Adventures of a birthday girl in Michigan

Friday, December 14, 2007: Departed Chicago around 5:30am with my pals Rajiv and Eddie to head for St. Ignace in Michigan's upper peninsula. :)


"Why Michigan?" you ask. Why NOT Michigan?! My friend Rajiv had been to St. Ignace, Mackinac (or Mackinaw) Island, and the Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan and had recommended we go there when we were brainstorming about what to do for both our bdays (his bday is December 9th) while in Argo Tea one lazy afternoon. Thus, an idea was born. :)


The drive didn't seem as long as I thought it would be...probably because I had great company, some fun music, and the occasional laughter producing Mad Libs to pass the time along the way. We arrived in St. Ignace around 2 or 2:30 pm Michigan time (1 hr. ahead of Chicago time). Got settled in with all our crap at the Driftwood Motel there in St. Ignace and headed straight to the motel's restaurant for a late lunch and cocktail. Took a walk down the street after that to check out a few shops, including one that had a Native American Museum in the back. There was a nice and interesting lady working there that we chatted with about the museum's heritage, along with tidbits about the St. Ignace natives and its culture.


We were quickly noticing just how desolate it is at the "mainland" of St. Ignace, especially in the winter according to the locals. Hardly any cars drove by and on the rare occasion a human being was spotted in our vicinity as we walked down the street, the individual passing by would smile and say "Hi, how are you?" beneath their winter clothing. Apparently, most people don't live there in the winter. The remaining locals we talked with would tell us that most people only live there in the winter and live somewhere else in the summer (Florida seemed to be the consensus!).


Talking with the locals was one of the most entertaining thing on the trip. It was funny too because every time we would sit down at a bar or restaurant, the very first question asked of us was "Where are you from?" It was either that obvious we weren't from around there or it's so small of a town that they knew we were out of towners because they didn't recognize our faces!


The lady at the museum that Friday shared with us how she has a penchant for getting stoned while fly fishing on the lake, while our jolly bartender Dustin at the local casino shared that he doesn't leave his house in the winter much unless he goes shopping. (He also told us two funny jokes, one about a nun and another about a guy at at nursing home with Parkinson's, but I'm horrible about remembering jokes). There was "Java Joe" and his wife (Betty? We're not sure what her name is, actually.) we talked with at the Java Joe's restaurant over breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning. They were fun and reminded me a bit of my mom and stepdad. Java Joe was super friendly with a fun personality like my stepdad Keith and "Betty" (for lack of her actual name) had eclectic, interesting things to talk about like my mom. They had lived many places like Denver, L.A, Texas....and "Betty" told us stories about the conservative ways of the locals....as well as some not so conservative folks (she joked that some people don't do anything else in town besides get drunk, get stoned, and "get laid" because it's all they've ever known growing up in the small community). She also talked proudly of her family, particularly her artist son. It made me miss my mom a bit (that was on my birthday too).


There was the bartender at Patrick Sinclair's Irish Pub on Macinac Island who we had a funny conversation with, which partly involved my asking him the craziest thing he's seen a customer do at this particular bar on the island. He told us a drunken middle aged man accepted a dare someone gave him: to walk across the local bridge wearing NOTHING except gloves and socks/shoes. Oh, what idiotic things alcohol can make a person do. Hahaha. Subject of conversation inevitably led to what I do for work. My reply? "Substance Abuse Counselor." He laughed and I elaborated on my drug addict clients.


Then there was the cute twentysomething bartender at a can't-remember-the-name-of-it pub where we had pizza and beer on Saturday night just outside of St. Ignace in Mackinac City. He went on and on about how bad the economy is in Michigan (or at least in the surrounding areas) since they shut down factories, laid off workers, and haven't had many customers in various businesses (including the bar and restaurant industries). He told us he had a young child to support and was only working 2 days a week. Even though we only had a pizza and 5 beers total amongst the 3 of us, we felt bad for the guy (and he was so nice) and decided to leave him a $10 tip after we finished playing a little pool. We're pretty sure we made his night, maybe even his week.


Friday night we took a shuttle (you call them up and they pick you up in a van) to Kewadin Casino just a few short miles away from our motel in St. Ignace. I think we were probably the youngest and best looking people there, but I digress. No big winnings for me. Just some shortlived, albeit fun times, on the penny, nickel and quarter machines. I wasn't a fan of the penny, nor the quarter machine....but I did find this one particular nickel slot machine to be "me lucky charm" (which just means I got to rack up the points and play longer without paying more...hahaha! We enjoyed having a few drinks at the bar, talking with a few of the friendly bartenders and had some dinner there. But the security guards (wannabe cops!) we could have done without. They were being really lame about our taking pictures anywhere NEAR the radius of "the pit" (the term for the floor where all the slot machines and tables are) considering almost all the pictures we took were in the bar area, but whatever. We think they were just bored with nothing else to do, especially since they didn't seem to be strictly enforcing their claims. I got a little tipsy that night. All in all, good times.

