Michigan, I apologize

I need to take back all the sly (and not-so-sly) comments I have ever made about Michigan.

I was wrong and I admit it.

Well, really it was a levels-of-analysis problem. As it turns out, everything I said about Michigan is still true. But it really only applies to Detroit (see the nyt on this, too).

Northern (or northerly, since I really didn’t get to see northern Michigan since I never made it to the Upper Peninsula) Michigan is beautiful. I mean it.

Mike’s family took me to a cabin owned by friends of theirs.

It was so gorgeous. First, this was a serious real cabin in the woods (not condo masquerading as cabin, a marketing trick of which I am sometimes guilty). There was a wooden ceiling and floor. At night, you could count the wooden beams overhead as you fell asleep.

Second, there was a creek like thirty feet away from the cabin, down a gently slopping lawn.

It seemed a crime to be there and not to do something on the creek, like canoe or float on an inner tube. Saving something for next time, I guess . . .

As you can see from the pictures, this is some serious woods. Not like the woods I grew up loving where the trees are piney-er , further apart, and have bigger trunks. Here, the trees are more varied, denser, and there’s a distinct understory of brush. Different, but lovely. And the stars at night!

We also took in some of the local sights:

And we even saw the elusive paper towel spirit (often observed, rarely photographed). The spirit’s singsong voice said: “oh, honey, you’ll go . . .”

We also went to Mackinaw Island (an island lying between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan). Here are some facts about the island: we reached it via ferry boat, no cars are allowed on the island, and the local specialty is fudge. As you can tell, this was my kind of place! The island was a little crowded with fellow travelers, but it was beautiful. Below are some scenes from the day:

See, it really is beautiful!