Intermediate Lake, Bellaire, MI

Intermediate Lake, Bellaire, MI

Good evening, everyone.  I come to you now from my childhood bedroom in Yale, Michigan, after a delightful dinner of Salmon Alfredo prepared by my mom, who is a great cook.

What a day it has been!  (What a two days, what a three days…)  After the Gaylord Library posting yesterday I drove over to the cottage in Bellaire on Intermediate Lake.  My folks bought this cottage about 1970 or ’71 and we spent many summer weeks sunning on blankets, paddle-boarding on the lake, jumping off the raft into the water, riding the boat up to the sandbar, canoeing on the Jordan River, playing croquet in the backyard.  Oh so many memories.  I could write an entire blog about the fun we enjoyed at the cottage.  A few years ago my parents decided to sell and thankfully my brother bought it!  Now the cottage is a frequent stop for those of us traveling down from the Upper Peninsula.

One of hundreds of fish flys on screen

One of hundreds of fish flies on screen

Since it is the first week of June, the fish flies abounded.  They were everywhere.  On the window screens, in the lake, on the sidewalk.  After an outdoor stroll by the lake in the evening-time, a dozen fish flies decided to accompany my jacket into the cottage.  (At home in the Upper Peninsula, even though we’re only a half mile from the Huron Bay, we rarely get very many fish flies.)

Small-mouth bass Dad caught back in the '70's

Small-mouth bass Dad caught back in the '70's

Perhaps the fish in the above photo liked to eat fish flies.  My dad caught him back in the days when fishermen (and women) caught stringers filled with good-eating fish.  At least that’s what my mom just said.  This fish weighed seven pounds one ounce.  If my dad had entered the Michigan Outdoors contest that year it would have taken first prize.  Too bad he didn’t!  (Maybe this is one of those “fish stories”…)

A view of the cute little cottage

A view of the cute little cottage

After a great night’s sleep in my childhood cottage bed, it was time to drive to downtown Bellaire and meet Gerry!!  Gerry, as some of you readers might know, is a regular blogger and reader of this blog.  She writes the Torch Lake Views, and Torch Lake Township isn’t too far from Bellaire.  So she agreed to drive from her place to a cafe in Bellaire where we could eat breakfast, drink great coffee and talk about blogging adventures.

She showed up with Miss Sadie and the Cowboy, her two dogs, and the biggest smile in the universe.  I liked her immediately!  She is a great story-teller, entertaining with fascinating adventures.  She also knows a LOT about WordPress.  She shared all sorts of hints and information about how to stream-line this blogging process. 

Here’s a picture of us in front of the coffee shop.  She asked the nice woman who sold us our coffee and breakfast if she could photograph us.

Gerry and Kathy at the Moka shop in Bellaire

Gerry and Kathy at the Moka shop in Bellaire

Then it was on to West Branch to meet my dear childhood friend Pattijo for lunch.  We met at Applebees and talked and talked for at least another hour and a half.  What a delight it was to meet with her!  She actually traveled one and a half hours, just so we could spend some time together.  Even though we don’t see each other more often than once a year, we always start right in on the conversation where we left off the previous year…

Pattijo and Kathy in West Branch

Pattijo and Kathy in West Branch

What a delightful day!  Meeting up with two amazing friends in one day… 

And now comes four days in Yale, spending time with Mom and Dad, brothers, sister-in-laws and nieces and nephews.  It’s good to be here.  Can’t wait to have some outdoor adventures downstate.

P.S.  Today’s outdoor time:  walking with my mom through the old neighborhood after this blog was written.  A cool evening, but a fun time to be sharing with my mother.