textured sailboat, photo by lisasawesomepics
Be sure to check this out bigger and see more photos in Lisa’s My Town set (slideshow).
While you’re at it, have a great weekend!
No man is an island … for long
My island, photo by farroutdude.
See more of farroutdude’s work in his Flickriver or his slideshow on Flickr.
Set Sail on the SS Keewatin in Saugatuck / Douglas
Set Sail, photo by chicagokristi.
The Keewatin Maritime Museum is located in Saugatuck / Douglas and offers folks a chance to tour this 350′, wooden frame steamship:
The Keewatin was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway, in Scotland. Delivered to the Great Lakes in 1907, this lovely steamer was destined to make history. For over 50 years she served as a railway link, connecting the Georgian Bay and upper Lake Superior railheads. She is the last of the Classic Great Lakes Passenger Steamships still afloat.
Take a quick tour right here.There’s some cool views of this steamship in the Keewatin slideshow including a postcard of the Keewatin steaming along.
Be sure to view this photo larger
Boating the Straits of Mackinac with the Stempkis
Mackinac Bridge, photo by Ross Nave.
#737 on the list of Fun Things You Could Do in Michigan This Weekend is Boating with the Stempkis!
Be sure to check this photo out bigger and here’s Ross’s Michigan slideshow.
Hope your weekend is great!!
2009 Ice Breaking Cruise on the Straits of Mackinac
Mackinaw Bridge, photo by SMCphotography.
Shirley was lucky enough to be aboard the USCGC Biscayne Bay out of St. Ignace as she opened a channel under the Mackinac Bridge early last week. She writes:
Ever have one of those days that you wouldn’t trade for anything? This is it. Unbelievable cold weather , well below zero. Traveled in an Army bus with little to no heat, broke down, froze for 2 hrs, 2nd bus rescued us, little to no heat. Finally made it to the cruise, froze everything, ate medium warm food, met lots of great people and shot over 700 photos. So much fun. The views of the ice and Mackinaw Bridge in the dead of winter are absolutely beautiful. Thanks to ESGR Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for giving me this absolutely wonderful day.
You can view photos from the ice breaking cruise and definitely check out the slideshow!
Read more about the Coast Guard Cutter Biscane Bay from Hunts UP Guide.
Fly over to the Grand Rapids Boat Show
1 passenger, photo by joojanta.
Over on Absolute Michigan we’re giving away some tickets to the Grand Rapids Boat Show (Feb 18-22). There’s about 100 boat manufacturers, all kinds of special demos and such so if you’re a boating fan, you might want to enter the giveaway, check out a slideshow from years past on Flickr and the Absolute Michigan “boat” (slide)show!
I doubt they’ll have boats like the one above though, but you never know. joojanta has other views of this crazy contraption here and here.
Sailing into 2009
Sailing, photo by gh patriot.
I thought it was pretty neat that this photo showed up in the Absolute Michigan pool after yesterday’s post. Be sure to check it bigger. It’s part of Kevin’s pier/sunset set (slideshow)
As 2009 dawns, I feel some trepidation. While things have been bad for us here in Michigan, there seems to be little doubt that our national economy has even further to fall. What that might mean to us is anybody’s guess.
One thing I do know is that after years of being in a “single state recession,” we now have company. That will undoubtedly mean less assistance in some cases, but it will also open up more opportunities and solutions as other states and nations begin to grapple with the issues we have been wrestling with.
I expect that in the year to come we in Michigan will make decisions that will have profound effects on our state’s educational system, our infrastructure and our amazing natural resources.
My most profound hope is that our decisions take into account the truth that Gov. Milliken referred to below.
The truth is that the quality of life in Michigan depends on nature. The natural beauty of our state is much more than a source of pleasure and recreation. It shapes our values, molds our attitudes, and feeds our spirit … in Michigan, our soul is not to be found in steel and concrete, or sprawling new housing developments or strip malls. Rather it is found in the soft petals of a trillium, the gentle whisper of a headwater stream, the vista of a Great Lakes shoreline, and the wonder in children’s eyes upon seeing their first bald eagle. It is that soul that we must preserve.
-Michigan Governor William G. Milliken
from William G. Milliken: Michigan’s Passionate Moderate
Happy New Year folks!
The Door Into Next Year
Detail from the House that Father Coughlin Built…, photo by “CAVE CANEM”.
As we prepare to leave 2008 at the docks and set sail on 2009, I think there’s probably a lot that we hope to leave behind, and much that we hope to discover in the year to come.
I hope that all of you find what you’re seeking in the year to come and that you have very happy and safe celebrations tonight!
Be sure to view this larger and check out C.C.’s In Through the Out Door set (slideshow).
You can read more about the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak on Wikipedia and the story of the “venom and compassion” of the man behind its construction 1930s radio priest Father Charles E. Coughlin.
Port Sanilac might have been Bark Shanty Point
Port Sanilac life preserver, photo by Deep blue ocean.
Be sure to check this baby out bigger (and this one too)!
Wikipedia says that Port Sanilac is a village in Sanilac Township of Sanilac County, pop 658:
This village was originally a lumberjack settlement on the shore of Lake Huron named “Bark Shanty Point.” In the late 1840s and 1850s, the settlement gained its first sawmill, schoolhouse, and general store. In 1854, Bark Shanty Point’s first post office opened. In 1857 the village was renamed to Port Sanilac, as it is in Sanilac Township in Sanilac County. Local legend attributes the name to a Wyandotte Indian Chief named Sanilac.
This photos is from the Port Sanilac Marina (marina web cam). More about the town at the village at Port Sanilac web site.
Kayaking Point Aux Barques
26 flowerpot, photo by northern_latitudes.
This photo is part of northern latitudes’ Point Aux Barques set of photos. You just gotta see the slideshow – some great shots of these cool rock formations and the Port Austin Reef lighthouse!
There’s some old photos of the Pointe Aux Barques area from the Library of Congress on Michigan in Pictures that you might enjoy too!
Michigan in Pictures 