Road Trip! Ishpeming or Bust! (Part 2)

Linda Lee Porter and Ms. B. at the Tridge

Continued from Part 1...

Saturday, September 28, 2024: Return to Midland
On a note unrelated—at least directly—to our trip, I'm now seeing in graphic detail how devastating Hurricane Helene was in areas very close to home. Thankfully, our place doesn't appear to have been impacted, but to the east and west of us, there has been massive flooding, power outages, and property damage. We appear to have been very fortunate, and my heart goes out to those who've suffered terrible losses. As for Michigan, we've had a little rain but have remained out of harm's way, at least for this go-round.

I was up and at it pretty early this morning, as a couple of caches lay within easy walking distance of our Cheboygan lodgings. Since we're only three hours from Midland, we didn't rush to pack this morning, and we had a leisurely breakfast — from McDonalds — and then made ourselves marginally presentable.

Out on the road, we rocked out to 70s music and eventually turned off at Houghton Lakes, where we snagged lunch at a little place called the Back Door Saloon, home of the the Big Bad Wolf Burger — the "Best Burger in Michigan." I did not get one because it looked like a cardiac event in every mouthful, and it cost $22.00. I did get the Olive Burger, though, which was still damned big (and fairly tasty). The womenz wanted to stop in Harrison again to pick up some more cannabis, so while they bought weed, I went after a cache, but — sadly — it (and its host, an old payphone) had gone bye-bye. Sigh.

At Casa di Brugger, we hung with Del & Fern for most of the afternoon. Come dinnertime, our party headed down to Whichcraft, one of our regular Midland destinations, to meet Kim's friend, Linda; Linda's daughter, Hayley; and Hayley's new husband, Jake. After a decent dinner, we wandered over to Grape Beginnings, another of our traditional Midland hangouts. Sadly, we learned that they'll be closing their doors in the coming months. While Michigan wine may not be anyone's favorite go-to, Grape Beginnings makes some decent stuff, and we've always enjoyed our experiences there. We hate like hell to see them moving on.

Come time to leave, we stopped off at nearby Aviator Cookie Company, grabbed several absolutely incredible cookies, and returned to the homestead, where we killed cookies and downed a smidgen more wine with Del, Fern, and the Nelsons. Then it was sleepy time.

G'night!

Terry, Beth, Old Dude (Terry said he produced the weird shadow on my face for some anonymous requester,
though I'm gonna find the culprit), Brugger, Linda, Hayley, Jake

Sunday, September 29, 2024: Hoofin' it to Molasses and More
Unfortunately, I didn't get the best sleep last night, so I ended up staying in a bed a bit later than usual. Once up, though, I downed a bucket of coffee, which helped perk me up. To top it off, Del & Fern went out and grabbed a box of donuts, which might not have been quite Cops & Doughnuts caliber, but they were still damned satisfying. And then I was ready to rock & roll.

I'd been eyeing a couple of newish geocaches downtown, and this morning seemed like a good time to go after them. The folks were keen on going to Molasses for lunch, and since both the caches and the restaurant were downtown, I made up my mind to hoof the four miles down there, hopefully snag the caches, and then meet everyone for lunch. This plan worked out beautifully, especially since the weather could not have been more perfect for a long walk: sunny but relatively cool, with a consistent, comfortable breeze. It was about a forty-minute walk on the nice, flat, mostly tree-lined roads. I saw lots of folks putting up their outdoor Halloween decorations. My favorite moment was encountering a little girl, probably five years old, dressed in a black witch's costume, running around her yard and yelling, "WHO KILLED MY SISTER? WHO KILLED MY SISTER?" This gave me a chuckle.

About halfway to my destination, I realized I had walked off without a pen to sign the cache logs, so I detoured to a convenience store along the way. They didn't have any pens for sale, but the nice lady working the store gave me one of hers. I thanked her profusely and assured her that I anticipated finding some very important paperwork that required my signature.

And thus it was. I turned up both caches, which were nicely placed, signed the logs, and trucked on over to Molasses. I arrived a few minutes early, so I ordered a beer and waited for the party. Once they arrived and we were all settled in, I enjoyed one of the finest lunches I've had in I don't know how long. This is why Molasses is probably my favorite BBQ restaurant anywhere: a perfect brisket platter, with green beans, BBQ fried rice, and delicious cornbread. I think everyone enjoyed their meals at least as much as I did.

