On Monday of last week, Steven and I had the opportunity to get away for a couple of days. My in-laws had purchased a little get-away for us that included a 2 night hotel stay, 2 breakfasts, and dinner, not to mention easy access to snowmobile trails. We loaded up the sleds, packed our stuff and headed out to Cadillac. When we arrived on Monday it was a balmy 37 degrees and very nice outside. We decided it would be now or never to ride, so we donned our gear, hopped on the sled and rode off in search of gas. We got our gas, hopped on the trail and rode about a mile before turning around...the trails were past the point of snirt ( I really get a chuckle out of that word...snirt...never knew it was a word until we started checking on websites for snowmobile trail conditions. Snow + dirt = snirt.) They were completely muddy or would that make them smuddy? We had heard from the gas station attendant that the trails were perfect right up until about Sunday. She had said there was A LOT of snowmobilers over the weekend. We ended up going back to the hotel and put the sled back on the trailer. Later that afternoon, it started pouring. It is amazing how fast snow disappears in a downpour!
We were a little disappointed that the weather was not cooperating with us, but decided to make the best of our alone time together. We went to a movie in downtown Cadillac on Monday night. If you get a chance, you'll have to ask Steven what he feels are the 3 most important lessons he has learned about life.
Tuesday we decided to drive to Traverse City for the day. I believe it was actually in the 40's this day. Again, it was pouring later in the evening. Fortunately, the rain held off for most of the afternoon. Once we got to Traverse, we drove around and took in some of the sights. We were pretty surprised to see that Lake Michigan was not froze over.
The Big Lake was spectacular on this day. I can't get enough of Lake Michigan. The sounds of the waves crashing in were mezmerizing.
We drove to the Mission Point Lighthouse. I love lighthouses. I am slowly starting to collect pictures of the various lighthouses I've seen over the years. I love the history behind them.
This one has been restored and is very nice on the inside. We peeked in the windows. I would gladly sign up and watch the light for them!
There was a nice walking path around the penninsula where the light house was situated. We walked awhile admiring God's creation. Even the trees that are dead seem to be full of life.
We came upon this really huge dog track...or was it a wolf...or a bear? It was really big. I was really scared...not really.
We walked the beach back to the lighthouse for what seemed like miles...Especially when you are wearing really big boots.
This concluded our little tour of Mission Point. From here, we went and had an early dinner so we could get back to Cadillac before the Blizzard hit. Yep, go figure, they were under winter storm and blizzard warnings on Tuesday night, you know, the night before we were supposed to leave? Somewhere in the middle of the night, we were hit with about 6 inches of snow and huge winds. The truck was completely frozen shut when Steven went out to start it in the morning. He reefed on it so hard he ended up breaking the handle. We left Cadillac at about 9:30 Wednesday morning and white-knuckled it pretty much to Gladwin, where the roads cleared right up and were perfect the rest of the way home.
We ended up having a great time together even though the trip wasn't exactly as planned. It was very nice to be able to have some down time and some alone time. That sure doesn't happen enough. I am thankful that God has brought such a great man into my life.
I think it is so cool the way the snow just piles up on some surfaces, like our patio table. Though you can't really see it, the table reads 7" of fresh snow.
...and the pine trees in the front. They look absolutely beautiful with all of the snow piled on.
