The Nolan's on the Road

The Nolan's hit the road on Sunday and headed north with the BBB for Wilderness State Park near Mackinaw at the tip of the mitten.
We got a great campsite right on the lake with a view toward the bridge that can be seen at night with all its lights.   Mike and Riggs are standing at the edge of our campsite... we had a private piece of Lake Michigan to ourselves.  It was warm...60's..and with a nice breeze.  We grilled steaks and had a pasta dish our wonderful daughter in law, Heather, made for us to take on the road.  Delicious!

The beach was beautiful and I was able to walk out onto a spit of sand way out in the water and Mike took my picture.  What fun.  No dogs on the beach here so Riggs was sad.

We crossed the Mackinaw Bridge on Monday and it is a site to take your breath away.  No big ships but of course they were painting the bridge as they always seem to be.

 We motored up the Whitefish Point on Lake Superior and went to the Shipwreck Museum and the Light House.  The colors of the trees were outstanding and we kept saying  over and over how beautiful the red, gold and yellow trees were as we drove north.
Timothy and I had been here many years ago during a Boy Scout trip and were impressed with the Museum and Lighthouse.  It has only gotten better since then.  We viewed a wonderful movie about the Edmond Fitzgerald sinking and the bringing up of the bell.  Very moving.

The lighthouse is under restoration. Usually they let you climb to the top but not now...we will have to return.

The picture below is out of order but I can't seem to move it below...anyway a beautiful sunset on Lake Muskalogue...beach campsite, beach campfire, smoked whitefish appetizers and pasties for dinner.  A perfect Upper Michigan evening.

 The bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald was brought up from the wreckage and is displayed in the museum.  They then replaced the bell on the wreck with one that had all the crew 29 names engraved as a memorial.  Of course they were playing the song by Gordon Lightfoot.
The picture below is from the  museum and shows how the divers search the wrecks.  There are 550 known wrecks in this area of Lake Superior.  Most lost all hands and most were in the September to November time of year...just listen for all the details in Gordon Lightfoots song

 The beach at Muskalogue Lake State Park is wonderful...Lake Superior on one side and Lake Muskalogue on the other.  The angled picture below was courtesy of a log that was not straight!  Big waves but not too cold.  Looked for agates, found none, walked the beach and enjoyed the beauty...traveling to Grand Marias today...stopped and saw Don Madorski....Mark Madorski's father.  In true small town fashion the ranger at the state park knew him and told us how to get to his house...only a mile away.  Great to see him and his fantastic view of Lake Superior.      Kathy and Mike

Uncle Timothy Arrives

Well Uncle Timothy arrived last week to meet his niece Finnley.
It was very exciting and as you can see from Finnley's expression she was vocal and having her say about the whole situation.
Timothy was here for a wedding and bonus was he got to meet his niece.  I was fun to see him cuddle her for the first time.

Patrick and Timothy with the little lass...dressed in green and ready to party

Mike and I left today, Sunday Sept 30, for the UP to travel around for a week.  We are are at Wilderness State Park tonight with a campsite on the beach...absolutely beautiful  !!! We were here years ago with friends  to camp and then bike on Mackinaw Island.  It is just as beautiful now as then...tomorrow we cross the mighty Mac and UP here we come...stay tuned.

Old Friends are the Best

The rains and cold of northern Michigan never stops the fun from happening.  We spend another wonderful weekend at the cabin with friends, food and of course crazy weather.  Dan and Elaine McMahon, our friends from college, joined us on Friday after golfing at Tree Tops near Gaylord.  The weather was crazy with sun, rain, black clouds, wind, and cold temps(50's)...and then it repeated itself every hour.  So Elaine and I watched the weather reports and finally found a couple of hours when it looked like no rain and some sun.            

                                                                                   We kayaked and went up stream

 for about an hour ...a first for Elaine who did wonderful.  It started raining just as we got back to the dock..great timing.  The cold was chased away by a hot sauna.  Wonderful!!

So what is the picture to the left you might ask??  Mike and I were looking for the Scotch in the bar closet...Dan thought that was pretty funny..Ha Ha.

Dan and Michael...friends from college and debate days at Wayne State.  Oh the stories they tell about each other.