One of many nearby houses with the Halloween decorations going up

When Flamingos Attack

Rather than walk the four miles back, I caught a ride with Ms. B., which was probably a good idea since, later in the evening, my footsies did some aching!

A bit later, she and I headed out to Meijer for a few more provisions, and then, for the rest of the day and evening, I worked on some edits for my upcoming novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond.

A mellow evening with the folks.

Monday, September 30, 2024: Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth's Bavarian Inn Lodge

Terry and Beth were keen on visiting Frankenmuth, a Bavarian-styled village about 30 miles south of Midland that Kimberly is particularly fond of. I'd never been there before, but it appeared that I'd find geocaching aplenty, among other niceties, so this seemed a fine plan. We gathered ourselves and our things, and sallied forth about 11:30 a.m.

We rolled into Frankenmuth a few minutes past noon, and headed straight for Prost! Wine Bar & Charcuterie, where we had a nice, light lunch and a couple of glasses of wine each. Afterward, as is our custom, the womenz went shopping, Terry went barhopping, and I went geocaching. It was a target-rich area, so I put in a good couple of hours snagging numerous traditional, virtual, and Adventure Lab caches. For this spell, I put in about four miles of hoofing it, but there was a good bit more walking to come. Frankenmuth proved to be a reasonably cool place, with entertaining architecture and some appealing shops and taverns.

Brugger and the Bear at Bronner's

Our next destination was the famous, big-ass Bronner's Christmas Wonderland a short distance south of town — at Brugger and Beth's request, as they wanted to start looking at Christmas gifts early. A bunch of caches lurked around this place too, so I set right to it. I put in another couple of miles on foot over the next hour, not to mention snagged another cool bunch of caches. Once I was done, I went into this gigantic store, not quite sure what to expect. Lord have mercy, if I were ever to work in this place, I'm quite sure it would put me off Christmas permanently. It's thousands of square feet of glittering Christmas trees, ornaments, and knick-knacks, with loops of Christmas music playing constantly. Gaudy without being tasteful. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me some Christmas. Seriously, I do. But in its traditional season and in reasonable portions. This could be the very place that prompted Charlie Brown to lament the gross commercialization of Christmas.

But whatever. If you like this kind of thing, then you like it, and that's perfectly fine. I don't claim to have the world's finest taste in anything. And Brugger found a handful of things she liked and planned to give as gifts. They really are nice.

From there, we drove back to Midland. At Del & Fern's, I sawed down some problematic branches from one of their trees in the backyard. Terry clipped the large cuttings into small cuttings and smushed them into refuse containers to be dumped later. Following the manual labor, we sought dinner at Entré Amigos Mexican Restaurant, where we dove into a massive Mexican feast, complete with top-shelf margaritas. It was my first time at this place, and I foresee it becoming a new Midland tradition.

Once back at Casa di Brugger, we set about packing up for our return trip home, which begins in the morning. Then...the mellow evening with the folks.

Holz-Brücke Covered Bridge

 

Tuesday, October 1, 2024: Return to Point Pleasant (Again)

Our last stop before heading home was Point Pleasant, West Virginia, home of the infamous Mothman, star of my first Ameri-Scares novel, West: Virginia: Lair of the Mothman. We arrived late in the afternoon and settled into our B&B — a very nice, older home on Main Street, just a few blocks from the Mothman statue and Mothman Museum (both of which we visited immediately upon our arrival). The interior has a distinctive Mothman decor, full of whimsical charm. Most amusing was that each of the beds had a little stuffed Mothman sitting on the pillows to greet us. The house has a huge, comfortable front porch, so we sat outside with glasses of wine and enjoyed the pleasant, balmy weather.

I took a fairly lengthy walk around the downtown area and gathered information for a couple of EarthCaches. Afterward, for dinner, we picked up some Asian food from nearby Ichiban II Hibachi Steakhouse (which, on my first visit here, a few years ago, was a Mexican/Italian restaurant that actually had delicious food). Then we watched The Mothman Prophecies, as seemed only proper, which we have on our regular Halloween rotation anyway. Though it takes great liberties with the actual Mothman legend, it's one of my favorite creepy films.

The vice-presidential debate between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance followed. I don't imagine it swayed anyone to any great degree, but its civility and focus on issues rather than personalities was a refreshing change from the exhausting, nonsensical orange baboon noise.

