Road Trip!

 

Wanting to avoid the hassle of air travel and having not been on a road trip in a while, for my husband’s 70^th birthday, we decided to celebrate it by taking a trip to Mackinac Island, Michigan. This is a popular destination for many tour companies in our area, and several family members who had been there recommended the destination for a short trip.

If you envision the lower peninsula of Michigan as an oven mitt, Mackinac Island sits in the Straits of Mackinac at the top of the mitt. The straits connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron and separate the lower peninsula from the upper. It’s about 530 miles from Pittsburgh, and the small island is only reached by ferry. There are no motor vehicles on the island; the primary means of transportation are horse-drawn carriages or bicycles. The island is only open for the summer.

We went early in the season from May 14-18, and this part of Michigan is about as far north as Montreal; therefore, it seemed as if spring was only starting to arrive there. I had never been to Michigan before, and I was shocked that once you drive past Saginaw, the state is quite desolate. It reminded me of Alaska.

On the way up, we stopped overnight in Frankenmuth, Michigan, which is billed as “Little Bavaria.” It is noted for its quaint German architecture, restaurants, and the famous Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store. However, the birthday boy was disappointed as he had hoped to have a celebratory beer at the Frankenmuth Brewery, Michigan’s oldest brewery, but alas it was not open the Wednesday night that we arrived.

The next day we headed for Mackinac City and arrived at Shepler’s Ferry that afternoon to find that a plague of insects had taken over the docks. They covered everything and everyone. Shepler’s runs like a well-oiled machine, loading passengers, their luggage, and bicycles and shuttling visitors over to the island in 16 minutes. The ride over affords tourists a view of the “Mighty Mac” bridge, which connects the lower peninsula of Michigan to the upper one.

Fortunately, the insects weren’t swarming on the island when we arrived. The ferry dropped us in the middle of town, and it was a bit disorienting to walk out on to a main street that looks like it came from the 1800s, with horses clip-clopping by and luggage handlers loading their bicycles with suitcases like a game of Samsonite Genga to deliver the bags to the hotels. 

                                                                Main Street in Mackinac.

That day we just walked the town, which is also famous for its fudge, (there are seven shops selling fudge in four blocks) and had dinner at The Great Turtle, which is what Mackinac means. The Native Americans likened the island to a big turtle in the lake.

On Friday, the weather was warm and sunny. After taking a horse-drawn carriage tour of the island, where we saw the Michigan governor’s summer residence, Fort Mackinac, the Bark Chapel—the place where the French Catholic missionaries first held Mass—and the historic Grand Hotel.

The Bark Chapel

Fort Mackinac

After lunch, we rented bikes and cycled the 8.2 miles of shoreline around the island. The trail was flat, and the water was Caribbean-clear and sparkling. Now, I know why Michigan’s motto is “Pure Michigan.” The water was that crystalline. 

                                                                    View of Lake Huron

On Saturday, the weather changed, and it dropped into the 50s and was windy and rainy. We walked to the Grand Hotel, which was the setting for the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time that starred the late Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. We dined at the extensive Grand Buffet that featured build-your-own pecan balls, which were—you guessed—it dipped in Mackinac fudge. The hotel boasts the world’s longest porch. Unfortunately, it was too inclement to sit on the rockers and gaze out at the lake. 

 

                                                                         

                                                                    The Grand Hotel

 After Mass at St. Anne’s church, we had dinner at Patrick Doud's Irish Pub. My husband sampled the fried Michigan whitefish, which he said was delicious.

On Sunday, we caught the first ferry off the island and headed back to Pittsburgh. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip back in time, and I kind of miss not hearing the horse hooves on the pavement outside our window. They set the tone for a relaxing visit.

Mackinac Island has fudge, restaurants, recreation, history, and horses. If I ever went back again, I would go a bit later in the season. Ideally, the Lilac Festival in June would be best, as I love the smell of lilacs and the island boasts over 60 different varieties.

The drive is primarily interstate, and it is worth the trek to step back in time. 

 

This article originally appeared in Northern Connection magazine.  

The Body Shop

 

If you read my column from last month, you know that I retired from being the Executive Editor of Northern Connection magazine and have now moved over to writing a senior-friendly column. Our new Executive Editor is Emily King, and I couldn’t have custom-designed a better replacement for me if I had that ability.

My husband retired a little over two years ago, and we often joke that we needed to retire to maintain our bodies. Fortunately, we are both quite healthy, outside of my having celiac disease and arthritis in my knee from a previous meniscus tear and knee surgery. My husband had a blood clot several years ago, so he tries to take care of himself as well. 

 

I am always on the lookout for ways to improve my condition and watch many YouTube videos from various physicians and podcasters. Laura, our publisher, and I often discuss “biohacks,” tips and methods to improve your health and wellbeing. I think many of the things I’ve tried actually work. I credit the supplements I take for keeping me from being malnourished. Often people who have celiac disease have nutritional deficiencies, anemia, osteoporosis, and suffer significant weight loss. Thankfully, all my levels were normal, and I’m heavier than I’d like to be—so take that celiac! I still managed to be overweight with you.

