Cooper to the Lighthouse...................

Gabby is not familiar with the Peninsula as we call it, it is actually "The Old Mission Peninsula" ........it was a lovely day and so I fancied going for a ride. That's where we went. The Peninsular separates the two arms of Grand Traverse Bay.

That is the areal view showing the Peninsula between the Bays and the next is the map version just so you know where we are.

There is a road that runs right up the middle and that's the road we took. There are views of both Bays from there
This is the usual spot to take a picture of West Bay looking over Vineyards now where once stood Cherry Orchards

Anyway, we didn't take anything with us so I thought I would show them Old Mission itself. There is an old fashioned general store there and it's worth a look. I bought and split a Corned Beef Reuben sandwich Cooper declined anything but some crackers. So we sat and ate those. I had a pleasant chat with the proprieter whose family came from Cornwall in the past, workers from the Cornish tin mines who went to work in our U.P in the mines there. I have always had an interest in those long ago Cornishmen. He knew the cemetery I like up there where there is so much history. He told me where his great grandfather worked near Calumet and it was a pleasant meeting. He also brought the local recipe for Cornish Pasties that passed through his family. Next time I will buy some.
Cooper, not quite yet ready to play chequers but enjoyed the attention.






This is the Old Mission School, the original chapel/school house.

So with full tummies we headed for the Lighthouse. It was quite cold near the water but once on the beach out of the wind it was quite pleasant. Showed Cooper where the swings were and off he went.
He declined to wear a coat and so he froze his bunnies off. I wore a cardigan but Gabby was decked out for Winter.

I just wandered the beach a little and took pictures of the Lighthouse.

Its small but pretty.

Cooper wanted to go inside and so we did. The stairs are steep, no problem for him but with my eyesight it was rather iffy..........but made it OK. I decided that the view was not good enough for me to risk the climb up into the light area but Cooper was thrilled and could "see the world" from up there.

You can see on his face what a thrill it was for him..........I waited at the bottom of the ladder to help him back down, and to be sure Gabby could get down OK.

Not a problem.....so then we just wandered around outside for awhile and got some more pictures. As you see we are located half way between the north pole and equator so we either burn up or freeze haha.

The garden still has blossoms

A little history


We took the other route home but there is construction so had a detour. I stopped at a small park so Cooper could play for awhile.

He didn't stay long, probably because he was on his own. He does not seem to like being alone at all. Even in the house he is very clingy with his mum. Th

So I found this picture somewhere, this one is not mine but I love the view so included it here.

I love the old barns out there, some day I should do a photoshoot of just the Old Mission Barns. The history here is very young, the 1800s and coming from England it seems not even history really. Old timers remember the stories from their grandparents who were the first settlers here, so its a very young country.

Anyway, that was our day. I have not felt like making any hikes or trips for several weeks now and I hated wasting such a nice day. I was going to venture out today but too tired. Maybe tomorrow if its still nice. I should be working in the garden but ah well............roll on Spring.?