Ben’s Blog

Wow, I am lagging behind when it comes to keeping the blog up to date…so today you get a two-fer.

First post - catching up on last weekend. In a last minute decision I decided to skip going to the cabin in lieu of driving the Upper Peninsula to help Mark bring home his classic Jaguar that has been parked in the barn for the winter. Since I drove it up there late last fall and now home I think I have put more miles on it than Mark has in the last year. This overnight trip also coincided with the 2008 car show in St. Ignace so I was able to check that out at the same time.

This was a quick 28 hour trip - we left Friday afternoon and made it to the campground after a 5 hour or so drive, headed into St. Ignace only to be washed out by rain before the big parade began so we headed back to the camper to drink beer around the campfire while dodging rain drops. We had an unusual mix of people around the campfire so the conversation was lively and entertaining. I drank enough beer to make sleeping on the floor of the camper possible, but woke up feeling like a quadriplegic (no offense to quadriplegics, of course.)

(which one of the above don’t belong? Seriously…I think some people enter their cars just for good parking.)

Once everyone was up and around we headed back to St. Ignace to walk through the car show - I’ve been to the show multiple years and I am always amazed by the dedication people put into this hobby. I would love to own a classic car, but I am not sure I want to have a hobby car that handled with kid gloves and can’t be driven freely or enjoyed like other transportation. Holly will be glad to hear that this is one purchase I am not looking to make. If someone has an extra car laying around however, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down. After a terrible weather forecast and crazy storms in the straits area the weather turned out great and the attendance at the show grew exponentially as the day went on.

Once we made a couple passes up and down main street it was time to head back to the camper, pack up and head to Pickford to pick up the jag. With a little coaxing the car started up and was back on the road in no time. We took advantage of running water while at the house, got cleaned up and then ate at Big D’s in Pickford before getting back on the road. (Side note: if you find yourself in Pickford, MI you should try the worker’s breakfast at Big D’s - you won’t be disappointed, all the food is excellent and fairly priced.)

I took my time heading home - a scenic route for sure but I made it back in 6 hours and early enough to watch the original SNL episode with George Carlin. I even stopped at the scenic park by the bridge since I never stopped there before. All in all, it was a good trip but must have taken a serious toll on me as I fell asleep during the Sunday morning news on CBS after the story on removal of the pistol ban in Washington DC and didn’t wake up until after noon. Don’t worry - I have the DVR set to record the news program so I didn’t miss a thing.