It’s mid-December now, and sure, it’s relatively cold down here in southern Illinois, though it could be much colder. Winter is silently, relentlessly approaching!
I was looking through a lot of my pictures from the road trip to Michigan that my husband and I took in July this year, and well…. I miss it. I truly do. Michigan is a little different from Illinois. The drivers are a little more aggressive than those who drive in southern Illinois (usually); there’s a LOT more water around (if you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you!), and there were rainbows on signs nearly everywhere for whatever reason. While I enjoyed just about all parts of Michigan, I truly miss the northern lower peninsula and the Upper Peninsula. I adored Traverse City and its looming, tiring, stunning sand dunes. I loved traveling through the lovely town of Charlevoix. The Mighty Mac was the first BIG bridge I had ever crossed, and it didn’t even really scare me (I’m very much acrophobic.)! And the beauty of the Upper Peninsula is simply unmatched.
I’ll give you a few of my favorite pictures from my journey up north with my beloved.
Traverse City: After visiting Detroit and Frankenmuth, we went up to Traverse City. It felt like it took years to get there; my anticipation to see the recently famous traveler’s destination was eating away at me. I hadn’t ever truly seen a Great Lake so up close, minus the handful of times I was able to go to Chicago, my absolute favorite city. I remember getting to Traverse City, and the very first glimpse of Lake Michigan absolutely stole my heart away. I had never seen a body of water such a beautiful shade of blue. I wish that we had spent more time in Traverse City; I would’ve totally swum in the lake for hours on end.
The Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes were a big reason I wanted to go to Traverse City. Since I had lain eyes on them after searching them for the first time on the Internet, I thought to myself, “I’m gonna get there, and I’m gonna climb those dunes.”
The only thing was that I thought it was just one huge dune that you climbed and that once you reached the top, you would be treated with the glorious vision of beautiful Lake Michigan below you. As the lyric to a Sufjan song goes, “Oh, Sleeping Bear! Ran to the top and got scared of what I could see.”
Instead, unbeknownst to me, I had dragged my husband up the seemingly insurmountable dune hill climb and through 3 more huge dunes (and an extra one for me). It was an especially arduous journey because I had worn jeans and my Justin Verlander shersey over my two-piece, AND I hadn’t eaten really anything, nor did I bring water with me. By the time I had reached the top of the 5th dune, I was sad that I wasn’t right beside Lake Michigan, but it was such a beautiful sight to see the lake and the dunes surrounding it. There was such peace in that place. The only sound you could hear was the mesmerizing in and out of the waves of the lake below and the occasional rustling of leaves on the few trees beside you. I nearly had a panic attack when I attempted climbing up the dune from whence I had come to reach my exhausted husband. The sun was setting, and I hardly had any energy left in my limbs due to exhaustion and dehydration. I had crawled part of the way up the steep dune for 10 minutes straight, and I still had over half the dune to go. I remembered calling his name and nearly losing my cell phone, trying to determine if I had signal (nope!). I wondered if I’d just collapse in the cool sand and die. But the voice in the back of my head kept telling me, “Keep going. You can make it. You won’t die, and you won’t get sick; just keep going and face your fears!”
And what do you know? Here I am today, alive and well, and more courageous than I’ve been in a long time! I can’t wait to go back and try the different trails and actually GET to the lake, haha. 🙂
The Mighty Mac: Move over, Golden Gate Bridge. This bridge, in my opinion, is the most beautiful bridge in the country. I mean, c’mon. The Mac is 5 miles long and runs across two wonderful Great Lakes. What’s not to love? Well, okay, it was a little terrifying knowing that you’re 199 feet above the Great Lakes, but as far as I know, only 2 people had died on (or off) the bridge since it was built in 1957, and one was because he was driving too quickly for the conditions.
At first, I was terrified to cross the bridge. I have sorta inherited my mom’s fear of being on bridges over large bodies of water, especially if 1.) semis are beside you, 2.) it’s raining, 3.) you’re stuck on the bridge, 4.) all of the above. My husband assured me that I would be fine and that there was nothing to worry about.
He was right. He turned on the special radio station that talked about the bridge, its history, and all the facts about the bridge. The announcer spoke in a knowledgeable, soothing voice, and calming plinkings of a piano played in the background of his schpeel. I took several pictures of the bridge, cried, and kept saying, “Oh, my God, this is so beautiful!”
I also have to say, I cried quite a few times on the trip, almost all of it out of sheer happiness (only once out of fear).
Well, I could go on about Michigan and the Great Lakes all day, but I think I’ll stop for now. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about the Upper Peninsula and beautiful Lake Superior (and maybe even Wisconsin!). I very well might recount my entire trip sometime as I still need to do that. I don’t want to forget a single detail! For those who think Michigan isn’t worth anything and is ugly, I can safely say that you’re wrong. It’s a gorgeous state and is totally worth visiting, and I can’t wait to go back! I miss it so much today and always! My heart belongs to the Great Lakes. 🙂
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What’s this I hear? Sufjan Stevens, who just got back from going on a Christmas tour, is doing another concert? WHAAAAAAAAAAT???
iggynapster 