A trip to the Upper Peninsula comes to a premature finish
Thursday, July 8 – Our intention was to leave Cincinnati early on Thursday and drive to Gurnee, Illinois. Scott and Sarah took two days off work and were going with us on the first leg of the trip so they could visit Six Flags Great America. However, Michelle’s cat Justin had run away two days before. We spotted him hiding in a garage up the street but couldn’t coax him home. Michelle was upset about her cat and Scott and Sarah had to work a late shift at Paramount’s Kings Island the night before. So we set off a little before 11:00 a.m. Jim, Lynne and Michelle set off in Jim’s Taurus while Scott and Sarah drove the Nissan Sentra. I-74, I-265 and I-65 in Indiana were uneventful. Our lunch stop was the McDonald’s at Post Road outside Indianapolis; it has become a de facto tradition when heading west.
I-90 and the Chicago Skyway had major construction delays with the Skyway reduced to one lane each way. It took us an hour longer than we figured to make it to I-94. Lynne was convinced she had taken a wrong turn and pulled over to the side of the expressway to call Jim, but he had forgotten to turn his phone on. It all worked out though as the parties spotted each other and were able to caravan to Gurnee where we had a room reserved at the Comfort Suites. A quick dinner at Subway and we were in Great America around 6:00. We stayed until the park closed. It was busy but not too crowded although some lines were a bit on the longish side.
Friday, July 9 – We entered Great America shortly after the park opened at 10:00 a.m. to find four of their twelve roller coasters were not running and the park was much more crowded than the day before, so we weren’t able to ride some of the rides we had hoped to try out this trip. The park was having a look-alike contest for their mascot, Mister Six, and that drew a huge throng of people. We ate lunch at the Mooseburger Lodge, gave the double-decker carousel a whirl, and took in the view from their 300 foot observation tower. We watched a storm front move in and could see the Chicago skyline in the distance. The storm arrived right around 2:00 so we decided to leave. Scott and Sarah headed south while Jim, Lynne and Michelle headed north into Wisconsin on I-94 and I-43. We stopped in Manitowoc at the Comfort Inn and called Scott. He and Sarah had just made it to the Skyway after taking over three hours to get from Gurnee to the south side of Chicago because of traffic. We ate dinner at a Country Kitchen and enjoyed the accents of the locals.
Saturday, July 10 – After breakfast at the Country Kitchen we headed north on I-43 to Green Bay where we stopped at Lambeau Field to see the Packers Hall of Fame and Museum. Michelle enjoyed an interactive area where she got to throw a football for a radar gun, run through tackling dummies, and simulate the Lambeau Leap into the end zone. From Green Bay we continued north on U.S. 41 stopping in Peshtigo for lunch at Dairy Queen and cheese from the combination souvenir shop and Chamber of Commerce. Once in Michigan we took Michigan 35 along the lake shore to U.S. 2 east. Forest Highway 13 took us north through the scenic Hiawatha National Forest to Munising. We took in Lake Superior from a scenic overlook, bought tickets for the Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tour, got a room at the Alger Falls Motel, ate dinner at the Lil’ Abner themed Dogpatch Restaurant, and played a bug-infested game of miniature golf at Eagle Falls. At dinner the kitchen staff forgot to put in Michelle’s dinner but she got a free dessert for her troubles so she wasn’t too unhappy with them.
Sunday, July 11 – After breakfast at the hotel we headed down through town to the Shipwreck Tours. The Fireball was originally based out of Key West and now serves the sightseers and divers in the Alger Underwater Preserve. Our cruise took us past a ruined lighthouse and over the remains of three sunken vessels, one of them only ten feet below the surface of the lake. We took Michigan 28 east through very sparsely populated stretches. The only restaurant in Seney had an all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch but we opted to get some snacks from a camping supply store and eat as we drove instead. Route 123 took us to Tahquamenon Falls. We walked to the Upper Falls but opted not to do the Lower Falls. We continued on the 123 loop through Paradise back to 28, and east to I-75 then north to Sault Ste. Marie. We ate dinner at a Pizza Hut there and stayed at the Best Western Sault Ste. Marie.
Monday, July 12 – Lynne had a tooth that was bothering her and it developed into an abscess. Jim drove her to Pickford, thirty miles south of Sault Ste. Marie, to a dentist where she had to have a pulpectomy. She didn’t do much the rest of the day. Jim and Michelle took the car for an oil change, puttered around some music shops in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, and drove past the locks. Lynne was feeling better by dinner and we ate at Studebaker’s.
Tuesday, July 13 – Lynne’s mouth was very sore so we decided to forego the Agawa Canyon Train in Canada and start heading for home. We did swing by the Soo Locks to watch a freighter head from Lake Huron up to Lake Superior before heading south on I-75. It was very foggy at the Mackinaw Straits and we couldn’t see much from the bridge. Our only stop other than gas and lunch at a Subway was a quick jaunt to see what Frankenmuth looked like. The town is very pretty with its Bavarian architecture and we vowed to come back and spend some time there. U.S. 23 bypassed Detroit and put us back on I-75 south of Toledo. We stopped for the night at the Quality Inn in Findlay, Ohio.
Wednesday, July 14 – I-75 straight south. We were back home by noon. That evening when Jim went to get the local paper, Michelle’s cat was sitting on the front porch waiting to come in.
Milestones on this trip: We finally got to see what an NFL championship trophy looks like.
States and provinces we visited: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan.
Capital cities we saw: Indianapolis.
