As we fished last weekend, we watched a freighter slowly disappear in the fog. Then later, we moved around a permanent mooring buoy marking the location of the Ironsides steamer. Resting in 120 feet of water, it attracts fish, but also needs to be given respect lest fishing lines are caught in the wreckage. But the…
June 22nd: The Dream
The dream is always the same. I’m back in college. The final exam for an important class is today. A class I never attended during the semester. I always meant to go, but never did. Never studied, never opened a book. And I am rushing around trying to find where the test is being administered….
June 21st: Naked no more … return of the catwalk
On our fishing trip, the work on restoring the catwalk at the Grand Haven lighthouse pier was clear thru the fog. The catwalk was removed before we arrived in Michigan. Dismantled with the intention to refurbish and reinstall. But after inspection, most of the catwalk needed to be completely replaced. Originally, the catwalk served as…
June 19th: Brothers lost, brothers found
I had two brothers. My mother was 40 when I was born, she was in her 20’s when my brothers were born. They had the advantage of closeness in age. But differences accumulated between us all… geography, interests, personalities, slights – real and imagined, life choices. Seeing each other became rarer and rarer. I stayed…
June 14th: Dune riding
Of course the longest fresh water dune system in the world needs dune rides. Probably the oldest in Michigan, in operation since 1930, is Mac Wood’s Dune Rides. Next to Silver lake, they are just a 50 minute drive north from Grand Haven. Impressive beauty of the dunes combines nicely with a rollercoaster type ride,…
June 13th: No bad days
When your life is a beach, there are no bad days. Just good days for fresh adventures. A Red Flag day means bring out the surf boards at the Grand Haven State Park. When these women arrived, there were another dozen surfers already in the water. Plus a few kite boarders. Yep, a little windy…
June 12th: The richest man in the world
Who is the richest man in the world? Jeff Bezos? Bill Gates? Warren Buffet? Well… surprise… Vladimir Putin. Yes, the former KBG agent, and current Russian leader is estimated to be the richest man in the world. Forbes can’t confirm, only because much of Putin’s wealth is hidden and slippery. So my beach musing of…
June 11th: Muskegon again
Another jaunt just north to Muskegon. Visited their excellent farmers market and procured green healthy things. The vendor we were paying grabbed a knife and sliced a couple wedges from one of his beautiful tomatoes, “Ya got try this!” We did, and he was right. The pleasure of a perfectly ripe tomato is wondrous… so…
June 10th: The better question
Are you fun to live with?
June 7th: Beach shack heaven
Hugging the coast, we leisurely drove north to the Pere Marquette beach. Here the sandy shore is long, wide, and mostly flat, a beautiful uncrowded area near Muskegon. On the northern end of the expansive beach sits The Deck. The best (only?) beach shack restaurant on the coast. This is a spot we would claim as…