Fortunate

Good morning and happy Sunday.   Today I'm coming to you from atop Brockway Mountain, probably the most unusual place I've ever written the blog.  The girls and I are in between hotel stays and the rain is coming down steadily, so we headed out for a drive.  When I realized.i have cell service and a beautiful view, I decided to pull over and share my thoughts this week with you from right where I was.  I apologize if there are typos....I'm also using my phone to write today, and that isn't always easy.  So here we go.

I started my Monday morning in the Orlando airport awaiting a flight home after.the conference i was supposed to attend got cancelled due to the impending Hurricane Milton.  I was in Florida less than 24 hours, and if I'm completely honest, I was pretty happy about that.  I know lots of people love Florida, but I am not one of them.  

When I landed in Michigan and began my drive toward home, I noticed that the Fall colors were beginning to really show in the area, and I smiled.  While I don't love Fall, I feel very lucky to live in an area that has four real seasons and so much beauty.   I also was thinking of everyone who had had their lives changed forever by Hurricane Helene, and all those preparing for Milton, and was so thankful that we don't deal with those kinds of natural disasters here.  I'll take the occasional tornado, subfreezing temperatures, and some blizzards any day over hurricanes.

After stopping for lunch with Nicol and Fiona and doing a little work from Nicol's house, I finally headed out to get the girls from boarding.   They were happy to see me, but not as happy as I was to see them.  When we arrived at home, they took a quick trip outside while I prepared their dinner, and then crashed for the night.  Peaches put herself to bed before 6:30, and i had to force her to go outside to potty at 11pm.  Needless to say, it was an exceptionally quiet evening at my house and I was thankful for that because I needed some rest too.

Tuesday we were back to our work from home life.  The weather was beautiful and the girls spent most of the day outside.   When they weren't running around and sniffing, Mina happily took naps in the sun.

After work, I headed out to the garden to pick the last few tomatillos and zucchini.   Because a frost was possible that night, I wanted to pick everything and finish the garden clean up for the year.  

I decided to pick the 6 zucchini blossoms that looked the best and to try my hand at stuffed zucchini for dinner.  I didn't have everything we needed, so I ran out to the store to buy ricotta and mozzarella.   We took a quick trip to the Dewitt dog park to let the girls run, and then headed home for dinner.  I'd say my first attempt at the blossoms wasn't too bad.  

Wednesday after work, I was happy to get out for our shelter dog walk.  I thought that this tree near the shelter was pretty.

After our group walk, I took Wendigo, this cute old beagle, for a short walk one on one.  His little nose never left the ground.  Watching him happily sniff made me smile.  I'm so lucky to be able to spend my Wednesday evenings helping our amazing shelter dogs.

After our walk was over, I was able to get the girls out for a nice one mile walk just after dark.  Then we settled in for the night.

On Thursday after work, the girls and I headed out to the South Lansing Farmer's Market.

They got lots of attention and some special treats, and I got a few goodies too.  Then we headed out for a nice walk around the nearby neighborhood before heading home.

I had things to do around the house including dishes and a load of laundry, plus I needed to pack for our upcoming trip North. It was a busy evening.

The highlight of Thursday, though, was the appearance of the Northern Lights.  This storm was a strong one, and I was so lucky to be able to see them right from my own backyard.  Mina and I did make a drive to a darker area and saw nothing, but the storm picked up after we got back home and I was able to capture several pictures.   Then I just sat outside and watched them glow.  What a wonderful experience. 

We were up early Friday to start our trek north for a nice vacation.   Along the way, we made a stop in Mackinaw City to explore and stretch our legs while there was a long line of traffic waiting to cross the Bridge. 

We don't often stop very long here,  but it was 75 degrees and mostly sunny, and most importantly,  there were no crowds so we had a great walk and enjoyed the adventure. 

Finally we were back in the car to finish our journey to Manistique for the night.  On arrival, we settled into our room, took a walk out to the beach, and then headed to Clyde's to pick up dinner.  We than sat at the beach parking near the lighthouse to enjoy the burger and the beautiful view.  We stayed almost until sunset,  but not quite.  Then I fed the girls dinner at the hotel and took them for a quick potty walk around the hotel property at dusk.  Then we settled into our room for the evening. 

We were up early on Saturday morning, and we were on the road by 8:30 to continue our journey to Copper Harbor.  It was a chilly, but beautiful, morning on Lake Michigan.  I was lucky enough to catch this beautiful view as we drove out of town.

I bypassed our normal route, and decided to drive Forest Highway 13 between US2 and M28, and I was not disappointed.   The colors were absolutely outstanding. 

We made a few stops to enjoy the view along the way, and made a quick stop at Wagner Falls before we continued our travels.

The colors along Us41 were also amazing, and we really enjoyed our stop at Lake Plumbago.  The reds and oranges were really popping.

We finally made it to the Harbor and took a walk around town, then after a short break, we headed out to say hello to the horses.

Finally I decided we'd take a drive along M26, and ended up traveling up Brockway Mountain just before sunset.  

I found a beautiful spot to pull over along the way to the top and couldn't believe these stunning views.

I was disappointed when I got to the overlook to find a crazy number of cars and people, but we walked down the mountain a bit and found a quiet spot to enjoy the beauty.  I ended up having a wonderful conversation with a couple from Petoskey who had come to Copper Harbor to get away from all fo the crazy tourists in Petoskey.  It certainly made me appreciate how lucky we are to have so many beautiful places to visit, and that i have been fortunate enough to experience these places without crowds.  

Before heading to our room, we stopped at the overlook for a view of town, and felt lucky to be there with just one other person.  He was a young man who was experiencing the Michigan Fall colors for the first time and the awe and amazement he shared made me realize once again just how lucky I am to call this amazing State home.  

