8/16/07 (Thursday): When I got off work last night, I asked Wiley what time I worked today. He looked up Friday on our schedule, told me I worked 9 to noon, and I got up this AM and got ready for work. Both of us were firmly convinced it was Friday. We were sitting by the window, talking to Mag on the phone, when I saw JoAnn, one of the office Workampers, report for work. After a little confusion, I figured out that today is Thursday, not Friday, and I don't go to work until 1 PM. You know you're retired and having a great adventure when the day of the week doesn't seem all that important!!

Anyhow, here are some pictures from our latest mini adventure along the shores of Lake Huron. We traveled around Michigan's "thumb" (look at this map and you'll see what I mean). Map. We spent the first night in a nondescript (but clean) motel between Saginaw and Port Sanilac. Then we drove around the thumb on Rt. 25 to Bay City, where we spent our second night in a really nice Sleep Inn. It had an indoor pool and hot tub. We also enjoyed watching some cable TV (we only get 4 channels with our antenna in the campground).

Lake Huron had mostly flat beaches (unlike Lake Michigan's impressive sand dunes). There were more boulders and rocks than on the Lake Michigan shore, though. It was a warm, sunny day, but there was a stiff breeze and some rough surf.








We saw several lighthouses (of course)! This one is the Port Sanilac Light. The keeper's house was completely covered with ivy. The lighthouse was built in 1886. It's an octagonal brick tower with a flared top created by "stair-stepping" the rows of bricks. The keeper's house was connected to the light by a covered passageway, and it had the same stair-stepped detail as the lighthouse.







We poked around on the beach for a while and also walked around town. I love all the brick houses in Michigan and the Victorian details on even modest houses.










Our next stop was Harbor Beach. There's a lighthouse there, too, but it can't be seen from shore. But the Port Aux Basques lighthouse (the next stop), was fantastic. Wiley fished for a little while and I wandered around and enjoyed the scenery.

The final stop for the day was in Port Austin. The lighthouse there (Port Austin Reef Light) sits way out in the water. You can barely see it in the middle of the picture way out on the horizon. The other structure is a channel marker that sits out on the end of a breakwater. As you can see, the waves were really crashing on the breakwater.






After a relaxing evening in Bay City, we headed home, with a stop at Hardy Dam on the way. Hardy Dam was built in the early 1900's and is one of a string of dams. It was considered an engineering marvel in its time.








Land all along the Muskegon River has been set aside for fishing, hiking and boating. We hiked a 3-mile nature trail. It was lovely--there were a number of small creeks and great views of the river.













We've been enjoying our bird feeders--lots of goldfinches, and even a hummingbird. But I was thrilled to spot this cedar waxwing in one of the towns we walked through. There was a whole flock of them, and I'd never seen one before.








We also got a kick out of this old house and car. It's now a bed and breakfast called "Garfield House." President Garfield stayed there with friends.















This was an altogether relaxing trip. Hope you enjoyed traveling with us!