Tuesday July 10, 2012

Today we did something I have been longing to do, but I will tell you what it was later. After a good nights sleep we headed out northbound on interstate 75 toward that something I have been looking forward to doing. The temperature was a wonderful 72 degrees. As we traveled toward northern Michigan or what the locals call the "U-P" or "upper peninsula" the terrain changed from farms to forests. It reminded me of the first days of the ride in early June going thru the pacific northwest, without the rain of course! Everything was very green and lush. We stopped for lunch in Macinaw City and visited several stores and lunched at a local favorite "Scalawags" for some fresh water fish and chips and whitefish chowder (I still prefer clam chowder) but the fish was good and Myrna loved the decor. After lunch we saddled up and headed for "that something" I have been wanting to do; we crossed the Macinac Bridge! The bridge is 5 miles long, 552 feet high and crosses over Lake Michigan (on the left) and Lake Huron (on the right) as we were traveling north. I always wanted to travel over that bridge and see one of the great lakes and great they are! Lake Michigan is so huge you could not see land on the other side of the lake. While crossing the bridge, there was construction being done so the right lane was closed. The right lane also happens to be the paved lane, the other lane is grated. My friends that ride a motorcycle know how much fun riding over a grate can be! Those of you that don't now, the front tire of a motorcycle tends to track with the grate making it harder to steer the bike. We made it safely over the lake and stopped to pay the toll. The toll for vehicles was $4.00, but because I was pulling a trailer it was $6.00. I thought I was in California with the crazy fees we pay on things! Anyway we found a park that had a great view of the bridge so we stopped for a Kodak moment. Also after crossing the bridge another milestone was accomplished. Since I started this journey on May 29, today was the first day I pointed the Wing west; we picked up highway 2 and will continue to ride the highway until we reach Washington before turning south! In other words, we have officially turned the corner and are headed home! We stopped for the night in Iron Mountain, Michigan after riding 278 miles, new total: 7,346 miles.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.