the shelter owner, for a while. He told us about his experiences as a cop in Chicago, as well as his experiences running the shelter. I remarked to him that practically everyone we'd seen so far drives a truck. He told me that you practically have to have one up there. While we were chatting, a guy in one of the aforementioned pick-up trucks drove up in all thermal gear, reeking of cigarette smoke, and holding a cat carrier. He said he had a problem with the cat.
"What do you wanna do with it?" Don asked. The guy replied, "Get rid of it!" He explained it was his neighbors' cat and they went away for the winter and left it there, and he had no room for it, etc. So, the kitty got taken into the quarantine room for disease testing, hissing and looking terrified. I felt so bad for her, I wanted to just take her home with me. But I told myself to stay strong, no matter how heartbreaking it is. :(
It was well after 10 by the time we left with Boomer in tow. He got settled in the backseat (everytime he leaned forward, he got slobber on my hair) while Gail and I began our journey back down to the mainland. We decided to go to Sault Ste Marie, just so I'd be able to say I've seen both ends of 75. It was quite a proud moment for me! The drive home took longer due to Boomer's frequent need for bathroom breaks. But, we stopped at a few scenic rest stops with some really beautiful views. One stop nearly ended in disaster, though. I went inside the building to fill Boomer's bowl with water and, while I was at it, got myself a cup of hot cocoa from the vending machine. When I came back out, I held onto Boomer's leash so Gail could go inside to the bathroom. While she was in there, a kamikaze gnat came around and flew into my eye! Of course, my natural instinct was to squeeze my eye shut, driving it deeper underneath my eyelid. So, I'm standing there half-blind with a bug in my eye, holding onto a hyper, 100+ lb dog in one hand with a cup of steaming hot liquid in the other. I set the cocoa down on the sidewalk (which Boomer promptly licked and burnt his tongue) then attempted to dig my compact out of my purse to pull the gnat out of my orbital socket. I got it out and was none the worse for wear, but it was an unsettling indicent. (Ick! Can you imagine if it had laid eggs in my eye and they'd travelled up to my brain? Later, I might be thinking I was getting a good idea, but it would just be the eggs hatching. Thank you, Jack Handy!) :)
The trip home continued uneventfully (except for when Gail accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up in downtown Detroit--I'm still not sure how that even happened!). I called Mom at work once to update her on our progress, and found out it had been a hell of a day at work. I felt a little guilty over not being there to help, but I certainly didn't envy them!
We didn't get back into town until after 6, so we went back to Gail's place and had Mom and Dad pick me up there with Kirbles and Kisses. I was so happy so see Kirby! It felt like we'd been away from each other much longer than 24 hours. She was so excited to see me, she piddled a bit on the wooden floor. She got to meet Boomer and all Gail's other animals (2 more dogs, a cat, a bird, and some fish). She and Boomer actually seemed to like each other. When I held Kirby in up my arms, they were actually at eye level. Unfortunately, the other 2 dogs (both males) needed a while to get used to this huge stranger. They growled at him, warningly, to make sure he knew his place in the pack. But, when Gail took them all out for a walk, they were perfectly fine. So, it looks like things are going to work out for him there.
Back in BG, on the other hand, things are looking grim, particularly in the football area. After a devastating (and humiliating, I might add) loss to Temple--a team that was on a 20-game losing streak--we were unable to turn things around against Akron, the defending MAC East champs. We also suffered a heartbreaker of a loss to Miami last week at the Doyt. Apparently, Shawn Ellis' slip and subsequent missed FG not only cost us our chance at a .500 season, but also cost a guy in the nation's capital a bet! Tonight, we go up against our enemy of all enemies: That School Up North, a.k.a. Bancroft High. If we fail to dominate against a team who's 2-5 in the MAC this year, then we will have lost all shreds of dignity and will have to go hang ourselves naked from the goalposts...or just rant and pout incessantly until next season. Yeah, let's go with that!
