Ned here. (Debi’s talking to Josh in China…) Last night the skies opened up and produced the biggest thunderstorm of our trip so far. We ate breakfast in the van to keep out of the rain, which is something we did quite often on our trip last fall. As we headed north along the coast of Lake Huron, the rain stopped, although it remained cloudy. We soon stopped at a produce stand along the road that advertised both blueberries and cherries. We were soon on the road again, stuffing ourselves with some of the best blueberries and cherries we have ever tasted! We followed the “Scenic Sunrise Shore” drive suggested by our Most Scenic Drives in America book. Frankly, it was the first time we felt disappointed in one of the drives suggested by that book. There were only a few short areas where we were able to see the lake, which, however, we are pleased to report is much cleaner looking than our experience last night at Saginaw Bay. For at least 100 miles we passed very modest homes with lakefront property, along with 50’s vintage mom and pop vacation cottages. It felt like a time warp of when families loaded up the station wagon and vacationed at a cabin along the lake. During most of this time, Debi became obsessed with finding a place that sold smoked whitefish, a delicacy which she fell in love with last Fall on our trip through Wisconsin. However, we have yet to find any that meet her stringent specifications. We felt triumphant when we finally reached Cheboygan State Park. Last winter, as Debi was planning this trip to avoid cabin fever, we often joined in a chorus of “Cheboygan, baby, Cheboygan!” It was fun to actually get here after all that buildup! We stopped in downtown to buy some groceries, and decided to treat ourselves to dinner in town. We both ate a nice whitefish dinner on an outdoor patio, as the sun began to shine, next to the Black River,. As we ate, we watched three different fishermen pull in large fish across the river from us. On our way back to camp, we stopped at the beach in the state park. (See today’s pic) We verified again here that water in this part of the lake is relatively clear, but mysteriously to us, only a few inches deep, even several hundred feet from shore. We’re hoping for good weather tomorrow on our bike ride around Mackinac Island.
