Boy, we sure had a crummy week of weather this past Wednesday and Thursday! Although not 7 days, those 2 sure felt like it! I guess we can be thankful that we did not have the excessive rain that some of you reading this in SE WI and NE IL had. No flooding for us, not even close, but we did have light rain and/or drizzle fall for the entirety of both days. We also had fog, wind and temps never rose above 55 degrees. It was October in July, that is for sure. The good news is that we had some beautiful weather in the days leading up to…and following those two days. So nice that we all were in the pool on Tuesday and again on Saturday and could have been on Friday had we wanted to.
I just feel sorry anyone that came to visit the area and arrived late on Tuesday and had to leave early on Friday. They most likely would like to have their money back. Perhaps might even consider not coming back ever again. If you happened to be one of those unfortunate soles, please come back again sometime. That is most certainly NOT the type of weather we have up here in the summer. One day in every summer or two is possible, but to have two in a row in pretty miraculous. For the locals, it was an unusually hard pill to swallow, as this summer has not had the multitude of beautiful days that we are accustomed to.
There were stories of furnaces kicking on. Ours did not, because we shut it off and it would not be very practical to heat up the slabs for just a day or so of heat. However, we did turn on the fireplace both Wednesday and Thursday to take the chill out of the house and I actually used the heat in my truck one of those days to do the same. I don’t see any more of those days in the offing. In fact, this week, we might have to fire up the air conditioners for the first time all season.
While we were forced to stay inside during the foul weather, it did not erase all of our smiles. I was able to introduce Gracie to some of the greatest works of literature in history. Truth is, she saw a couple of those books in the bookcase in my office and inquired about them. She is a very good reader, so I knew she would not have any problem reading them and I figured she might even get the humor in those comics, so I said she should try reading them. It did not take too long and she was hooked. So when the weather was poor, we got together in the favored reading chair and had some laughs.
On Friday, Hancock had a little fest they put on called Key Ingredients. I guess it could be best described as a hugely downsized Taste of Chicago. They had local musicians spread out around town and the local eateries were offering up free samples of food. It is a relatively new festival up here and none of us had ever been to it, so with the beautiful weather, we headed down to see what it was all about.
We arrived just as things were starting, so there was not a lot of people walking around just yet, but things filled in very nicely as the evening progressed. That first shot of the piano player was taken early on and this shot of a trio of musicians was taken a bit later on. It was a very well laid out affair, as the sounds of each musician did not compete with another, but just as you were no longer able to hear the sounds from the one, you would pick up the sounds of the next. The food samples were a nice additional touch. We all had eaten already, so did not sample much, but the big hit seemed to be the near full-meal that the La Cantina was serving up. Judging by the portions they were giving out and the fact that I can personally vouch for how good their food is, its no surprise they had a line most of the night. The Studio Pizza also had them lined up pretty good.
Saturday was another beautiful day and the first half was spent lounging around in the pool. Then Nora got the idea to head up to Copper Harbor and take in the classic car show that was going on, as well as do some other things, so we got dried off, changed into street clothes and headed up the highway. I think that anyone who has only been to Copper Harbor in the winter (probably many of you reading this qualify) would be amazed at how busy that little town is for most of the summer. The residents and businesses have done an awesome job of hosting many events on the weekends all summer. The 4th of July is the big celebration at the harbor and as mentioned, this weekend was the classic car show, but they also have a huge mountain bike race weekend, art fair and triathlon…just to name a few.
Our first order of business was to have a competitive round of mini-golf. Its been a while since I played, but was able to hold my own and ended up beating Nora by 2 strokes and Gracie by just a bit more than that! Playing mini-golf with Nora and Gracie brought back memories of how my younger brother and I would play with my parents a couple of times a summer. There was a place nearby that served great pizza, so that was the tradition. Go have a dinner of pizza and then play a round of miniature golf. Its funny how one can forget memories like that and then suddenly have them brought into full light. Good times for sure and I hope that Gracie looks back on these days and feels the same.
After the golf match, we had a bite to eat and then while I walked up and down the line, looking at all the beautiful cars and trucks on display, Nora and Gracie did some shopping. It worked out very well, as none of felt rushed to finish up and not keep the others waiting. I was bumped into quite a few friends while up there and had some good laughs with them as I walked. The small community is something I really cherish about this place.
On the way home, we stopped by the Copper Harbor Cemetery and saw the resting place for some of Nora’s relatives. A few were ones that came directly over from Norway and were the first to settle on Rabbit Island. Another was the first female sheriff of either Keweenaw County or perhaps MI. I believe it is MI, but Nora is not around to verify. After that visit, we headed home and just as we were passing by the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, Nora spotted three baby fox on the opposite side of the road from the lodge. One was brave and inquisitive enough to actually hang out long enough for me to take a picture of. Not my first fox sighting since living up here, but they do tend to be fairly elusive- especially as adults, so I have not seen many. Still waiting for my first moose spotting. Nora has a couple of times, but I am usually too busy driving and alone when I am passing through moose country to see one. I haven’t seen a bear in some time as well, but the summer is season is still fairly young!
Good night from the Keweenaw.
–JD
