Macomb County is done!! Hallelujah!!

I have to admit that I'm not a big suburbs person. I love the country and I love cities but I don't get the point of in between but that's just me. To each their own. Different strokes for different folks. You do your thing I'll do mine. Macomb County isn't just suburbs and I know there are lots of rural parts to it and some really cool cities and there is waterfront and wonderful parks and they have a lot to be proud of. But I'm a little grumpy today and all I remember is subdivisions and strip malls.

As I said in my last post this morning, I was hoping to get both Lapeer and Macomb County done today. Wonderful Wes came back from his mandatory daily walk with Tonks the dog and announced that he didn't think he wanted to come walk with me in the rain. The way he put it was, "You know how sometimes you don't want to come out on the boat with me and tell me to go ahead and have fun?"...and you can take it from there. Payback is hell. So I headed out up 75 in the steady rain with the semi's screaming past me. I got a bite to eat and then did my walk.

So it was another rail to trail, Old Orchard Trail. The trailhead is just south of 24 Mile Road on Dequindre. To be honest there was nothing fantastic about it. It was raining and brown and cold and I was soaked when I got back to the car. But it's done. I couldn't handle doing Lapeer and I am just happy that I won't have to drive through Detroit again to get to the counties I still have to do. Sometimes I have to be happy despite my woeful inadequacy.

PS I took a few pictures of the back of people's yards. I don't know about you but it would not be a good thing to have people parading past the back of our shed and barn. Do you remember when there was supposedly a panther in Monroe County? Well, the dingdong that lives behind us was the one who supposedly saw it and the news crew was over there taking pictures. I was moving very quickly around the yard trying to put a semblance of order to the view. Sometimes I just sit and wonder.

PPS I was just looking on Wikipedia and here are a few people who are from Macomb County: Kid Rock, Eminem, Uncle Kracker, Mitch Ryder, John Smolz, Derian Hatcher. Macomb County was named after General Alexander Macomb who was a highly decorated veteran of the war of 1812.

Tuscola County/Millington

There is a wonderful organization called Rails to Trails Conservancy (railstotrails.org) and their mission statement is "Creating a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people". I get a lot of my ideas from their website. We have a LOT of former rail lines in Michigan which is good for my purposes.




Back in the days before automobiles, Michigan had lots of rail lines because the roads were so bad that most of the travel done outside of a local area was done by train. My mom said that when my grandpa had to have an operation in Ann Arbor, he went to Azalia and caught the train. When I zip up to Tuscola County to walk 5 miles and zip back home in the same afternoon I think of those days when a trip to Ann Arbor (30 miles away) would have been a huge deal. Now we run up there for groceries or a cup of coffee. But I digress...

There is a former rail line that runs from Millington in Tuscola County to Columbiaville in Lapeer County with a little part in Genesee County which is called the Southern Links Trailway. Saturday my plan was to walk 5 miles in Tuscola County, get something to eat and then do 5 miles in Lapeer County. It was a beautiful day and there was no reason why I couldn't do it.

So I went to Millington and found the trail which is really nice and well marked. There is even a portapotty!!! Woohoo!! I saw ducks, bunnies (possibly the Easter Bunny not sure) and a turtle. The trail goes through fields and past trees that were just starting to get a little green shimmer. I walked the 2.5 then walked back to the start and got in the car fully intending to drive down to Columbiaville and knock off another 5 miles. I even drove to Columbiaville but there was nowhere to eat (waaa waaa another example of having to be prepared with emergency peanut butter or something) I got lazy and ended up coming home and feeling guilty because I wimped out. I know I have to start knocking out at least a couple of counties a day when I go out because gas is expensive and time is ticking ticking away. The weather is what it is (right now I glanced out the window and I see rain streaming down from the sky).

The plan is for Wes and me to go back up today and get Lapeer and Macomb done. Update to follow on the 11 o'clock news!

St. Clair County

Wednesday night we went to a Jackson Browne Concert in Ann Arbor and between that and the late Red Wings game I went to bed and got up late. So I really wasn't feeling it when I was trying to decide where (or if) I was going to walk. But the sun was shining and I was feeling guilty so I started looking for where I could walk in St. Clair County.


I found what looked like a neat place. St. John's Marsh State Wildlife Preserve. The website said that the road had paved shoulders so I was thinking that maybe it wasn't a busy road and that the road was really wide. Wrong! I drove all the way over there without a back up plan. The marsh was beautiful but I'm not going to risk my life to get a walk in. So I started driving up the road to see what I could find.

All I really know about this part of Michigan is that there are a lot of marinas and that Canada is right across the St. Clair River which is really a strait between Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron. At least in my opinion it's a strait (I just looked it up, technically a strait would be wider). I ended up in Marine City which is a pretty place with lots of antique stores and a quilt shop. This was originally Ojibwa territory and later the whole area was a center for lumber and shipping obviously.

Since I hadn't figured out the distance beforehand I figured I'd walk for 100 minutes that works out to a 20 minute mile which is a little longer than my usual pace. I walked up and down the sidewalks for a while with beautiful views of the river. There are beautiful old buildings.