On our way back to the motel, our shuttle guy Mike had recommended we try the aforementioned Java Joe's restaurant for breakfast in the morning...so we did. We had omelets Saturday morning and were so impressed that we decided to go back Sunday morning (my birthday!) to try Java Joe's self-proclaimed famous crepes and stuffed french toast. The guys had the crepes and I had the yummy french toast. I thought their food was better than any breakfast place I've been to in Chicago, it was that good! :)


After breakfast Saturday morning, we took the 10:30 ferry ride (the only way to get there, as there are no cars allowed on the island) to Mackinac Island. MANY photos to see later when I post and email through Shutterfly, hopefully later today. :) I had never been on a "real" ferry before besides the silly ones you go on at theme parks,etc. I also had never been on an island. Leave it to me to go to a cold island over a tropical island for a 'first' island experience. Gotta love it.


It was truly cold that Saturday, but we dressed in the highest fashion...with our thermal underwear on underneath to keep everything intact of course, hehehe. If we thought St. Ignace was desolate, the island was EXTREMELY desolate. It was great! :) We were pretty much the only ones on foot; everyone else was on their snowmobiles or could be found in one of the only places open on the island this time of year: the Irish pub. Hahaha. After consuming a tasty and WARM Bailey's Irish coffee at the pub, we "trekked" (as Rajiv likes to say, hehehe) across the island for what turned out to be 4 and a half hours of peace, quiet and absolute beauty. Snow and trees everywhere.


Katie DID have to pee pretty bad though and after holding it for about an hour with no bathrooms in sight, she decided to throw caution to the wind and adapt to nature's whims. Yes, that's right....Handing over my coat and other crap to Eddie, I peed behind a shed that housed a bunch of leather straps out in the middle of nowhere (or somewhere near Arch Rock, to be exact). Needless to say, I felt refreshed afterwards. :)

The main sights we snapped away with our cameras? Fort Mackinac, Arch Rock, St. Ann's Cemetary, Skull Cave, and the Grand Hotel (where they filmed the movie "Somewhere in Time" for those who know the romantic chick flick from the 80's!). The locals around us sped past us with their snowmobiles or could be found hanging out at a bonfire along the lake. Adults drinking and children sledding (usually nearly crashing!) down the hills in the snow. Around 4pm (!!) Eddie suggested we have a "pre-birthday shot" back at the Irish pub to warm our frozen bones before the 4:30 ferry ride back to "the mainland" of St. Ignace. He didn't have to twist my arm! :) After we ate pizza and beer a few hours later, we collapsed at just after 9:00 and slept like absolute champions that night. Hahaha.


Since we had gone to sleep so early though, funny enough....we woke up around 6am: my birthday!! Eddie and Rajiv gave me a card and Borders giftcard as a birthday present and we headed to breakfast. Poor Eddie chipped his tooth (on a CREPE?!?!), but apparently he says he's fine. Over the course of the day, I received random text messages and phone calls from friends. Even though I had no reception on my phone most of that day, it was nice to know others were thinking of me. :) I was able to talk with my mom and brother Alex briefly, but that was the extent of birthday phone conversations. After breakfast we headed out about an hour away to Tahquamenon Falls. Absolutely gorgeous! Took lots of pictures at this place too, then had lunch at the brewery/restaurant on the premises. I hadn't been in a brewery before and decided to try a cherry wheat beer. I also ate something I never saw myself trying until that day: an edible orchid flower. (It came with our meal) I would have to agree with my friend Eddie who said: "It pretty much tastes the way I'd imagine a flower would taste..." Hehehe.


Despite the creepy dead animals (cougars, bears, moose, and any other wintery forest animal you can think of) tacked on the walls, the food we had at this brewery was the best food we had the entire trip. I had a salad with some good bread, charbroiled jumbo shrimp marinated in herbs and beer (mmmm!), rice pilaf, corn, and a bite of a flower. Hahaha. The guys told the staff it was my birthday and so of course they did the whole singing/lit candle on a slice of cake deal. Normally I would have killed them for telling a restaurant it's my birthday, but we were like the only ones there besides a couple sitting beside us....and the "Chocolate Seduction" cake they brought out?!?!? Truly seducing. And I'm not much of a cake person!


Next up was Sault (pronounced "Soo") St. Marie, Michigan/border of Canada a few hours away from T. Falls. We didn't stay there long though because it was dark and everything was closed/shut by the time we got there in early evening. I took a few pictures though. Got back to the motel, changed into my "hot pants" (my new jeans that make me look skinny, for those not in the know with Katie lingo!) and headed back to the casino for a few birthday drinks. My dad had called while we were on our way out, so I called him back and chatted for a few minutes once we got to the casino. Later, my friend Carla called as we waited for our shuttle ride back to the motel. She sang to me and made me laugh about various things, as she always does. Love that woman. :) Once back, it was a Scrabble game with Eddie and then went to bed.

Monday December 17, 2007: We headed back home. While I wasn't ready to go back to "reality," I knew it couldn't last forever. But the adventures of this birthday girl were fun while they lasted....