Escape to the north

I'm home again. I left early last Thursday for northern Michigan. The primary purpose was to attend the concert that finished off the Bay View Week of Handbells. I had been a part of that every summer for more than a decade, back when it was run under its founder Don Allured. In so many ways he is considered the father of modern American handbell ringing. I stopped being a regular after Don had to give it up. He died last February, at the age of 86, so this concert was a memorial to him. The second half of the concert was music that Don composed. It was all very well done and a fine tribute. I stayed around Bay View (which is a Chautauqua community next to Petoskey) for a brief ceremony the next day to place Don's ashes in the Bay View Memorial Garden.

I then went on to Mackinac Island. I rented a bicycle and did the circuit around the island and then up and down a couple hills (which are steep enough I walked the bike partway). I had quite a workout by the time I returned the bike two hours later. I had supper on the island, watched the sunset, then spent the night in a motel on the mainland. I drove home on Saturday, stopping for cheese in Pinconning (the highway was down to one lane for construction, so it was better to go through town), enduring a downpour near Bay City (I'll stop under the next overpass -- oops this is now another construction zone and there are no shoulders to stop on), and buying apples near Highland.

The rain mostly held off this afternoon to allow the Gay Spiritual Support Group to have a picnic. This is a group nominally hosted by First United Methodist Church of Northville.

The work crew was here all last Monday, most of Tuesday, and about an hour on Wednesday to gut and bleach the basement. It is one big room down there now. Hopefully, reconstruction work can begin next week.