I only managed to get 2.5 miles in at Marine City so I headed back up the road. I stopped in St. Clair which is another river city. Apparently about 100 years these river cities were also popular as summer excursions for people from the big cities. A lot of rum running went on during the Prohibition too since it's so close to Canada you can see the cars running up and down the road over there. They still find bottles at the bottom from the 30's. There is a nice long walk along the river so I got my other 2.5 miles in.




























There were some very beautiful houses right on the river. Here is where I might live if I ever win the lottery. Either of these places would work.

Then I went back to the car and had to drive back over I-94 during rush hour. So, YAY, St. Clair County is done!

Field Trip to NYC

I live way out in the sticks and love it. Even when there are four big buzzards sitting on the barn across the street staring at me. (Really, that is what's happening right this minute. I hope they don't know something I don't.)

When I get away though sometimes I really like to go to the big city to add a little variety to my life. My daughter and I went to NYC last October and it was my first trip there in over 30 years. Back in the 1970's it was filthy and pretty disgusting. Those were the Saturday Night Fever days when polyester was big which was the disgusting part. Anyhow, it's so much better now.

So we left on Thursday and stopped off at Costco to buy a new camera that Wes has been craving. (It's a combined Mother and Father's Day gift to each other.) Then we took off across Ohio, the land of turnpike rest stops that feature Panera Bread and Starbucks which is another way of saying "heaven" to us.

We spent the night in East Stroudsburg PA which is in the Pocono's next to the Delaware Water Gap. We drove into NYC the next morning.

So Wes was driving and I was really stressed out because we were actually taking our car into the city which is crazy. But I had found a good deal (hmmm) on a hotel on the Upper West Side and their website says that it's easy to find parking in the neighborhood because it's a residential neighborhood. Now I've watched a lot of Seinfeld and logically I was thinking yeah right. But it turned out to be true. We found a parking space and left the car there for three days.

I have a talent for finding really bad hotels in really good locations. This place we stayed at was Riverside Tower Hotel and it used to be a dormitory back eons ago. Our room was a "suite" which I thought sounded pretty cool until I realized that it was two small rooms with single beds that had trundle beds under them. Both rooms had small sinks and there was a bathroom with a toilet and shower between the two rooms. It was heated with old style radiators. BUT it was in a great location, free parking and it was quiet and very cheap. Only 2 blocks from the subway.

We checked in and went exploring. We took the subway down to Greenwich Village and visited Washington Square. Then we walked down to Ground Zero, Trinity Church, down Broadway to catch the Staten Island Ferry which is free and goes right by the Statue of Liberty. We then walked up to and across the Brooklyn Bridge which was extremely cool. There is a famous pizza place down the street from the bridge in Brooklyn called Grimaldi's and we stood in line for about an hour to get in. We had been chatting in line with a young couple from Virginia and the four of us decided to eat together (it was easier to get a table for 4 than for 2). The pizza was good but not waiting 2 hours good. Then we took the subway back up to Columbia Circle and walked back to the hotel. I figured out that we walked 6.5 miles on Friday.

Saturday among other things we went up to the Cloisters Museum which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it's at the northern tip of Manhattan in Fort Tryon Park which is beautifully landscaped. The Cloisters is where a lot of the medieval collection is kept. The unicorn tapestries are located there. Then down to the Met and we met my sister and her husband who live in Connecticut. I hadn't seen her since October.

Sunday we went to Chelsea Market which is in the former Nabisco factory where the original Oreos were made. Now that's history!!! Now it's broken up into markets, bakeries, other retail stores. It's beautiful and fun and funky. I loved it there. Then we walked up, met my sister and hub for lunch, went and checked out Macy's then went to the play "Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo" which starred Robin Williams. Very good and thought provoking. Had to say goodbye to sissy after that. Ate at a deli by Times Square where 2 sandwiches, 2 cans of coke, 2 cannolis cost $41. Then back to car and hightailed it out of the city.

It was fun but it was good to get home yesterday. Now I can concentrate on my county challenge again. I also have to keep an eye out for those buzzards!

PS I can't get my pictures on here. I don't know what's going on.

Stuff

Today I went up to Ann Arbor and did a short walk with Hannah, my former coworker who is my walking buddy and got me to do the 3 day. She works full time, takes care of an almost 3 year old, keeps her house very clean and also has been training diligently and trying to think of ways to get $2300 so she can do the walk. She's got a lot going on!!! Funny, she's my daughter's age. Work is a great thing since you end up with friends you never would have interacted with otherwise. She's heard lots of crazy stories from me but she still likes me (I think).

So we walked a little bit around Avis Farms which, as I said before, is a beautiful business park. It's killing me that I'm not up to speed on my walking but I'm doing all I can to take care of that. I know that I will be fine as far as training and walking in the 3 day (well, I don't know that for sure and am knocking on wood as I type) but as long as nothing else happens I should be fine. It's getting all the counties done by August 12 that is problematic. It might take a wee bit longer LOL. But we'll see.

Part of the problem is that I have a couple trips planned. This weekend Wes and I are going to New York City which I'm really geeked about. We are going to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and do lots of sightseeing so I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. Then I'm going to Chicago at the end of the month.

