Michigan with Friends

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Our road trip continues to be fun. Today was one of the best.

We started our Mother's Day Sunday with a visit to Blaine Christian Church where Charlie and Sharon are members. We loved the traditional service which included communion. The pastor was excellent with a well delivered message. We felt right at home in this congregation.

After church we returned home for a nice lunch and then got ourselves ready for our big challenge. Jackie and I agreed to climb the nearby "Old Baldy" in the Arcadian Dunes. To get to this enormous sand dune, you have to hike through the woods for about 1-1/2 miles. The last third of which is up some serious sand dune hills. The challenge is climbing in very loose sand. Once at the top, the real test happens. The Northern face of the dune faces Lake Michigan. It is 356-ft high. Climbing down the face is the goal. It was thrilling walking or really sliding down this 30-story hill.

At the bottom, we walked along the shore back to Charlie's home on Lower Henning Lake about another 1-1/2 miles. Jackie and I both got over 15,000 steps during this day.

After we returned we took quick shower and joined the others to walk down to the Casino for drinks. Next was back to the Inn for a Special Mother's Day dinner. We met so many members of the community, both family and friends of Charlie and Sharon. The dinner was excellent.

The night was not over. After dinner, we returned to take a ride on Charlie's boat. He has a dock behind their home on the lake. It was about 8:15pm when we got on the boat. We wanted to do a quick tour of the homes around the lake since it the sun was setting at 9:05pm. But, there was a problem getting the motor to crank. So, we just sat on the boat on the dock and relaxed. After a while Jackie and Sharon returned inside while Charlie and I stayed with the boat. Finally, we gave up and returned to the house and bed.

Wow, we were tired. But tomorrow we had planned to drive up to St. Ignace to catch a ferry to Mackinac Island. So, we crashed.

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Photos

Blaine Christian Church
We joined Sharon and Charlie at the 11am service this morning. We were happy and impressed with the service.

Old Baldy Challenge
We met with Mike to lead us on the long trail up to the top of Old Baldy.

Old Baldy Challenge
Me and my sweetheart.

Old Baldy Challenge
Here we were about 3/4 of the way to the bottom.

Old Baldy Challenge
If you look close you can see a couple people at the top of Baldy. We are about 30-feet above the sea at this point.

Dinner at the Inn
There was a "Mother's Day" dinner that we joined at the nearby Inn.

Sunset over Lower Henning Lake
Finally I captured another sun set.