Perhaps it was the company of her beloved sisters. Maybe it was the natural beauty of Mackinac Island. More likely, it was Suzanne’s favorite excursion on our Michigan trip last week because it is the closest she will come to ever realizing her fantasy of going to Gilligan’s Island.

I’m not making this up. She swears she would thrive in that environment. Perhaps she would, but we are so glad she is with us here, safe on our shores, accounted for every day by her husband, her work and our daily morning check-in ritual when each of us finishes Wordle.

We left after work on Monday, August 18th and headed east. As we’d hoped, we made it to Chillicothe, Missouri before we hung it up for the night. Chillicothe, as Gail wants us all to know from her research, is the home of sliced bread. Those fun facts make life a little more interesting, and I really appreciate that she gets excited about such things.

We checked in late and took off early, hummed along nicely along US Highway 36 East. Until we didn’t.

At 9:37 a.m., the flashing lights behind us sank our collective spirit. Gail pulled over, and Missouri State Highway Patrolman Dunn greeted Gail at her door. Apparently, Gail was going only 5 mph over the speed limit, but it appears she was hanging out in the passing lane a bit too long. So, after producing her information, he returned to his vehicle, while we joined hands and sent up a Hail Mary to Mom and Dad. After a long few minutes of waiting, Patrolman Dunn came back to Gail’s door.

“When you girls passed me, I could see you were having a lot of fun. I didn’t want to ruin your day by giving you a ticket, so I’ll just give you a warning.”

Clearly, as evidenced by Patrolman Dunn’s observations, we have road-trip fun down to a well-honed science. Apparently, our fun-loving aura travels through space as quickly as Gail was driving.

Thank you Patrolman Dunn.

And we were off again, until we weren’t. We stopped in Springfield, Illinois for lunch, and it became apparent that one of us needed a visit to Urgent Care. We won’t say which one or what for, but once again, antibiotics saved the day as the wonder drug they are. At least, we got to have lunch at one of Suzanne’s favorite places there.

Three hours later, we were off again. Other than the eight-lane traffic we slogged through around the southern tip of Lake Michigan, which is also the Chicago outskirts at rush hour with Suzanne expertly at the helm, we hummed along nicely, arriving around one a.m. We lost an hour to the time change near Chicago to Eastern Standard Time.

I am normally tucked in by 9:30 and in a deep sleep before 10:00 (according to my sleep tracker), so this was a bit of a stretch for me, as well as a recent personal record for staying up late. But I persevered, and slept like a log after a long day in the car.

Gail’s free-spirited and fun-loving daughter Abby lives in northern Michigan with her husband and two sons. It was so good to hang out with all of them.

My friend Shari and I visited her last year, but there’s never enough time with her. So, I was thrilled when Gail planned a trip there and asked Suzanne and me to go along. Suzanne had never been to Michigan, and was amazed by the natural beauty, as we all were.

We spent our first full day traveling to and around Mackinac Island. The ferry departs from Mackinaw City–both are pronounced Mackinaw–and after about 16 minutes on the waves, we arrived. Of course, we made the most of those 32 minutes:

Gail got into a bit of trouble from the skipper for her imitation of Rose from The Titanic movie, but it was worth the laughs, and no harm was done.

Mackinac Island is noted for its lack of automobiles. Except for a few emergency vehicles, transportation takes place on foot, on a bike or by horse. In 1898, a vehicle ban was enacted to protect the horses that were frightened by the noises and exhaust. The ban has been kept to allow the island to keep its unique charm and quiet atmosphere.

To honor Mom and Dad, who loved to visit Catholic churches, we stopped at St. Ann’s Church and lit a candle for them.

We strolled around the island, enjoying the unique sights, friendly people and quaint shops after a lunch at The Great Turtle, served by our fabulous waitress, Ashley. She filled us in on the ins and outs of the island, enhancing our experience with information only locals would know.

Native Americans noted the similarity of the island’s shape to a turtle, thus naming it “Mitchimakinak,” which means “big turtle.” French explorers kept this name, with the British shortening it to “Mackinac.” It’s perimeter is 8.2 miles, with the commercial and residential development concentrated on the southeastern tip.

On Wednesdays, we wear yellow shorts. Apparently, we forgot to tell Suzanne.

On our way home, we took the five-mile Mackinac bridge. It is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere.

Sunset on Lake Michigan

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Our remaining two days were filled with other local attractions, including “Skybridge Michigan,” a 118-foot suspension walk bridge. After a ride up on the ski lift, we took the long stroll, then back across.

Shopping was a must as well. Gail was excited to go to her favorite spice store, and I’m sure they were happy to see her again.

Perhaps the simplest pleasure was the treasure hunt for Petoskey stones. Abby is a stone hunter extraordinaire, as are her boys and they turned us on to this hobby of theirs. These fossilized corals are concentrated near Petoskey, on the shores of Lake Michigan, just up the road from Abby’s small town. When you see the distinct hexagonal shape, you know you hit the jackpot. We found several small ones that, after I follow Abby’s polishing instructions, will become even more beautiful.

Souvenirs with this rock print abound, and I came home with a necklace and earrings with these stones, as well as a vase, journal and this challenging puzzle:

And speaking of puzzles, we completed two 300-piece puzzles Suzanne brought and one 500-piece puzzle of northwest Michigan from Abby. She is a puzzler, just like Suzanne and me. Another simple pleasure.

Multiple lakes dot the area, including Torch Lake, which, even though it is hard to tell in this picture, has a beautiful turquoise color. We didn’t wade long after the water moccasin snaked it’s way to shore near us. It’s head is entering this picture on the right.

Time flew as it usually does, especially on vacation. We set our sights on making the trip home in one day, hoping and praying for no hang-ups. There were none. The weather was perfect, as it was all the way there. We departed at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and arrived back in Salina around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. It seemed longer going home as it always does, but we made our own fun, including enjoying our road trip snacks, including:

*Chex Mix, a home-made gift from Suzanne’s co-worker (thanks Steve G!)

*mixed nuts

*celery, sliced peppers and cucumbers

*bagels and cream cheese

*prunes (no explanation needed while traveling)

*chocolates

*apples

*cookies

We had Gail’s homemade salsa with chips that we intended to eat on the way, but decided to enjoy it instead when we got there. Good thinking. And, more good thinking, says Suzanne, was the fact that Gail had an ice cream cone one morning while we were out.

On the way home, Suzanne turned around and saw me sleeping in the back seat. She said she had this flashback: (Only Suzanne would think of this…)

Gail spent the night at my house, even though she said she could probably make the 3.25 hour trip home, getting her there around 3 a.m. I’m sure she could have, but I’m glad she stayed.

Another trip in the books, and the memories grow more fond with time. There will be more to come, hopefully including another Colorado trip in a few months.

Petoskey means “where the light shines through the clouds.” Until we make more memories, these will shine bright through the clouds that have been hanging around here for about ten days, it seems.

Kansas and Michigan together are a perfect combination.