On to Port Huron, Michigan

We were awake early this morning, probably because we couldn't stay awake last night.  I slept soundly most of the night.  Dave had some kind of reaction to the soap he had used in the shower.  He woke up itching like mad.  So, after another shower, with serious scrubbing and no soap, he felt considerably better.


Dave went down to eat breakfast this morning.  He said that it was served in a beautiful room overlooking the marina.  They had a nice breakfast buffet including yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, bagels, pastries and lots of different types of breakfast burritos.  He brought me back a cup of hot green tea.  It tasted really good.  It was pretty "brisk" this morning.

We took some things to the car and then strolled a short distance along the marina overlooking the harbor that leads to Lake Michigan.  It was great fun checking out all of the boats that were anchored in the marina.  Clearly there is money sitting there.  Although, there were a couple of large boats that were sporting "For Sale" signs.


We decided that we would definitely stay at this place again.  If you are ever traveling and end up in Muskegon--very high marks to the Shoreline Inn & Suites.  

Today's Starting Data:
Mileage:  64,083 miles
Temperature:  58º
Weather:  Sunny when we got up--heavily overcast by 9:20
Time:  9:28

View of Lake Michigan from our room

We debated before we left the parking lot whether it was going to be a convertible top down or a convertible top up day.  That decision became easier to make as heavy dark clouds and increasing winds appeared.  So, convertible top up it was!  As we left the motel the first thing that caught our eye was American flags placed about every 15 yards along both sides of Hwy 31.  There was no sign of them yesterday when we drove that way on our way to Grand Haven for supper.  Somebody worked fast this morning!  


Our travel today included a tour of the area of Michigan where our good friend, Kay, grew up.  For those of you that like to look at a map, we traveled east on Hwy 46 from Muskegon until it is intersected by Hwy 37.  We saw lots of 5th-wheels and travel trailers trudging home.  That gave us both an old familiar feeling:  "Oh, crap.  Labor Day weekend is about over.  Time to put away our trailer until next year."  (We sure like not having to put our fifth-wheel away now that we have retired!)


Dave and I love to look for unusual signs.  The first one that caught our eye today was not too far from Muskegon and read: 


"No Shining.
  No Trespassing."
My maiden name was Shining, so my first thought was, "How rude!"  We turned around and headed back to the sign.  It turns out that this was next to a high-fenced area that was breeding deer for release to hunting areas.  

 

Next unusual sign was before we got to Edmore.  Unfortunately, we did not get a picture, so trust me!  It read:


"Elephant Rides!"
Well, we didn't stop, but neither one of us saw any elephants.  Disappointing!


Next unusual sign was just east of Edmore.  This one we have a picture of for you.  I had to take this picture very quickly, so I don't know if you can see that there are lots (think nearly a hundred) bikes there.


"Pop's Used Bikes!" 

There was also a bait shop proclaiming:  "I've Got Worms!"  Enough said!


We did take the tour as directed by Kay and got a good look at important spots like the hospital where she was born:

Here is the high school of one of their athletic rivals (Lakeville):

Then of course, we have Dave standing next to the sign announcing her hometown:

After we left Edmore we headed to Alma.  We got there around noon and stopped at a newly opened Wal-Mart.  We ran in and got a card reader for the camera and a gallon of water for me to drink.  We stopped at the Subway inside the store and Dave grabbed a sub and a diet Coke.  We had a near disaster in the parking lot when a car nearly backed into us.  It missed us only by inches.  Thank goodness Dave was watching closely.


The traffic really picked up as we neared Flint and the turn-off for Detroit.  We stopped at a rest area just west of Flint.  It was very clean and had a beautiful flower garden with a sign saying that it was done by a Master-Gardener sponsored by Michigan State University.  The Salvation Army had a truck there handing out free coffee to Labor Day travelers.  It was very breezy and overcast with sprinkles.


Just outside of Flint we drove past a GMC Truck and Bus Group plant.  We wondered if this might have been the birthplace of our truck, Fluffy.  It was clearly in production.  It wasn't too much longer before we arrived in Port Huron.  We got ourselves checked into our motel--a Hampton Inn--and then headed out for an explore.


There are some absolutely beautiful condominiums that are just at the shore of the channel of Lake Huron.  They had gorgeous views.  We parked the car and walked along the waterfront and saw the Huron Lightship.  We had hoped that we'd be able to walk through the Lightship Museum, but being Labor Day, of course it was closed.  Here is a picture of the Huron Lightship and the sign with the information about the ship itself.  It's an interesting read, so take a minute and check it out!

Here is a picture of the bridge that we will travel across tomorrow morning when we leave the United States and travel into Canada.  Our next stop is Toronto.  More tomorrow!