Good To Be Home

We've had a really good time this weekend.

Good company. Great relaxation. A few adult beverages.

But it's still nice to get home again. Stewie was glad to see us, too. (Turns out, he had acted out a bit while we were gone because he was mad about being left alone. Fortunately, it was easy to clean up.) We picked up the rest of the herd on Monday. Everybody's home.

Here's the rest of the trip:

Big Bob's Brunch
Traffic & Sunday Drivers
Fireside Chats
Tavern Pizza Night
The Cobbler Experiment
Sara the Firestarter
Rainy Saturdays Aren't So Bad
Pudgy Pie-palooza
The Photo Shoot
Millie's Is For Sale
Stargazing in the Boonies
S'mores Over the Campfire
Lori's Newest Concoction: "Skittles"
Rafting the Thunder Bay
Ossineke IGA
Chubacabra
This is How It Starts
Sara: "Outta My Way, Douche Nozzles!"

Traffic & Sunday Drivers

We were up at a descent hour this morning, ready to clean and pack up the cabin. Dishes done. Leftover food dropped off next door for Helen. Even made an early trash-drop run. We were out the door by 11am.



After a stop for brunch in Hale and gas in Standish, we hit the interstate... and the traffic. Apparently, everybody and his boyfriend were in northern Michigan this weekend and they all want to get home at the same time we do.

Sara is driving. Her road-rage vocabulary is always fairly entertaining.

Big Bob's Brunch

Or not.

Turns out, the incredible breakfast buffet we so enjoyed last year, is only open 'til noon. Bastages!

We must have gotten a little bit later start this year. So, by the time we made it to Hale, Big Bob was packing up the buffet already. We'll just try again next year!

Fireside Chats

There is something about a campfire that gives people the overwhelming, uncontrollable need to spill their innermost secrets and desires. It gets even worse when prompted by the questions in a book.

Lida brought a couple of compilations. Each was set out by number and each integer was matched with a query that required either deepest soul-searching or a lightning-fast decision about which of two celebrities you'd rather sleep with.

Tavern Pizza Night

It's our only night out on the town. And we use the word "town" loosely.

Near the intersection of Hubbard Lake and Mount Maria Roads, there's a general store, a gas station, a restaurant, an ice cream shop, a volunteer fire department, a couple of realtors and the Hubbard Lake Tavern. The tavern's pizza is legendary. We decided a rainy Saturday was the perfect time to finally give it a try.

The tavern is a lodge-like barn of a space with rough-hewn logs for walls, a locally-famous bar made of stone and plenty of dead animals hanging around the periphery. A few TVs are always on sports channels. And Michigan's statewide smoking ban kicked in a few months ago, so the place isn't plagued by the noxious fog bank of previous years.

We ordered pepperoni and double-cheese. The 16-inch pizzas that arrived were enormous meals! LOL. The tavern's sauce was a little sweet for some of our tastes, but it was still fairly delicious. The cheese slid mostly to the middle of the pies but the homemade dough was terrific. We brought home three boxes of leftovers.

Perhaps we'll make the trip again next year!

Rainy Saturdays Aren't So Bad

David left by 9am in order to get back to Columbus at a reasonable hour. The girls were still asleep after a very late night by the campfire. Daniel and I were up so we walked back to Millie's for breakfast then over to the lake to get a decent mobile signal. (A guy's gotta check his e-mail and the radar, y'know.)

Thank goodness we felt the first raindrops before we made it more than a few steps past the driveway. We ran back inside to get plastic bags for all the electronics then set out on our morning adventure again. It didn't rain too hard in the beginning. We made it to Millie's without getting soaked. But it started to pour whilst we ate. Thankfully, it had let up by the time we were ready to leave again.

The skies stayed grey the rest of the morning and we had a few more rainy spells.

It turned into a perfect day for reading on the couches in the cabin. It's been very relaxing, to say the least.

The Cobbler Experiment

There's a new chef around the campfire. Our chief firestarter wasn't able to make it this year, so our journeyman pyromaniac is filling in and the annual cobbler recipe is a bit of an experiment.



We are kind of guessing at it. But it's something like this:
2 cans of peach pie filling
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter



Add half the box of mix to the bottom of a well-seasoned, cast-iron dutch oven, add both cans of peach pie filling, add the rest of the cake mix and dot the top with the butter. Put foil over the oven before putting on the lid.

Then put the whole dutch oven in the hot coals and added some hot coals to the top to keep the entire thing super-hot. Maybe too hot, turns out.



Boy, did it burn. Scorch. Crust. Blacken.