Since Tuesday

On Tuesday I wanted to try the connector trail from Sterling State Park to Downtown. So Wes dropped me off and it took me about an hour to walk to the coffee shop on Front and Monroe. It was very beautiful while in the park. I saw white egrets sitting on their nests and when I walked up they got all worked up which I felt bad about but at one point there were 8 egrets flying around and it was awesome!!! But the trail from the expressway seriously sucked with sidewalks torn up and workers blocking the way. How dare the city of Monroe mess up my walk to better their citizens' lives!!! Haha! Then Wes and I had a big cup of coffee and went to Lowes and came home.

I discovered I have a little physical issue going on that I have to take care of which will impede me working out strenuously but I'm going to continue to do what I can.

So....later today Wes and I plan to go to Macomb County where they have the Orchard Trail that starts at Dequindre and 24 Mile. First we're going to get Wes a birthday cannoli at Ventimiglia Italian Foods in Sterling Heights. (He has been spoiled since we got cannoli in Boston which is probably the gold standard outside of Italy. Although next week we're going to New York and he wants to get one in Little Italy. We're on a cannoli hunt.) Also we have to go to marine supply places all over the place and he gets to buy a GPS for his boat for his birthday.

I thought of a new slogan for Michigan on my walk the other day.

Michigan: Our roads suck but our parks are really nice!!!

Lansing River Trail/Ingham County

Here is another really cool urban trail, this time in Lansing. It parallels a creek (I think it's Sycamore Creek) which is a tributary of the Red Cedar River which in turn is a tributary of the Grand River which flows into Lake Michigan. Wes and I drove up and walked from Jolly Road up to Mount Hope Road where there is a cemetery which opened in the late 1800's. It is a paved trail with plank bridges over the wetter lands. Lots of ducks. Lots of knocked down trees.






We spotted our first flowers of the year. These little snowdrops on the side of a hill. Yay!!!
The trees are starting to look a little green and it won't be long until we have leaves and all my pictures won't look the same.







Yesterday we stayed in Ann Arbor and also brought Tonks, our dog along. It was windy and my foot was sore from my long walk on Saturday so I only walked about a mile. We walked at Lilley Park which is in Pittsfield Township just south of Ann Arbor. The site used to be a gravel pit and there are paths that make for an easy walk around the ponds.

Willow Metropark/ Wayne County

It's amazing that Willow Metropark is in the same county as Detroit. Although nowadays there are a lot of rural looking areas in Detroit too.

I was going to walk in Lansing yesterday but didn't feel up to the drive so I hop, skip and jumped over to this pretty Huron-Clinton Metropark in New Boston. As you can see, part of the trail is along the Huron River, very pretty. My plan was to do a loop around the park (about 3 miles) then walk up the connector toward 275 and back to the car for a total of 6 miles.


Somewhere along the way I got lost and ended up walking at least 7 miles. I was huffing and puffing around the park, back and forth. I finally figured out where I went wrong and found the car. I mean, how serious could it be, right? But the good news was I got a 2.5 hour workout.


So probably tomorrow Wes and I will go up to Lansing and walk. I have Lapeer and Genesee County figured out. I realized that Monroe is an inconvenient county to be doing this from since most of the counties are far away. This summer Wes is going to take our boat up north and I'll be able to do some of the counties while staying on it.

Brighton Recreation Area/Livingston County

I'm very familiar with Livingston County. My husband grew up in the Pinckney/Hell area. A lot has changed and I hardly recognize the small towns I used to know. Brighton, Hamburg, Pinckney and surroundings areas have exploded and I'd say that the area is now pretty upscale.

Brighton has many nice stores and restaurants downtown and many strip malls. It even has a Costco and Barnes and Noble which are two of my favorite stores. And a Panera and Olive Garden which are two of my favorite places to eat.

The countryside is beautiful and a little rugged and pretty hilly for southeastern Michigan. Yesterday, thanks to a book I picked up at the library, I went to the Brighton Recreation Area and walked the Penosha Trail. The book is titled, "50 Hikes in Michigan" by Jim Dufresne and it gave me some good ideas on where to go to complete this ambitious plan I have going on.

This is an area where the glaciers came through and so there are moraines and ridges, with kettle lakes. Basically lots of high ground and wetlands. The Potawatomie and Chippewa lived here first and then of course the white settlers came and tried to farm which must have been pretty frustrating. Then during the Depression a lot of farmers just quit and Michigan has been buying up parcels since then for the Brighton and Pinckney recreation areas.

The trail goes right through all of this and I have to tell you some of those hills were pretty steep. I got a good burn going in my calves. It was good I hiked by myself because the whining in my head would have definitely been articulated unceasingly. I walked the five mile Penosha trail which feels like you're out in the middle of nowhere which had me nervous at the beginning of the hike. Until I realized that there were subdivisions right off the trail and it wasn't quite as remote as it first seemed.


The trail was well marked and I had a good time. I feel sorry for the farmers that tried so hard and had to give up their dream and walk away. But Michigan is very fortunate to have these beautiful areas to enjoy so close to our big cities.