Saturday night Gene and Patty LaFave joined us for dinner.  They live in TC and went to  school with Elaine in Detroit.  It was a great reunion with lots of crazy catholic school stories..My ears were burning!

                                      So the title of this blog rings true..Old friends are the best!!
 Mike and I are looking forward to next weekend when Timothy will be home for a wedding and to see his new niece, Finnley.  I am sure you are all disappointed not to see a picture of her this week...stay tuned to see lots in next weeks blog.  Fall is officially here and the trees are starting to change color...I love the fall!  Apples and squash with apple cider...fantastic.    Love and a big big hug to all of you.  Kathy and Michael

Smiling Baby

Greetings to friends and family.  My computer has had an overhaul and so I have not had a chance to do a blog entry.  But I am up and running again and have baby pictures to boast about.   Mike and I took pasties out to Patrick and Heather tonight as a ruse to see Finnley. I think they were wise to us and let us come anyway.  She is almost 4 weeks old (on Friday) and is just adorable.  She is starting to smile and I was blessed with two such smiles.  The first I was unprepared for  but the second I caught!!  Fantastic!!

We have had  a warm start to September but this week turned cool with that cold fall rain.  Lots of black clouds and rain...even hail yesterday. The feeling of fall is really in the air.  Mike and I have been busy with projects we have put off all summer.  We are looking forward to a visit from Timothy the last weekend of Sept...he is coming to a wedding and to see his niece for the first time.  Work tomorrow and then to the cabin with some college friends coming to visit...should be fun!   Love and hugs to all   Kathy and Michael

Labor Day Weekend

We have had a lovely Labor Day weekend with very little labor. We have been at the cabin with beautiful weather and some wonderful company. Mikes cousin Gerry Anderson and his wife Artemae visited with us and we had a great time. We did some hiking two different days, kayaked, laughed, retold stories and made up some new ones. Mike and Gerry go "way back" to their youth so the stories have gotten better over the years. It was nice to catch up with them now that they are retired and traveling to all sorts of great places. They joined us for a trip to TC on Sunday and had dinner on our deck with Finnley...oh and Patrick and Heather came too. We enjoyed seeing all of them and I gave Finnley her first swing in the back yard. She created quite an event in the neighborhood with some over the fence visits. The weather was beautiful and we had hamburgers and sweet corn from Halls...a local farm that has the BEST corn ever!! A fitting end to summer. We are watching the Detroit Tigers right now....Mike went to a game on Friday night in Detroit and had seats behind the on deck circle for the Tigers..at about 3rd base...they had a great view of all the action. They won that game as they did the last two games..they are tied for first place...cheer them onward.
Hope all is ok with all of you as you end you summer...a strange weather one to be sure.

All our Love to everyone

Kathy and Michael

Going home

The New Nolan Family

Discharge from the hospital on Monday the 27th.

Baby, Mom and Dad doing well and very happy.

Ready to be home and start being a family.

Finnley was wide awake as they dressed her in an adorable pink outfit.

How many Nolans does it take to dress a little girl?? It was the sleeves that caused the problem.

The weather is beautiful today, sunny and breezy. I made them a spaghetti pie to take home for dinner. They picked up Jackson from 11th street and were ready to go home. I think I will kayak this afternoon as it is so beautiful. It was hard to let that little girl go as she is so adorable. I love the picture of her sleeping on Mike as he rocks her. Lots of fun to come. Update on Heather's stepdad, Duane had open heart surgery today and if doing well.

love and hugs from Grandma and Grandpa Nolan

Grandma and Grandpa

Well it happened today!! Mike and I are grandparents and we could not be more thrilled. Heather had our little angel this morning at 7:4 am and she is perfect.
We saw her for the first time and we are already in love...you should see the big grin on Mikes face. Finnley Shannon Nolan 8# 3 oz and 22 inches long. She is long and has pink chubby cheeks. She is an Irish lass for sure as she has the shamrock hat on already! Mother and father are doing well and basking in the joy of a healthy beautiful baby. She has one sock on as Patrick was in the process of putting them on to keep those long feet warm.

Thank you Patrick and Heather! Kathy and Michael