Cobbler is really not supposed to be that crunchy... or totally carbonized. To be perfectly honest, it was kinda nasty. That, of course, didn't keep us from eating it. LOL



The dutch oven was not quite as lucky in the whole experience, though. It was seriously crusted and nearly ruined. Daniel spent part of the next morning boiling oil in it then scraping the crud from the bottom. It took four rounds of that before he declared the pot "salvageable." Now, it just needs some steel wool and elbow grease... and a good seasoning... to bring it back to life.

We might have to try this experiment again. :)

Sara the Firestarter

We have a new fire tender this year. Our former pyromaniac extraordinaire wasn't able to make it this season. Sara stepped into the role without hesitation. She's been the #1 understudy for the past few years and knew exactly how to make it happen.

Day in and day out, the campfire was meticulously stoked, prodded and fanned. Though she claims her journeyman training was incomplete. She, literally, had blisters on her hands from fanning the flames so professionally.



Her efforts made the Friday Night Peach Cobbler possible!

Pudgy Pie-palooza

Whenever there is a campfire, there must be pudgy pies. It's a fact of life. A rule. An axiom.

Two pieces of bread slathered with butter, loaded with pizza toppings, smashed into a hinged iron and then dropped into a seething fire. Who could ask for a more appetizing late-afternoon snack?

The Photo Shoot

Dan's been working on a photo book. It's a collection of couples' portraits. Burton & Jerry. Lori & Sara. Jim & Mac. Kathy & Annie. And now us.



We knew we wanted to make our photo while on vacation at the cabin. We just didn't know what it was going to be. Dan had some ideas, but nothing had really solidified until we stopped by Kohl's to do a little pre-vacation shopping.

We stumbled upon the Bert t-shirt. Sesame Street's most famous couple was a perfect analogy for a gazillion reasons. But we couldn't find a matching Ernie shirt. After stops at half a dozen craft stores, we found the perfect, blank, safety-regulation-orange shirt and Dan made the companion Ernie shirt. Flawless! We brought the shirts and some matching shorts on vacation, just for the photo shoot.

Now, the question became where to do it. The original idea was to be standing in the middle of the Thunder Bay River. But the river was running so high and swift that it was perfect for rafting but not so good for photos. New idea. Dan wants cows. Cows. Where in the world are we going to pose near cows without getting chased off a farm by an Amish guy wielding a shotgun? A playground seemed like a much better (and safer) idea... and there's one not too far from the cabin.

We loaded into the car, Lori was kind enough to drive and assist. The parents and kids at the Lions Park playground looked at us like we were crazy; two guys in Bert and Ernie shirts and a woman toting a camera. Okay, yeah. It probably did look a little odd.

We swing/swang/swung on the swings, climbed on the slides, slid on the monkey bars, crawled up the mini rock wall, jumped on the big tires and hung from the rings. Dan set up the camera and tripod; Lori snapped tons of images. Some of them are really cute!

Millie's Is For Sale

We've been wanting to try it since the first year we came up here. Millie's is a tiny restaurant on the corner with some of the oddest hours. We always seemed to miss when they were serving... 'cause most days they close at 2pm (and that's kinda early for vacationing drunks).

But we made it today! After our walk over to the lake boat ramp (the only place to get a mobile signal), Dan and I noticed Millie's was actually open. We raced back to the cabin to gather up the troops and tromp back to the restaurant. It's only a few blocks... but we didn't want to take chances that it'd be closed again if we waited.



As we walked in the door, the first thing we saw was Millie herself serving... and putting down something called a "Southern Omelette." The egg part nearly covered the entire plate... and it was smothered in sausage gravy. A thick, gloppy, heaping helping of homemade sausage gravy. Yeah. We must eat here! Wow! Yummy!

Millie is a woman who looks to be in her mid-to-late 60s. She has a big, down-home personality with thinning, dyed-to-hide-the-grey, silver-red hair and a little tuft on her chin. If the creases and lines in a person's face indicate their life experience, she's seen it all.



The food was delicious, even if we were a bit surprised to see a couple slices of "processed cheese product" draped across the top of each "skillet." Dan had the "Irish Skillet" with the corned-beef hash and I had the "Chuck Wagon Skillet" which has just about everything the kitchen can thrown under a couple of easy-over eggs (the sausage gravy and biscuits were on the side).

It's not exactly health food. That's for sure!

As we ate, a few other people came into the restaurant and struck up a conversation with Millie. A sign in the front yard indicates that Millie's is for sale and, apparently, these folks are recently-ex restauranteurs. They sold their place because, "we saw the signs in the economy." Millie just wants to retire and get away from all the lawn mowing and snow blowing.



And then she started talking about health department inspections. This was the part we probably didn't really need to hear. Thank goodness she seems like the conscientious type. Oy. Turns out, the health department hasn't inspected Millie's in nearly three years and doesn't plan to "unless there are complaints." Turns out, Millie's is the remotest restaurant on the inspectors' route and they're not really all that interested in making the trek out here. Three years. Egad!

