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With Steve Kellerman's expert tuition I 'Rainexed' the windscreen without
touching the paint work as the outlook for the next couple of days was rain!
This is the first time I have ever been allowed to touch 'The Morgan' and
Richard was rather alarmed when I told him what I had done, but was soon
mollified when I told him it had been achieved with “expert” guidance. The
mosquitoes are still very much in evidence, so definitely a DEET day today.
I had breakfast with Linda Cannon and Alan Marsh who most gallantly tried to
find me strawberry jam to accompany my English muffins, he rifled through
baskets on every table but to no avail! Richard, meanwhile prepared for the
rain and put the roof on the car, something he normally avoids doing as it
impedes his view. Many of the MOAers took advantage of the sale of fleeces
at a knock down price, preparing for the cooler weather that lay ahead.
On leaving the hotel the rain started and a succession of Morgan’s stopped
to protect themselves with hoods up, but not the doughty Fiona Cowley and
Lynne Dale Johnson who carried on regardless. We travelled through Hiawatha
country, with long winding roads and tall dense trees either side, the sun
occasionally showing itself, but it was mostly misty and cold not allowing
us to see the countryside at its best. The consensus amongst our group was
to forego the visit to historic Fayette Town (a superb historic State site,
a photogenic and interestingly preserved industrial town, port and smelting
facility that had closed as long ago as 1890 and it was dry! –Ed) and carry
on to the Geyser. The rain became torrential and Fiona soldiered on as long
as she could before taking refuge in a garage and Richard gallantly helped
put their roof on even though Fiona had called him a woos earlier for doing
the same.
We were heading for Kitchi-Ti-Kipi which translates as 'Mirror of Heaven' in
the Palms Book State Park. Fortunately the rain had stopped and we made our
way to the geyser with visions in our minds of bubbling water and showers of
hot water raining down. The scene before us was in fact rather tranquil and
there was a spooky but quiet, calm atmosphere until we approached the raft
that was to take us across the tiny area of water above the geyser and a
chorus of voices greeted us loudly, Moira and George Norwood had arrived
first - don't they always - and were on their way back accompanied by a
motley crew of MOAers!.
After setting off in the raft with Lynne pulling us across the 200 foot
wide, 45 feet deep natural spring using the guide cord, Elaine, Phil and
Linda appeared on the bank, so we duly back paddled to pick them up. The
water was crystal clear and allowed us a fantastic view through the
observation window in the middle of the raft. The rather gentle bubbling
that we could see was the only indication of the geyser below and the
limestone coated trunks and branches of fallen trees provided shelter for
the oversized trout which apparently glide through, although we didn't spot
any. It was interesting to read the origins of the area and that it had been
a rubbish dump cleared by a local businessman and made into this tranquil
and somewhat ethereal attraction.
Our next mission when we left the park was a pastie hunt, a delicacy of the
area, which had come highly recommended, by Janice and Earl Band. The
restaurant we chose did not have the pastie on the menu but Lynne, Fiona,
Richard and I enjoyed a veritable feast from the amazing buffet on offer at
Big Boy! Colin Cundy however was not happy as he had set his heart on a
pastie and refused to eat a thing until he found the elusive meat filled
pastry treat. After a detour to Manistique, to allow Fiona to stock up for
her new hobby of necklace making inspired by the wonderful Indian jewellery
we had seen in New Mexico, we carried on to our destination of Mackinaw
City. We only stopped once at Schealls Motel for Colin to partake of the
longed for pastie.
As we neared Mackinaw City the landscape changed dramatically yet again to
sand dunes, the weather also became cooler giving you the impression of
being near the sea. We stopped to view the Mackinac bridge known locally as
‘Mighty Mac', before crossing it. It was very misty but atmospheric; we were
able to take photographs but not sure how they will turn out. Our first and
abiding memory of the Best Western Waterfront Inn was the number of flies
and mosquitoes that plagued us from the minute we arrived. I was relieved to
find we had been allocated a room that had an external door that could be
closed before opening our bedroom door thus protecting us from invading
hordes. Fiona and I headed straight for the swimming pool which had such
high levels of chemical concentrations that we thought we may soon be
sedated but Philip Mason who had beaten us to it assured us that you soon
got used to it. Trudy Hughes thought otherwise when she came in for a
cooling swim after cleaning every nook and cranny of Jim's car and soon
turned tail suggesting that my bright red swimming costume may end up a pale
shade of pink.
Completing our ablutions early we met Judy, Ben and Jane and Howard in the
car park and made our way to the bar across the road for an early evening
cocktail before the evening banquet.
The Michigan club had arranged a dinner for us and when Richard and I
arrived we were warmly greeted by Diane as though we were acquaintances of
long standing she had studied the members’ book and was most complimentary
about my photo. As usual we thought we were late as everyone who had arrived
previously, were tucking in to the salad bar - a plague of locusts came to
mind, particularly when Elaine came in and gently reminded everyone that
dinner was not scheduled for another thirty minutes! The dinner was a huge
success the food was exceptional (a comment endorsed by me and “supreme” in
Michael Winner terms- Ed) and the service was friendly and efficient and we
managed to catch up with some of the Michigan club that we had spoken to at
the hotel earlier and to wish Ben Fryrear a very Happy Birthday. Just before
leaving Alan pointed out a couple of tame racoons at the back of the
restaurant and we were able to get some great close up photos. Jeremy also
pointed out a beautiful, tiny humming bird that was flying so swiftly
between the trees that it was hard to see, but with patience we managed to
catch it feeding and drinking while Jeremy caught it on video, a charming
sight. (the humming bird not Jeremy!)
It was then back to the hotel for one last night cap after filling up with
petrol.
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