Up North! The Traverse City Blog

Stuff I appreciate as I pause for a bit to blog:

Seeing Jake and Charlie swim together for the first time in Spider Lake early this morning.

The friendly, helpful folks at the laundry where I washed all of our towels and bed linens while reading an article about public libraries in Northern Michigan in the Record Eagle.

Brunch at Amical and their excellent staff.

IPod Tunes while reading in an Adirondak chair on the pier in the late evening.

Grilled chicken, fresh Michigan asparagus and a sip of wine for dinner.

The friendly folks at Another Cuppa Joe> where we’ve been connecting.

The nice guy who made my Tea Friday evening at Horizon Books as we discussed the merits of Splenda.

COOL CHANGE
Little River Band

If there’s one thing in my life that’s missing
It’s the time that I spend alone
Sailing on the cool and bright clear water
Lots of those friendly people
And they’re showing me ways to go
And I never want to lose their inspiration
It’s time for a cool change
I know that it’s time for a cool change
Now that my life is so prearranged
I know that it’s time for a cool change

Well I was born in the sign of water
And it’s there that I feel my best
The albatross and the whales they are my brothers
It’s kind of a special feeling
When you’re out on the sea alone
Staring at the full moon, like a lover
Time for a cool change
I know that it’s time for a cool change
Now that my life is so prearranged
I know that it’s time for a cool change

I’ve never been romantic
And sometimes I don’t care
I know it may sound selfish
But let me breathe the air
Let me breathe the air…

If there’s one thing in my life that’s missing
It’s the time that I spend alone
Sailing on the cool and bright clear water
It’s kind of a special feeling
When you’re out on the sea alone
Staring at the full moon, like a lover

Time for a cool change
I know that it’s time for a cool change
Now that my life is so prearranged
I know that it’s time for a cool change

Here’s a new e-mail for this blog:

tcblogger (at) tametheweb (dot) com

AIM: mstephens7mac

As we drove north, it was like going back in time…. the trees are less green… the air a bit colder…

Greg worked some magic last fall closing the cottage… it took less than an hour to have water, gas and electric going. Matt came out and started the yard clean up and I took care of some Root Beer cans that had exploded in the sink during the freezing weather, spraying the walls with sticky goo!

TC is fabulous and after some pretty easy work and dog walking, we went to dinner at Firefly Cafe. Darn good food and fine company. Greg remarked: “There are no places in South Bend like this…”

A drive around the grounds of Building 50 and a quick trip to Home Depot followed and we settled in for a chilly night. I believe it got down to 35 degrees but I had two warm dog bodies with me!

Sunrise over the lake, as always, was beautiful. Jake, Charlie and I went walking and I drank tea and read. Nice.

I am packing the car even as I pause to blog. This is our first trip up to open the cottage! The boys are ready…

When Steve and I discovered the Leelanau Trail back in 2000, it became our favorite place to take Jake to walk and enjoy some amazing scenery. The Leelanau Peninsula flows with gentle hills, orchards, farms, etc.

http://www.tametheweb.com/galleries/leelanauhike/

Nearer to the Cottage is the Boardman River trail… totally different environement of wetlands, swamps, deep forest and river.

http://www.tametheweb.com/galleries/boardman/

“The great fact in life, the always possible escape from dullness, was the lake. The sun rose out of it, the day began there; it was like an open door that nobody could shut. The land and all its dreariness could never close in on you. You had only to look at the lake, and you knew you would soon be free.” – Willa Cather

(Julie sent me this…thanks!)

I got an email from a writer who found this blog and asked me what my favorite thing was about coming up to TC. Here’s what I wrote back:

My one favorite thing about coming up to Traverse City is that the pace of life is less intense and more centered on the whole. Nature, it seems, is important: stopping to look out at the lake, walking in the woods that are easy to get to, developing land that meshes nature with well-planned spaces and technology. TC people seem to embrace the seasons… the sun, the cold, the snow… It’s not rush rush here and there as I’ve found “down here” or in other areas.

Frances Mayes wrote extensively about how time seems different to her while in Italy. I guess I’ve found my own little place in the US where time seems to slow down, where it is ok to stop and watch the sun go down over the hills West of TC… where it’s ok to read all afternoon in a chair on the pier at Spider Lake.

Click here for a 20MB (!!!) 2 Part Music Video shot at Spider Lake last summer!

Includes two tracks bt Moby!

Made with iMovie on my Mac G5!