Stargazing in the Boonies

It's so beautiful out here! Without all the light pollution, you van see so many more stars! Satellites are easier to spot, the Milky Way is plain as day and this is the beginning of the Perseids. It's great!

We used a fun iPad app with a star chart to identify some of the stars and constellations. Would never have been ably to identify Arcturus or Vega without it. And we learned how to pick out Scorpio. It's awesome with the chart!

I picked out four satellites before finally calling it a night. Nicole had never seen one before; she was amazed. It's so cool!

We'll try it again tomorrow night!

S'mores Over the Campfire

And not just any s'mores, mind you, Buckeye S'mores! Instead of just using a chocolate bar with your graham crackers and marshmallows, use a peanut butter cup.

Ooooooo.

It's a whole taste sensation. And a huge hit around the campfire!

Lori's Newest Concoction: "Skittles"

Dragonberry Rum & Sprite.

In all honesty, it was a mistake. Lori was taking a new bottle of rum to a friend's house. It needed some kind of mixer.

"Oh, I'll just take some Sprite," she recalls. And then be actually put them together for the first time. Pow! What an amazing combination!

"It's yummy!" she says. It tastes just like the candy, Skittles. But with a kick. LOL

And word has spread. Lori says it's already the talk of the office. It'll certainly be the talk of our trip!

Rafting the Thunder Bay

The river is up. Way up. It's outstanding!

Most years, the river level is way below the dock. This year, it's lapping at the boards and running fast. Still clear as glass.

We dropped the rafts in to the river early in the afternoon. Yes, Mom, we put on sunscreen. The water is chilly but very refreshing... as were the beverages we took along.
((See the new recipe.))

The ride was amazing! We made it all the way downstream without dragging across the rocks and mud. The higher water level made it an incredible afternoon!

Ossineke IGA

It's just a trip to the grocery store. But it's always a little bit of an adventure.

It's about 10 miles or so into Ossineke, the closest wide-spot-in-the-road resembling a town. It's the home of the giant concrete Paul Bunyon and Babe the Big Blue Ox. And there's an IGA.

The Ossineke IGA has six aisles and a deli. It's not exactly a supercenter. But it's exactly what we need for a very fun vacation. Everything a luxury camper could want... including an entire aisle of wine and liquor.

With supplies for pudgie pies, breakfasts, beverage supplies and random snacks, we're good to go!

Chubacabra

Even through the windows are open in the cabin, right above our heads in the beds, we trust there are no chubacabras in the woods to git us.

This is How It Starts

All it takes is a text message. One wrong letter. One simple typo. You've got a nickname for the rest of the vacation... potentially for life.

Lisa was using Nicole's touch-screen phone to send text messages. She's just not used to the virtual keyboard. Her phone has actual keys.

"Lisa" came out as "Lida."

You might as well have changed your birth certificate, Lida.

Sara: "Outta My Way, Douche Nozzles!"

We left a little bit later than we had originally planned. But, hey, it's a vacation; we're not really on a timetable. Sara's RAV4 was packed to the gills with all our crapola and we set off on this year's adventure.

A line of storms through Marion and Wyandot Counties wasn't enough to deter our little band of merrymakers. We pressed onward, picking up the other half of our caravan near Upper Sandusky. It was relatively smooth going. Sara's road rage only kicked in now and then... and always for legitimate reasons. Let's face it, there are some really stupid drivers out there... especially the ones who refuse to just hang up and drive!

Our favorite new road rage words are "douche nozzle" and "jack wagon."

Our goal is usually to make it to Standish before we stop for a T&P. The newbies didn't get the memo. We made a quick stop somewhere north of Detroit, near Pontiac.
The good thing about driving through Michigan is that the speed limit is 70... which most people interpret as 80. We make good time.



The skies began to clear as we journeyed northward. The just-past-full moon made a beautiful appearance but wasn't being photographically cooperative. Yes, that's a picture of the moon. LOL

Caribbean Cruise Day 6: Traveling Again

We rolled out of bed really early this morning so we could grab some breakfast in the Windjammer before hauling our fattened carcasses off the ship.

We picked the "Express Departure" option which means you get to carry your own luggage off the vessel. The express folks get to disembark at 7:30am instead of the 8:30 or 9am for the rest of the passengers. We were concerned about making it through customs and to the airport in enough time for our flight.

Turns out, we had nothing to worry about.

Our plane from Fort Lauderdale had to come in from Tampa. But it had mechanical trouble. So our flight back to Tampa was delayed by more than an hour. Thankfully, we had enough layover scheduled to still make our connection.

We're home again. Sad to see the trip come to an end... but it's nice to be back in our own bed... and we have plenty of photos and memories to share.