After an extraordinarily late Friday night, I had contemplated skipping the trip to just chill. I decided that I needed to go based on a simple premise. I had never done the Mackinaw Bridge walk before. Plus, I had heard a quote that stated that when we stop doing new things, we stop growing as a person. With this in hand, I had made my decision and I'm very glad I made the trip. Sadly I only have photo's of Monday's bridge walk.
Saturday, September 4, 2010.
We left Grand Rapids about 11am Saturday morning. On-and-off sun which was mixed with random rain showers escorted us almost the whole way up to Boyne. It was a smooth ride and not long after 2pm we were entering town. First stop was the house where we off-loaded our belongings. After watching The Fifth Element and dozing off, we decided to make a run to some stores to get ingredients for a drink Lisa's mom was making. We also stopped by the high school to say hi to mom and dad who were helping cook for the DALMAC riders. Well, no one in Boyne City had apple cider, so we had to drive up to Petosky and visit Meijer to get some. We also stopped by the Odawa Casino so I could be given a quick tour. I had forgotten that tribal casino's don't need to follow the state smoking ban...BLECH!!
After the tour our stomach's were rumbling. It was time to visit the high school again to get some dinner! Fried chicken, pasta, salads (fruit and regular), baked potatoes, apple cobbler dessert and more were on the menu, all of it delicious! After stuffing ourselves to the brim, we listened to some of the event organizers speak to the DALMAC riders before heading home. Once home, there was only one place we wanted to go; to the hottub! Beers in hand, we sat through two cycles while a cold light rain fell from above. We then decided to meet her friends Becky and Neil at 220 (a local bar) downtown. We hung out, had a beer and listened to a cool jam band play upstairs while I was introduced to more cool people from Boyne. A good couple hours downtown and it was time to get some sleep. We both had a long night the night before, so sleep was on the menu.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
We awoke around 9am, and her parents soon returned home from making breakfast for the DALMAC riders earlier that morning. They walked in the door carrying giant trays of scrambled eggs and sausage, we couldn't eat it all for sure. We slowly got ourselves together because we planned to go hike Deadman's Hill with Hecky, Keith and Neil at 11am. Well, 11am got pushed back and we didn't end up getting out tere until 12:30. It was all good though, the weather was perfect! Not hot or humid, with some nice sun. It was nice to not sweat a ton for once. We completed about four miles of course in a couple leisurely hours. We then got back on the road home to get ready for one amazing barbeque. I helped Ray load the grill onto his truck, and then Lisa and I took off seperately from her parents and got there first.
*Background* Lisa's parents have some good friends who have a cottage about 5 miles West of Boyne City on Lake Charlevoix. Absolutely beautiful place with a great waterfront.
Sweet Baby Ray's helped the cook make the best ribs I have ever had, and I think a few other people would agree with me. ;)
We stayed and socialized until dark, but knowing what un-Godly hour we would have to get up at in the morning, we departed to get some sleep. After little sleep we arose sometime after 4am, got packed and got in the car to pick up Becky on the way. The ride to the brige from Boyne is only an hour. To avoid traffic hassles, we crossed the bridge and parked in St. Ignace. As the starting line was in St. Ignace it made sense, and sure enough it took us only a couple minutes to find a spot, which was only a five minute walk from the starting line at the bridge approach.
The starting time to walk was 7am, and we heard the countdown and starters guns as we walked over. We ended up starting about 7:15am, with 42,000 new friends.
As we walked, what has started as a cloudy, wet morning gradually cleared up for the walk. We were amazed at the ease of the walk, except that we had to dodge a few people who decided they wanted to walk as slowly as possible. We reached the finish line with a time of JUST over an hour and a half!
We ended up walking around Mackinaw City for a few before catching the shuttle back across the bridge to the car. From the car, we crossed the bridge for the FOURTH time in one morning. Pretty impressive I would say! Arriving home we ate a small lunch, and after naps it was time to head home. Three days passed by far too fast as this week it's back to reality, and work.
I need to give a special thanks to the Zavesky's for all their warm hospitality!
It's always a joy to do something for the first time, and to add a notch to the list of things you've experienced. Having a routine can be nice, but you need to consistantly step OUTSIDE of that routine in order to make life interesting. After all, what's life without a little discovery?
So, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
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