I do many other things besides going to the gym to lift weights, do cardio, and take yoga such as using red light therapy, a massage gun, foam rollers and stick rollers, and ice packs. Perhaps one of the most difficult biohacks I’ve tried is cold plunges. I don’t have a plunge tank so all I can manage is standing in the shower under the cold water for 30 seconds. They say it is good for the metabolism and mental focus. Yes, you certainly can’t focus on anything else besides THIS IS TORTURE!

 

Much easier is grounding. The theory is that grounding provides a connection to the Earth's electrical charge, which is reputed to have a positive impact on our bodies, health, and mood. The best way is to walk barefoot outside. But that isn’t always possible in snowy, cold Pittsburgh. However, I did buy grounding sheets to sleep on, and they seem to make me sleep better.

As my intestinal track is under attack, I’ve recently read the Super Gut book by Dr. William Davis who believes the key to good health is the microbiome and all the bacteria in our gut. So now I’m make my own “yogurt” to increase the beneficial bacterial in my intestines.

I also bought a water filter after I heard one doctor posit that if you are not filtering your water, your body is doing it for you. It’s absorbing all the toxins and nasty stuff that’s in our tap water.

My husband’s hematologist told him how he has been taking a shot of olive oil before going to bed, and he thinks it has been beneficial. So now before we hit the grounding sheets, we down some “liquid gold” as they describe olive oil. Sometimes in the morning, I drink a blend of apple cider vinegar and electrolyte powder. I’m like a living salad dressing.

It’s not that I’m a health fanatic or want to live forever, it’s just that while I’m here, I’d like to not be in pain and be able to do the things I like. I used to like to run and walk, but that is now difficult with arthritis. But sometimes it seems like I’m fighting a losing battle.

Most of those things that my husband and I do take place at home and don’t involve other people. However, my newest improvement may be pushing it. Have you heard of minimalist shoes? They are designed to strengthen and realign your feet and mimic natural walking movement. For my birthday, I got a pair of Peluvas. I’m still getting used to them. On Easter, I had the family over to celebrate, and I donned my pair of Peluvas.

Ever the jokester, my brother said I looked like a Hobbit and asked me, “How everything was in the Shire?”

In that vein, it was Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, who said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

It seems in retirement much of that time given to is us spent doing body work. 

This article originally appeared in the June issue of Northern Connection magazine. 

The Circus Continues-Only in Another Tent

Back when Saturday Night Live started, there was a skit called “The Thing that Wouldn’t Leave.” It was a spoof of horror movies and featured John Belushi as the “monster,” an overbearing, inconsiderate house guest who didn’t know when it was time to go home. He terrorized his hosts, Jane Curtin and Bill Murray, by making them stay up past their bedtime, watching long movies on their television, and making long distance phone calls on their home phone. They would shriek each time Belushi missed their clue that it was time for him to go.

Sometimes it’s hard to know when to leave, especially when you like the company you’re keeping as it is here with my job as editor. However, I turned 65 last month (I can’t believe that!), and I’ve decided to step down as the magazine’s Executive Editor.

I started back in December 2005 and aside from four years doing other writing assignments, I’ve been here for two decades.

When you start out writing, it’s so difficult to get a paying job in the field, and thanks to Marion Piotrowski, our Publisher Emeritus, she took me on and let me do my “dream job.” I’ve interviewed so many interesting people from sports stars to celebrities to just regular people doing extraordinary things. I’ve been allowed to put whatever has been on my mind on the page, and I’ve heard from many of you how much you enjoyed what I wrote, which was gratifying.

When I started, Laura Arnold, who is now at the helm of the magazine, was a recent college grad, and I was still in my forties, with my twins being freshmen in college. I remember when our sister magazine, Pittsburgh Fifty-Five Plus, launched, and I thought that it was for old people. Now Laura is in her forties and a mom, and I’m a grandma and the perfect demographic for the senior magazine! Time does fly.

The hardest part of stepping down is not being a part of the “team,” which includes my co-workers Mary Simpson and Paula Green. They are not only coworkers but friends. That also includes Tim Kostilnik, our graphic designer.

You can’t see it on the pages of the magazine, but Marion and Laura are the nicest, kindest, upstanding people I’ve ever worked for.

                                The Team: Laura, Marion, Me, Paula & Mary at the Retirement Lunch.

Needless to say, it’s with mixed emotions that I step down, but Laura and I have struck a deal, I’ll write a monthly column on senior issues, which will allow me to still be in touch with them and to write, which I love, while giving up the editing responsibilities.

My biggest fear is of overstaying my welcome. I don’t want to be the “Thing that Wouldn’t Leave.” I’d like to be more like circus master P.T. Barnum, who quipped, “always leave them wanting more.

So, as we transition, I hope you keep wanting more from and reading Northern Connection and Pittsburgh Fifty-Five Plus, and I’ll see you over in the Senior Section.

 

This originally appeared in the May issue of Northern Connection magazine.