Manistique Lighthouse & Mackinac Island's Lighthouse

 

We drove through Manistique, stop for a while and enjoyed wonderful Lake Michigan's sand beach and boardwalk and the picturesque lighthouse. It was an important shipping port in the late 1800's when logs were floated down the Manistique River from logging camps to local sawmills.  Michigan has over a hundred lighthouses and I really would like to take a trip and visit them all.  They are all unique with beautiful structures.

Some history on Round Island Lighthouse:  "Built in 1895 for the dangerous shoals around the channels between Mackinac Island and Round Island, this lighthouse was damaged but restored in 1995. The Round Island Lighthouse is also well-known for those that are familiar with the movie "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve & Jane Seymour."

Morning Walk - Hanging moss, Spiders, Wild Flowers and things

We have a lot of tourist which we are grateful for our local economy but we are also grateful that they stay on St. Augustine Beach and don't venture out to our local parks in town.  Vaill Point Park is historical Florida with the hanging moss, wild flowers & birds; a very beautiful park all year round that we locals love.

itsy bitsy spider at Vaill Point Park

The itsy bitsy spider went up the big oak tree today
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the oak tree again.

Shadows at Sunset, Crescent Beach

We went for a walk last evening at Crescent Beach.  The shadows made even the smallest sea shell stand out across the sand.  Our shadows made us ten feet taller and reached the edge of the water. 

Sunset at Matanzas River

  Last evening Matanzas River had a tranquil feeling, calm and peaceful with a soft breeze.  The sunlight reflection from the river had a wonderful orange glow.

Flowers & Cannons on the Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi has a lot of history on the Civil War.  In tracing my ancestry, my grandfather Hillhouse had 4 ancestors (all brothers) to fight at Vicksburg in 1863.  They were all in their mid to late 50's during the Civil War which greatly surprised me. The town has a lot of literature about the devastation of the town's people who had to flee and live in caves during the battle.  Some of the Cannons now stand among flowers on the Mississippi River bank in memory.

A Morning Walk in St. Augustine South

I feel blessed and grateful to live in such a beautiful city on the coast. We traveled a lot this summer and I saw many states and beautiful places but my home town is just as captivating. We took a morning walk in South Augustine Shores and in my own back yard was beauty that can match any where and any place. The marsh is full of wild life and I was fortunate to get a few photo opts. There was a silver sheen over the water and the reflection of the birds and stalks was like looking into a mirror. Wild flowers were growning up the rails on the path.

Mud Island River Park

This replica of a flat River Boat was hand built and used in several historical reproductions of Lewis & Clark on the Mississippi River.  It is now located at the Mud Island River Park in Memphis.  It would have been exciting to see a River Boat going down the river during Mark Twain's era.

Mark Twain Country

As a small girl, Mark Twain was my favorite author.  I read several of his books over and over again during the summer when I was 9 years old.  Tom Sawyer was my favorite.  As we were traveling through Arkansas, we stopped at a park and took this picture of the Mississippi River.  I could just imagine Tom, barefooted and in tatterd and worn clothes sailing on a small make-shift raft going down the river.

Elvis Country

We stopped in Memphis and visited the Welcome Center.  There was a large statue of Elvis.  I set the security alarm off when I tried to hug him for a photo opt.

Black Bayou - Monroe, Louisiana

We stayed in Monroe, Louisiana during the July 4th weekend.  We took the opportunity to visit the wildlife Refuge at Black Bayou Lake.  It was my first experience to see a Louisiana Bayou.  The largest lily pads I have ever seen.

Bad Axe, Michigan & Lake Huron

We had to say goodbye to the great lakes and Lake Huron was our last stop.  We stopped at the beach outside of  Bad Axe, Michigan and took a few pictures on a beautiful sunny afternoon.  That morning I had visited a friend's farm and took several pictures of his 200 acres.  They had just harvest several fields that week.

Chubby's BBQ

We were told about the famous Chubby's BBQ in Hayti, Missouri.  The rock & roll singer Chubby Checker was driving through town and heard about the restaurant with his name so he stopped and ate and signed a Shirt for them which they still hang on the wall today.

Amish Country - Arthur, Illinois

We visited Arthur, Illinois which is the heart of the Amish population in Illinois.  We tour their gardens and purchase home made cheese curds and apple butter from their grocery store.  It is a large town and the highway was busy with their horses and buggies.

Butterfly at Mackinac Island

We visited a butterfly greenhouse on the island; flowers and butterflies everywhere.

Mackinac Island

Just visited Mackinac Island.  No cars, trucks or motors allowed.  All horse and buggies and bicycles.  Ate lunch at the Pink Pony.  9 miles of beauty.  It was a unique and wonderful trip.

Paddle Inn & Glen's Market

Paddle Inn had the best food in town!

Why can't Publix look like this in Florida?  Glen's Market was larger and had better food selection then all the grocery stores in St. Augustine combined!

Images from the Mio Ranch

This is two collages of the woods, ponds, flowers and gazebo at the ranch.  There were many hiking trails, several ponds, and wildlife.  Too many to post.

Ranch Visit at Mio, Michigan

We visited a friends ranch close to the AuSable River & Forest.  There was a private railway w/ Train.  The top picture shows the rails and wild flowers that were growing along side the railroad tracks.  The lily pond reflected the trees and plants like a mirror.  It is difficult to determined the pond's surface versus the landscape.

Amish Community in Mio, Michigan

When we were in Mio, Michigan.  We visited several local Amish businesses.  A bakery, hardware store and grocery store.  We also stopped at a Maple Syrup store that was operated by the Amish. I did a collage of pictures to show the local Amish farms.

Dusk at Candlestone

Another sunset over a corn field; except our hotel was across the highway and it was the only hotel in town.  A large red barn was also across the highway.  We had to drive over 20 miles to the nearest restaurant.  Barns and corn fields everyway.  I think I am going to publish a book on barns across the country.

Water Street Park, In Memory of the Boys

In Belding, Michigan, we visited Water Street Park.  The park was dedicated "In memory of the boys of 1861-1865 who offer their services for the integrity and unity of our great republic during the war of the rebellion."

Tower Riverside Park

We took a stroll at a community park in Greenville, Michigan mid-morning.  A lot of people were enjoying the sunny weather.  The park honored the danish settlers that established the town with a mermaid statue.

The Glenn

Ate lunch at a small town restaurant called "The Glenn".  Took a picture of the main business street in town.  A church, a hardware store, volunteer fire department, and a very small post office.  It was not an exciting town like New York, but the food was very good and the town people could at least mail packages via the US Postal Service.  At least they out grew the pony express!

What Once Was - Highway 61, along the Cumberland River

Resemblance of yester-year.  A country home abandoned years ago; a barn with vines growing up the side.   Two among the hundreds of decaying houses and barns along highway 61.  There is a sadnesss that surrounds them.  I always wonder what tales could be told about the farmers who once lived there.

Cloudy Day at the Tennessee River

Roaring River

The River was named Roaring River but it was really more like a slow boat to China.  This was the most exciting scenery I could find.  The two small waves in the center.  Maybe it was more exciting further down.