After that, bedtime, and in the morning, we'll set out on the final leg of our trip home. It's been a wonderful week-plus for our little troupe. We were so fortunate to have been spared the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene; our house/cat sitter told us our house is fine, for which I'm immensely thankful. The effect it's had on so many people is almost beyond belief.

Until the next time...

Our Point Pleasant AirB&B

Lovely Mothman decor!

Lil Mothman Dude!

"Road Trip! Ishpeming or Bust! (Part 1)"

Sojourn at Gettysburg

Somber. Whimsical. Intriguing. Hysterical. Profound.

That was our trip to Gettysburg, PA, this past weekend. Generally around Halloween, Ms. Brugger and I go haunt someplace for a few days, and this year we decided Gettysburg would be the place, as neither of us had been there, and it appealed to our mutual love of history, beautiful settings, and autumn. It proved perfect beyond our expectations.

I believe you say "convenience store"—we lived above it.
Actually, not really; it was an apartment above a podiatrist's office we found on AirBnB, but it was attractive, well-stocked, and conveniently located in Biglerville, about ten minutes north of Gettysburg. We left Greensboro on Friday morning at the ass-crack of dawn, stopping several times to find some creative and well-maintained geocaches, reaching our destination late in the afternoon. We had already noted the locations of a few wineries in the area, so after ensconcing ourselves in our lodgings, we made The Hauser Estate Winery, on Cashtown Road west of Biglerville, our first port of call. We didn't quite know what to expect from Pennsylvania wines, so we tried several—a Meritage, a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet Franc, and a Cab Sauvignon. Of them, the Cab Sauvignon was the only one I'd rate quite highly, the others ranging from fair-at-best to decent, but the wine quality proved almost superfluous. The tasting room rests high on a hill overlooking the valley to the south, and the outdoor terrace provided the best possible location to enjoy a few spirits, as the temperature was balmy, the sunset spectacular. Now, inside, there was a DJ playing very loud 1980s music, which might have been off-putting had we been in the same room with it; however, for us outdoors, the sounds were muted enough to enjoy while still allowing us to carry on a conversation. Both Ms. B. and I would have preferred the smooth jazz/electronica so typical of our favorite NC wine-based establishments, but if the local patrons like what they're playing there, then so be it. We had a grand time, and I hope to have an opportunity to return.

For dinner, we pounced on and conquered a pizza at La Trattoria, a decent little establishment a shorter-than-short walk from our lodgings. And for our evening's Halloween flick, we put on Jeepers Creepers, which, despite the deviant leanings of director Victor Salva, I've always rather enjoyed.

Into the Field of Battle

Ms. B. confers with Abe and Perry Como
on the Gettysburg Address

On Saturday morning, after making breakfast and bracing ourselves with plenty of coffee (frou-frou coffee for Ms. B., I am compelled to tell you), we spent some time wandering about in Gettysburg proper, which we found appealing, in that, while rather touristy, it preserves and showcases a lot of genuine history in its streets and shops. The geocaching proved particularly pleasant here (as well as on the trip in general), as all the caches in the area appear to be well-maintained by their owners.

From there, we headed down to the Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park, where we availed ourselves to their film presentation ("A New Birth of Freedom," narrated by Morgan Freeman), and the Cyclorama, which features a 360-degree, 40 foot-tall painting of the field of battle rendered in the 1880s. It was an informative, illuminating intro to our day in the park. The official automobile tour takes you on a journey of 24 miles around the battlefield and runs about three hours, which I'm sure we would have enjoyed, but we preferred to spend the day on our own, which turned out to be a deeply moving experience for both of us.

Image from the Cyclorama at the Visitor Center

Because there were several virtual caches and Earthcaches at the locations, our primary targets were Devil's Den and Little Round Top, which we enjoyed exploring in considerable detail while searching for the information needed to claim the caches. One of the neat, non-battle-related items we found is a name engraved in the rocks at Devil's Den—"P. Noel"—which has a ghostly legend surrounding it. As the story goes, a young girl who lived in Gettysburg was thrown from her wagon, entangled in the wheels, and decapitated. Legend has it that her headless ghost may occasionally be seen wandering the battlefield. According to the story, the girl, while searching for her head, burned her name into the rocks with her fingertip. It is said if you trace the carving with your own finger, you will suffer serious misfortune. Now, I'll tell you, if a ghost engraved that name in the rock, she has one serious grip on typography and engraving. Just for good measure, I did indeed trace the letters with my fingertip, and I trust I have broken the curse for the benefit of future sightseers/geocachers.

