September 23, 2010

I know you have heard of the old saying, “Sometimes you are the fly and sometimes you are the windshield”. Well, for most of the day, we were the flies! The day started out with a fine drizzle and looked, for a while, like it would clear up. It never happened.

Our first stop of the day was going to be Cliff’s Shaft Mining Museum in Ishpeming, MI. The museum has a lot of outdoor exhibits and includes an underground tour. Due to the continued and sometimes heavy rain, we decided to bypass Ishpeming and continue on to our second destination, the Sand Point Lighthouse.

On our way to Sand Point, we detoured into Negaunee, MI home of the largest antique mall in the UP. There were several nice antique shops and we enjoyed every minute.

When we started back west on M28, we did get just a few miles of semi-dry weather, and were able to get some photos of the fall colors. The colors are at 70-90% in this part of the UP with a lot of red, orange and bright yellow. The mist made it very difficult to get any good photos.

The Sand Point Lighthouse is in the Ojibwa Recreation Area near Baraga, MI. When we started down the road to the point, the road was closed due to construction. Scratch the lighthouse tour.

Upon arrival at the Americinn in Calumet, MI we were informed that their electronic keys were not working. The only way we could get into our room was for the desk clerk to let us in with the master key. They are in the process of trying to fix it.

Now comes the kicker of the day. For exactly 365 days I have been waiting to go to the Irish Times Pub in Laurium, MI for Guinness Braised Beef. When I went to order…I really don’t have to tell you, do I?!!

Tomorrow we are going to the Carrousel Winery, and the Mineral Museum at Michigan Tech, both indoor activities. We sure could have used some of that wine today!