June 30, 2000: Upper Peninsula Trip with Kara & Leah

Kara, Leah, and I left early for our trip to the Upper Peninsula to stay at her grandparent's cabin in the remote part of the the UP.   Leah and I played the traveling bingo game.   It was hilarious.    Our first trip was to Mount Pleasant, so Kara could pick up her mail and do some errands. Central Michigan University was pretty quiet, which was an unusual sight to see.   

I did the driving up to the Mackinac Bridge.   We stopped in Mackinaw City to take a break.   Leah was afraid of heights, so she sat in the backseat, while Kara did the driving across the bridge.    The view of the lake over the bridge was beautiful.   

We stopped at the casino in Sault Ste. Marie.   It was Leah's birthday, so she wanted to go to the casino.    Kara won $50.    Then, we stopped at this store and I got some delicious peanut butter fudge.

Then, we had lunch at this restaurant that sold chicken pasties.    The Upper Peninsula was known for their beef and chicken pasties.        If you are a native of the UP, you are referred to as a "Youpper".  People from the Upper Peninsula are known as trolls.

We got into a bad storm, so Leah did the driving.   

The cabin was about 30 minutes from the main road.   We went through big mud puddles and over a tree that you could feel on the floor of Kara's car.   

The cabin looked like one on "Little House on the Prairie".   It was 1 room with 2 beds, a table, and the top of a range.  

There was no running water or electricity.   We unpacked and opened the outhouse to air it out.  

Leah and Kara started pumping the water, so we had it for cleansing and cooking.  

Kara taught us the card game, "Hand and Foot". 

Every time we came into the cabin, we had to check each other for ticks.  They are very small bugs that can bury themselves into your skin.  They are known to carry the Lyme disease.

I couldn't believe how dark it was at night. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face.  We were all paranoid over the bugs around the cabin.     I had a hard time going to sleep, as I was so fearful of those ticks.   

I heard a coyote outside and mice running on the floor.    Leah and I are both city girls, so this was not an easy experience for us.