I got to spend the night fighting Mina for space in the bed...she certainly made herself comfortable. Luckily, I had a good night's rest.

We woke to a few sprinkles and rain expected most of the morning.  The girls needed a potty walk and I needed to get a Jamsen's turnover, so off we went for a quick walk.  We were blessed with this beautiful sky at sunrise at 8;08am.

The rain picked up as we got close to Jamsen's and the girls hid under the counter while I ordered.  Then Peaches nearly dragged me back to our room trying to run to avoid the rain. 

After a peaceful start to our day i had to pack the car for our move to a new place for the rest of the week, and as the rain fell the girls jumped into the car ready for some adventures. 

And that's how we ended up here, on Brockway, writing the blog in the car in a steady rain with a beautiful view.  

The rain seems to be slowing down now, and it is supposed to move out of the area by 1pm, so we have some fun planned for this afternoon,  but for now I'm going to continue my drive down Brockway, have some lunch, and remember how fortunate and grateful I am every day for everything I have and the beauty that surrounds me.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

A whirlwind week

Happy Sunday!  I wasn't sure I'd get to the blog today, but I'm currently sitting in a quiet hotel room in Orlando and thought I'd take advantage of the down time.

Last Sunday afternoon, I got to spend some time volunteering at a fun event at Biggby Coffee supporting the animal shelter.  Jack was my buddy for the two hours I was there.  He was a very good boy and it was a fun event.

The girls hung out in the car while I was volunteering,  and after the event, they each got a pup cup before we headed out on a walk.  It was a nice way to spend our afternoon. 

Monday was such a busy day for me, but the girls enjoyed time outside during the day while I worked.  After work, I spent some time outside with them with several rounds of fetch, then we took a quick walk around the neighborhood before sunset.

We spotted some deer down the street on our walk.  Mina was pretty excited to see them.  

On Tuesday, I took an early lunch plus a couple additional hours away from work to watch Brezlyn golf.  The conference championship for her high school athletic conference played at Fort Akers Golf Course on campus, so I was excited to be able to watch her.

It was a beautiful morning on campus, and I really enjoyed being out on the golf course watching her play.

The craziest thing I saw while out there was the flowers on the flowering cherry trees.  A little tast of spring in fall.

While the girls normally only play nine holes, they played a full 18 holes that day, and unfortunately I couldn't stay for the last nine holes.

After I left a cold front moved through and rain moved in, but they continued golfing through the rain.  At the end of the 18 holes, Brezlyn had golfed her personal best score and finished 2nd on her team and 15th in the conference.   She was pretty happy with the final result.

I got home and finished out my work day.  After work, I took the girls to the Dewitt dog park for a good run.  The girls made friends with Bella, a 9 month old Rottweiler puppy.  It was a fun night at the park with them.

Wednesday was my weekly dog walk at the shelter.  I got to walk Ned.  He was such a sweet boy.  The weather was great and it was a wonderful evening for our walk.

After I got home, I got the girls out for a quick walk just aftet sunset before we settled in for the night.

On my lunch Thursday,  we ran out to the farm to pick up pumpkins for my Fall decorating.  The girls came along so we could also make a quick stop at the dog park to burn off some energy.  I figured that would help them relax for the rest of the day while I worked.

After work we visited the Farmer's Market and took a walk through Soldan's.  Then we headed home to decorate. 

I was able to get most of my Fall and Halloween decorations out, but I discovered i needed a few more pumpkins, so on Friday we stopped at the farm for a few more pumpkins and some doughnuts over my lunch.

I had a busy day at work preparing to be out of the office for a conference the coming week, and I had a long list of things to do around the house after work too.  Luckily I was able to get most of my list completed.

After work, the first thing I did was get into the garden for the final picking of the year.  I did some minor garden clean up as well.  Then I froze the tomatillos, roasted and froze tomatoes, and finished working on the last of my dried basil.  

I finished laundry, dishes, and did a quick cleaning of the car, then packed for my upcoming work travel.  The girls and I also ran some errands.  It was a busy, but very productive evening.  

On Saturday morning, we picked up Vanessa and headed out for a much needed adventure.  We headed down to Southwest Michigan for some geocaching fun and we had a great time.  While we didn't hike as much as I originally thought we would, we really enjoyed our trip.

When we got home, I quickly loaded the car, dropped Vanessa off at home, and headed toward Detroit.  I had a few things to drop off for Nicol and enjoyed a short visit with Nicol,  Tyler, and Fiona.  Fiona loved showing me their Halloween decorations and running around outside after dark.  After my short visit, I was off to my hotel for the night so that I could get up early for my flight out of Detroit.

I dropped the girls off at the dog boarding facility before sunrise this morning and then headed off to the airport for a flight to Orlando.  

With a hurricane headed toward Florida, I had hoped the conference I was traveling for would be canceled,  but it was still on when my flight departed Detroit.  But as soon as I landed in Orlando, I got word that the conference was cancelled, and I started to  work on getting home.

Sadly there was no flight today to get me back home, but I was able to get a Monday morning flight and a hotel near the airport for the night.  I had a late lunch with some coworkers I ran into at the airport before they got to fly home, and then I headed to my hotel. 

The weather wasn't terrible, and I really needed a walk, so after I settled into my room, I headed out for a walk in the drizzle.  I walked about 2 miles just staying within a short distance from the hotel.  It was a nice walk and I arrived back at the hotel feeling much better than when I left.

I've spent a quiet night in my room and will be heading to bed shortly to get a good night's sleep before my morning flight.  

It was a whirlwind of a week and i got lots of stuff done.  I feel pretty great a out how productive I was.  I'm also pretty happy to get home from Orlando earlier than I expect and to see the girls again.  Now I just hope that my morning travel goes smoothly.   Wish me luck!