Saturday, July 9

I'm starting to have trouble remember what day it is...something that usually happens during vacations, but this will be my new norm

Great weather today, perfect for our 2+ hour boat cruise along the 40+ miles of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  

The cruise started in the biggest town we've seen in the UP, Munising.  Munising seemed like a big city after all the tiny villages we've gone through, but it's population is only 2500.  

We picked up our tickets for our 1 pm cruise, and then went out for lunch before returning to the dock.  The skies were blue, and the temp was in the low 60's, but there was a strong off shore breeze so the seas 3-5 foot swell.  

Both the ticket sellers and the crew on our boat repeatedly announced that rough seas might make some people seasick, and  needless to say there were a few that were miserable,  and some even hurled, but most of us were fine and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  

This area is called Pictured Rocks because when you when you look at the patterns in the rocks caused by the minerals that have seeped through them over thousands of years you imagine all types of pictures:  Elvis, Indian Chiefs, battleships, marching soldiers, etc.  The highest cliffs were over 200 feet high...just breathtaking.

All of us took Dramamine for seasickness, so we were all pretty drowsy when we returned to our campground we all took naps prior to dinner which was at the nearby Jolly Inn.  Our meal was good, and portions were enormous, which seems to be standard in the UP.  As BD, the main character in Jim Harrison's stories says, "why have a skinny girl when you can have a big one."