Without Depth

For a major portion of today I've been planning our vacation driving trip this summer.  Marrianna and I have decided that $4.00 gasoline isn't going to cancel our plans.  Marrianna has an old friend who lives in Chassell, Michigan.  That's in the upper peninsula, on a peninsula extending into Lake Superior.

Her friend teaches at Michigan Technology University.  He is planning his birthday party for July 4, even though his actual date is sometime in October.  He says that by October access to Chassell may be restricted by weather, meaning snow and cold.  So he is planning a big bash the Fourth weekend, and we want to be there.

Marrianna and I like to drive on our vacations.  Actually, I drive and she navigates.  We almost never drive more than 300 miles in a day.  Since we also only use the super highways and Interstate system as little as possible, preferring the smaller, back roads, it takes us longer but we enjoy it more.

I enjoy planning a trip such as this almost as much as the trip itself.  We will drive up through Michigan's lower peninsula, crossing the Mackinac Straits Bridge and then on to Chassell.  We considered going into Canada and around Lake Huron, coming south across the bridge from Canada, but that would require more time.

Our return will bring us further west, through Wisconsin into Chicago, where we hope to st  op and visit friends.  Then we will go to Paducah, KY, where I want to see the Museum of the American Quilters Society (MAQS).  Note:  If you want to view some beautiful quilts, among the best that have been produced by world quilters, click on that link.  From there, it's through Tennessee into North Carolina, and home.

This evening's news had a brief note that people were cutting back on vacations this year because of fuel costs.  We never even considered it.  It's not that we are trying to stimulate the economy all by ourselves, but we can afford it now, our health allows it, and we want to continue to be ourselves.

This trip is primarily through some small towns, with brief stops in a large one, Chicago.  If anyone would like to offer suggestions of places we should see, email me.

That was my day, along with a visit to the gym for exercise and reading.  There was no golf today.  The course we were scheduled to play closed half due to excess water from yesterday's rains, so we canceled.  I liked having the extra time at home.