Old fellow atop a monster skull at the Devil's Den

Ms. B. exhibits feats of strength

Bivouac

Our bivouac

We had brought our own provisions for a midday repast, and we chose for our bivouac a cluster of boulders in the wooded area near "The Wheat Field," along Sickles Road, a location marked as the encampment of the 18th Massachusetts Infantry. It was a beautiful, secluded site on high ground that would have provided natural cover against attack, which no doubt occurred at that very spot on 2 July, 1863. Spending time on our own, on this particular ground, struck us as at once somber and exhilarating. I can't help but wonder how the men who fought there might feel knowing that what they did, in some fashion, played a part in shaping a future where Ms. B. and I could sit in that very location and enjoy the beauty of the setting in peace and relative tranquility.

The search for strategically placed virtual and Earthcaches took us to Little Round Top, where we went among the monuments and explored the woods where Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's 20th Maine Regiment successfully fended off repeated attacks by Confederate infantry at the southern end of the hill on 2 July 1863. Once again non-battle-related, one of the Earthcaches we sought took us to a wall constructed of fossil-laden rocks, one of which is the very clear track of an atreipus milfordensis, a dog-sized plant eater which roamed eastern America during the Triassic period, some 220 million years ago.

Ms. B. among the rock walls constructed as barricades on Little Round Top

One of my favorite discoveries was at a virtual cache called "High on Longstreet" (GC8808): a 75-foot-tall observation tower that overlooks the battlefield from the west, which we climbed (with some strain on the old knees) while being battered by intense winds that had picked up during the afternoon. We spent a good while up there, enjoying the view and trying to keep from being picked up and whisked to the farthest reaches of rural Pennsylvania. Afterward, we made another climb into the higher altitudes, this time at the State of Pennsylvania monument on Hancock Avenue, along Cemetery Ridge. I did so love the views these heights afforded, not to mention all the hugs Ms. B. and I got trying to keep each other from flying off somewhere.

"Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen!"

Spirits and Shellfish
Upon our departure from the battlefield, we headed back into Gettysburg to grab a few caches, drink some wine, and hunt down the evening's vittles. We found the perfect dinner spot at Garyowen Irish Pub, which was packed (as was just about every establishment in town on a Saturday evening), but we managed to find a cozy spot at the upstairs bar, where we fixed ourselves up with some excellent spirits, plus fish & chips for Kimberly and a dozen oysters on the half shell for the windblown old dude. This was the standout meal of the trip for both of us, and it's a place I really, really want to revisit on a future trip. It will be getting a fine Yelp review from me, to be sure.

For afters, we walked over to the nearby Knob Hall Winery, which is actually a Maryland-based winery, but they have a nice tasting room in downtown Gettysburg. Here, we found a fairly large selection of red and white wines, of generally high caliber, a Chambourcin Reserve being the best of them—almost ironic, as in NC, Chambourcins are ubiquitous, but rarely superlative.

(Shut up, I am not a wine snob.)

And to round out the evening, we followed up our previous night's movie selection with Jeepers Creepers 2, which, like its predecessor, makes for an entertaining Halloween flick.

Oysters on the half-shell at Garyowen Irish Pub

Monsoon!

There is indeed a geocache in here.

Happily, the weather for our Gettysburg sojourn turned out just about perfect, if a little lacking in fall color (we're expecting the foliage to change somewhere around Christmas, at this rate). Sunday, though... holy godz, what a gullywasher. Almost the entire trip home, the rain came down in blinding sheets, which resulted, at times, in a thoroughly drenched old geocacher. Well, OF COURSE I went after some caches, I was on a freaking road trip, what can you be thinking? Our most amusing stop was probably at Mister Ed's Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium on the Chambersburg Pike because... well, because it's an elephant museum and candy emporium.

To end the journey on a high note, in Reidsville, we diverted ourselves to The Celtic Fringe, one of our longtime favorite restaurants. Here, Sazerac and bangers & mash for me, and bleu cheese/grilled chicken salad for the lady.

And so now, after one of the most wonderful trips I think I have ever taken, Halloween lurks around tomorrow's corner, and I will be out and about menacing the population. I've got the costume together, and I suspect some folks at the office tomorrow may suffer for it.

Got a light?

Nice Halloween decor in Arendtsville, a few minutes northwest of Gettysburg

Capturing the Halloween spirit in Gettysburg

Mister Ed's Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium