Pams Party & Practical Tips

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Dare to Share #440

It is Saturday, and you know what that means..

It is time to Dare to Share!

Hope you are having a good weekend. This weekend a couple of exciting things are happening with me. Last night I had my annual birthday dinner with my kids at Red Robin. (with my free meal coupon!) I look forward to it every year because my kids will actually pose for pictures with me. My son is not fond of taking pictures and it usually takes some work to get him to smile. My daughter on the other hand loves pictures but is usually making goofy faces. Today I will be celebrating with a close friend. I am not completely sure what we will be doing yet, but both of our birthday are this week. Another exciting thing is Big Ten football is back this weekend. GO BUCkS! One thing you will know if you have followed me for awhile, you know I love my Buckeyes and football.

This past week on my day off I had to spend it at the tire place and the Secretary of State office so I did not have time to finish a craft that I am excited about. I did though post that second to last post about our big vacation. This time it was about our trip to the Upper Peninsula.

I have also been finding a lot more amazing Christmas red truck items that I will be posting about in the next few days. If you love red trucks they are EVERYWHERE this year.

Well it is time to get this party started. Link up and HAVE FUN!

Our trip to the Michigan Upper Peninsula

Only a couple more posts from our vacation around Michigan. Today I am going to post about what we saw in the Upper Peninsula. There were many places in the UP we were not able to see on this trip, but we definitely hope to go back to see next summer.

The night before, we had left Mackinac Island and Lake Huron and drove to Sault Ste. Marie. I lived in Sault Ste Marie for a short time as a baby while my dad was in the Air Force. There used to be a base there. It was many years ago though, and I do not remember any of it. We started the day at the Soo Locks. We arrived just as a big ship was going through the locks but we were not paying attention. We did not realize that it was just about lunch time and the locks were going to close for an hour so the workers could have time off to eat.

After waiting an hour while the lock workers were on break, we waited about 20 more minutes before a boat came through. While it was not another big ship, we finally got to see how the locks worked.

I did some research on the locks. The reason why they exist is there is a thick layer of bedrock holding the waters of Lake Superior from where it joins the St. Marys river. There is a big drop from that area to lower great lakes, which ships could not make it on their own. The gradual raising and lowering of the water in the locks allows safe passage between the two bodies of water.

I saw this T shirt in a gift shop in Sault Ste. Marie. I found it humorous because the Upper Peninsula is known for having several Big Foot sightings. It makes sense because it is also where the Hiawatha National Forest which is almost 900,000 acres is located.

After leaving the locks, our first stop was the Point Iroquois Lighthouse. It was about 20 miles west of Sault Ste Marie. Built in 1870 on the shore of Lake Superior it helped guide the ships coming and going through the Soo Locks.

We would have been able to take a tour of the house and tower if it was not closed because of Covid.

Right next to the lighthouse was a small beach. If you love rocks, then you will NEED to make a trip to Lake Superior. The rocks you can find along the shore are amazing. The colors are super vibrant when wet, and have many layers to them.

These were some of our favorites.

Our next stop was Whitefish Point Light Station in Paradise, Michigan. It is the oldest active lighthouse in Lake Superior. This area is also called the graveyard of the great lakes because more ship wrecks have happened in this area than any other part of Lake Superior. One of the most famous wrecks was the Edmund Fitzgerald which became well known because of song by Gordon Lightfoot.

Next to this lighthouse was another beach. It was a bit more crowded with people looking for rocks. I wish my picture would show more of the colors. We found many more beautiful rocks to add to our collection.

A few miles down the road from the lighthouse was the Tahquamenon Falls, also located in Paradise Michigan. Located in the second largest state park in Michigan, there are two parts to the fall, the lower and the upper. We started at the lower part of the falls. The water is brown in color because of tannins that leach from the cedar swamps at the start of the Tahquamenon River. It is nicknamed root beer falls, and I have to say it did remind me of root beer.

It was starting to get later in the evening so we left the lower fall and hope to see the upper falls before dark.

Thankfully we made it in time. The upper falls were quite a sight. They are 200 feet right and 50 feet deep, and of the biggest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River.

We think there was a nice sunset that night, but we could not tell, there were too many trees in the way. We did have an interesting night that night. I think I mentioned in one of my posts that we did not make reservations during our trip. We just went to where we felt like staying. This night was the only night that it was a problem. As it was getting late, we drove through Newberry, where there was not a lot of places to stay. We drove 45 more miles to Manistique hoping to find a hotel. We found plenty of hotels, but they were all full. By this time it was about 10 pm. We had to drive 60 more miles to the town of Escanaba before we found one a room. Part of the problem was it was a Friday night when many people travel to the UP. We did not think of that earlier in the day or we might have called ahead and made reservations. Everything turned out okay in the end though, and now we know what to do on our next trip. Our next stop, the Wisconsin Dells and the Navy Pier.

Dare to Share #439

It is Saturday morning, so you know what that means..

It is time to Dare to Share!

Sorry I am a little late with the party this week. A friend came to town last night, and I also had to pick up my daughter from her best friends house. By the time I got home, it was already late and I was really tired by a long day at school. I am feeling much more refreshed to turn on the computer this morning.

Are you going to do anything fun for fall today? I think we may check out a local pumpkin farm, possibly do a bit of Halloween decorating and enjoy some pasta for National Pasta Day/Sweetest Day.

I had planned on a couple posts this week. I shared our visit to Mackinac Island. I had planned on making a really cool craft on Wednesday but my best friend surprised with an early birthday dinner. My birthday is not actually for a couple of weeks, but we both had the day off and she thinks she is working on my actual birthday.

One of my favorite parts of the day was the visit to a special unicorn store. I loved being greeted by this giant unicorn ready for a safe Halloween. I received some unicorn themed gifts and we ate unicorn cookies and chocolate cupcakes. While my day did not go as planned that day, it ended up being even better.

Well I better get this party started

Link up and HAVE FUN!

Our visit to Mackinac Island

After we saw the sunset in Petoskey (read about it here) we moved on to Mackinaw City for the night. The next morning we stopped at the Old Mackinac Point lighthouse, and to see Mackinac Bridge from the shore. It is the the bridge that connects the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan.

The lighthouse is another nice one that we would like to go back and visit when it is open to the public again. It has such a pretty view of Lake Huron and the Mighty Mac. (the nickname for the Mackinac Bridge)

To get to the island, you need to take a ferry. You can take a ferry from Mackinaw City, or you can cross the bridge and take one from St. Ignace. We decided do the latter, because we were planning on going north into the Upper Peninsula after our trip to the island.

There are a couple different ferry companies to choose from. we chose to take the Star Line. Since we had about 45 minutes before our ferry was due to leave, we decided to check out the small lighthouse that was very close by.

This is the Watawam Lighthouse. It is much different than the other lighthouses we saw on our trip. It was built in Monroe, Michigan and then moved to St. Ignace in 2006.

While on the ferry we passed the Round Island Lighthouse. It was built in 1895 and help the ships find their way through the Straits of Mackinac.

When the ferry pulled into the dock, this is the first beautiful building we saw. The pink flowers were gorgeous.

The Mustang Lounge claims to be Michigan's most historic tavern. When I went to find out why, I saw that the building is made from 200 yr old timbers from the fur trader warehouse that used to be located there.

The Lilac Tree Hotel is the only all suite hotel on the island. As you can see there is a horse drawn carriage hauling supplies parked in front. There are a lot of horses on the island, because cars are prohibited.

This beautiful bed and breakfast has a beautiful of the water and belongs to a relative of a friend of mine.

This is the equivalent to a traffic jam on the island. A carriage carrying supplies to the Grand Hotel and the trash carriage met up at the corner.

There are approximately 500 people who live on the island year round, and this is where the children go to school.

The Grand Hotel is probably the most famous building on the island. You may have seen it in the movie Somewhere in Time. It was built in 1887, and every single room is decorated differently. It is also pretty expensive to stay there. We checked the prices the week we were there in August, and they were over $700 a night. There is also a $10 a person fee is you are not a registered guest, and you want to go up to the grand porch for pictures. We decided not to do that this time, but might on our next visit.

The main type of transportation on the island is the bicycle. They are everywhere, and can be rented for the day. This was the bike parking lot outside of the Grand Hotel

All of the buildings on the island have historic significance. This beautiful house is the medical center.

If you get in trouble while on the island, this is the police station and courthouse.

Douds Market is America's oldest grocery store. It was founded in 1884 by James and Patrick Doud.

After dinner the sun began to set, and we knew it was time to head back. The last ferry back to the mainland was at 9 pm. We decided to go back on the 8 pm ferry just in case it was too crowded. While waiting for our ferry we saw the pirate ship ferry that we did not know about until the end of the day. It looks like fun, and we might try it next time.

One look back at the Grand Hotel as the sun began to set. It was such a beautiful day and visit. We will definitely be going back again, hopefully one day soon!

Dare to Share #438

It is Friday night, and you know what that means..

It is time to Dare to Share!

Is it just me or did another week just fly by? How is it almost the middle of October? The leaves are changing colors, and its getting cooler. (sort of, it was close to 80 in Michigan today) I have recently been in the mood for crafting for the holidays.

Earlier this week I shared my mesh pumpkin from Dollar Tree items that is quick and easy to make,

and red truck holiday items. I can't help but get excited when I see all the fun items to decorate and craft with.

Have you begun your holiday crafting?

Well it looks like it is time to get this party started. Link up and HAVE FUN!

Red Truck Holiday Items

If you are a fan of the little red truck like I am, you will be excited to see all of the holiday red truck stuff that is available this year at the Dollar Tree and Dollar General.

I love both of these pumpkin patch signs that were only $1. The top one is from the Dollar General, the top is the Dollar Tree. Which one do you like better?

Both of these harvest trucks are fun for fall and Thanksgiving.

I am loving this Farm Fresh Pumpkins yard stake.

This truck mason jar is cut out of a thick piece of wood, and so pretty.

I have a mini tree that I change each month with a different theme. This Christmas I decided to have a red truck tree. I found both mini trucks, and larger ones with campers at the Dollar Tree.

There are even little red trucks for your Christmas village.

I was lucky enough to find these LED red truck lights, because I stopped by the store the day they were put on the shelves.

The thin truck ribbon and Santa truck tins were just recently put on the shelves.

If you were lucky enough to snag a Farmers Market calendar for 2021, you will see that there is a red harvest truck next November. Crafters and DIYers are using this calendar in their holiday crafts this year.

Both the harvest truck and the holiday truck tumblers are available now.

If you shop at Aldi you might see this red truck tablecloth for $2.99. I saw a pretty Christmas version at the Dollar General this week for $4.

If you prefer placemats to the tablecloth, Dollar Tree has these.

Also available are red truck dish cloths and towels.

I think I was most excited about this find. They are hard to find in stores, but may still be available online at DollarTree.com. I have a DIY craft using this truck that I will be sharing soon.

I am also very excited about this find at the Dollar General that I found yesterday (Oct 7) for $2 each. They are very detailed and attached to a base.