Our end of summer road trip. A nice trip that I would do again but taking the Lake Express instead of around Chicago. The first photo is the Mackinac Bridge, the 2nd is Hwy 2 in the UP running along the north edge of Lake Michigan. The road runs right thru the beach which was really a neat thing . The 3rd is Grand Haven beach , rated one of the best family beaches in the US. I had to take this for Gina, after she sent photos of some so called "best beach " in Australia. Hah, we got to see one too. And #4 is one of the beautiful houses in Bay View.......Michigan
Stumbled upon a car show in Kenosha. Click on the picture and check out the name plate on the car. Know why we loved this one?Oh, and it only had on rear wheel
We went camping at Calumet County Park. A nice place to stay,and we saw quite a bit of that part of the state. We plan on a return visit, as it is nice and close to home.
Julie had several parties for her 50th birthday. This one at Asiana, a hibachi bar. Quite a show, and good company all around the table. Thanks Mom and Dad Grignon
Ok, so I wasn't great about updating this summer.....so I'll do it now. In June Uncle Joe came down for a visit. It was a great visit as always. And when he leaves, he always leaves great memories, and good feelings in his wake.
Well we finally got to get away for three days. Yay!!! Julie found a place near Pound Wisconsin, called Whispering Pines. Nice cabins, near White Potato Lake. Not super secluded, nor self contained entertainment, but a nice base camp for site seeing. I am now realizing how lucky I was growing up to be able to go to cabins of friends and family right on a lake. Throw on the shoes and shorts, and run down to fish , or swim. We did do some touring of waterfalls. Unbelivable in winter, with the flow high because of the thawing snow.
The dogs are bored , I am bored. They lie around very patiently waiting for me to grab a leash and to say "Let's go!" Too damn cold outside for that. Their little paws would crust with ice the first mile. So we wait. Maybe tomorrow.
I cried watching him shatter his leg in the Preakness, and kept watch on his progress since. One setback too many, and a beautiful champion goes to rest. Run again as you were meant to.
From USA Today
With all of the human dramas unfolding these days, it might strike some as odd that so many people around the world care so deeply about the life and death of a horse.
But Barbaro, the thoroughbred who was put down Monday after an eight-month struggle for survival, was no ordinary horse. And his fight for life was no small deal, precisely because it provided people with something to root for, unashamedly and unreservedly, in a world where such causes are sometimes hard to find.
The story of Barbaro was not one of nuance, shades of gray or differing perspectives. It was one of a champion horse who shattered his right hind leg during last May's Preakness Stakes, at the very moment he was expected to race to glory. He provided great hope and, ultimately, great grief. His tale was tragedy in its purest form.
Barbaro's enormous promise was evident at last spring's Kentucky Derby, the first of the three Triple Crown races, which he won by the biggest margin in almost 60 years. By the time of the Preakness, he was seen as potentially one of the greatest ever.
But it was in defeat that he captured the nation's imagination. His cruel injury was so severe that, a decade or two ago, he almost immediately would have been euthanized. He benefited from the best of care at the University of Pennsylvania. He also benefited from owners who put aside cost and did all they could to save him. Although that effort ultimately failed, Barbaro's fighting spirit and uphill battle against the odds made a war-torn nation feel better about itself, much as the underdog racehorse Seabiscuit did during the Great Depression.
Barbaro's injury has already led to some rethinking of the surfaces at horse tracks to try to minimize future accidents. Although he did not achieve the victories of other greats like Secretariat and Seattle Slew, he showed himself a champion of a different sort, one that struck a chord with people around the world.
That so much effort and emotion was invested in a single animal's fate reflects a desire to cling to a sense of humanity in a world where the inhuman too often prevails.
Julie and I watched AL Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth' this morning. I recommend watching it, although be warned it is disturbing. Many of my friends and famliy are aware of that which this movie presents in a straight forward manner. I ask that you suggest to many who are less sensitive to our planet to view it as well. I wish there were more that we as individuals could do. Gore makes some good suggestions, and spreading the word is one thing we can do. Please remember there are more things green than dollars.
