Vacation Log Days Three and Four

Sunday and Monday

We arrived without incident at our “resort” location on Sunday night. The ferry ride over was a little choppy and bouncy. Bob insisted on riding on the sun deck at first. Some nice man helped him down to the main cabin after it became apparent that the wind was too high, the water too choppy, and the breeze too cold. We watched a movie, ordered some ferry food and were otherwise entertained during the 3+ hour ride across Lake Michigan. It was an interesting experience.

Once on land, we drove north towards our resort. The highway went from 2 lanes to 1 lane but traffic thinned considerably. We stopped at a grocery store to stock up on food for the week and were surprised to learn that we were now in the Eastern Time zone.

We arrived after 8pm with the sun still bright in the sky. Our hostess, Esther, showed us to our cabin. It is certainly not a premiere, 5 star cabin, but it suits our purposes just fine. There are 2 bedrooms, a bath, kitchen, and great room. There are bugs, but there are also bug swatters and we have plenty of bug spray.

The first thing Bob wanted to do was start a campfire. We sat around the fire and one by one, people joined us. Before long we were sharing our marshmallows with over a dozen others. We heard stories and introduced ourselves and it was nice. The couple that owns this resort is elderly and sweet. Their six boys help out over the summer. Three of their boys live in this area and three live in Grand Rapids where the elderly couple winter.

We went to bed late…after midnight. A storm rolled in about that time and we got to watch the lightning show over the lake. The thunder shook our cabin but we remained warm and dry. Bob said it got a little dicey after I went to bed. He checked on me only to find me fast asleep and oblivious to the noise and light show outside.

Our first full day at the resort…we slept until noon. Seriously. I can’t remember the last time I slept until noon. It was heavenly. Equally as heavenly was the fact that we didn’t do anything much all day. I started reading a book I brought specifically for our vacation. There is an outdoor glider swing near the lake that I made my own as I devoured the book. Bob did his thing and rolled around looking for kindling for the fire he was going to build that night. Unfortunately our idyllic reverie was interrupted by two screechy girls staying in the cabin next door. We guessed them to be about six or seven years old. They started their screeching by shouting “Stop Smoking!!” to Bob and the man in the cabin on the other side of us. When the men did not immediately put out their cigarettes, the girls switched tactics and began yelling things like, “You look like a whale!”. I can only guess that was directed at me. To Bob they yelled, “You’re ugly!” and then they kept saying things like “We’re not going to stop yelling!”. During all of this, their parents were inside; about 20 feet away with windows wide open and no one came out to say anything to them. Nice.

After dealing with the screechy twins for far too long, we decided to take a walk down the road and check things out. About that same time, their parents packed them up and they took off for parts unknown. Thank GOD!

There is a general store not far from where we’re staying so we stopped there to take a look at what was going on there. We walked into another public area that had a view of the lake across the road. We stayed at Big Platte Lake but across the road is Little Platte Lake. To my untrained eye, they both looked pretty big but who am I to say?

When we got home, I read some more while Bob rested. After a while, the sun was full out and people were playing in the lake. I decided to join them. Bob helped me apply the sunscreen and I took a floatie out to the lake with the intention of just soaking up some sun. Just as I got to the perfect floating depth, the wind kicked up and floating in the lake became more paddling in the lake so I came in. I sat on the dock and read some more.

Bob got the fire going while I made some baked beans and pasta salad. We cooked hot dogs over the fire and had a nice camp kind of dinner. After cleaning up, we just sat by the fire chatting. Esther came out and joined us and we had a nice talk getting to know more about her and her husband Bob. He’s in a wheelchair too. Though he’s wheelchair bound due to a stroke, he has some similar health issues as my Bob so we were able to relate medically speaking. He was also a Grand Rapids fireman once upon a time and is familiar with MDA and worked on their Fill the Boot campaign. Esther was very knowledgeable about MD which was refreshing since most people think Bob has MS.

While we talked we could see a fireworks show across the lake. Soon after that we also saw another kind of light show as more lightning made its way towards us. More people came out to the fire and we talked as we watched the storm roll in. We made it inside before it hit hard but it was a nice little storm. Not as long or loud as last night’s storm but a good storm nonetheless.

I stayed up late again working on the pictures I took at the wedding we attended over the weekend and the photos I took since boarding the ferry and arriving at the resort. At one point I had to kill a large spider and a centipede so I decided to give up the picture fixing and go to bed. The first day of our vacation was awesome.

I have to say that our cabin is more rustic than I expected. It seems as though the original vinyl flooring is still there as are all the original cobwebs and dust bunnies. There are more bugs on the inside that I like having inhabiting my personal space. Still, it’s not horrible. I did find out that the lake I’d been swimming in has leeches. Won’t be swimming again any time soon though I might take the rowboat or kayak out.