Faith-manor Posted December 12, 2021 Share Posted December 12, 2021 Finally, home. I am so very glad that I laid over one more day. MSP at 1:00 on Saturday begged people to stay of the roads because they were still responding to so many ditch accidents. We left about 10 am today and there were 3 patches of M28 that were NOT great, but they also weren't treacherous. It was just a matter of going slow, not braking, not getting close to anyone else. I 75 had been cleared down to dry pavement. I did buck a head wind. And it was bad. My car normally gets 30-33 mph on the highway. I got 26.5. When we got to the bridge, there were white caps 4-5 tall on the open water of the Straits. I can only imagine how high those.waves were breaking at the beach along US 2. US 2, when weather is good, is my favorite route because the scenery is lovely, and then in the middle, I head up to Munising and go along Lake Superior. Really, the U.P. is paradise for beauty! It is exquisite, but when Old Man Weather hits, it is a frightful grizzly bear. I am so glad I did not let him come home with other students from campus. I know how that goes. They are all poor, may not even be 21 and can't check into a hotel room, and inclined to be adventurous and think they can make it when they can't. Several of those cars on 28 that were in the ditch were reported to be college students. Someone on the other thread - I will also respond there - asked about buses. Buses are not kuch of a thing in Michigan, and mostly limited to the I-94 corridor with city buses in the urban areas. City buses in Flint and Saginaw but not outside of town, and a couple of buses run south to Saginaw, and those are.the only ones that are reliable. There is one bus that runs from the U.P. Houghton/Marquette to the lower peninsula. It routinely cancels or delays in weather like this, and makes so many stops that it can take up to 24 hours to get from those two universities to Flint, Michigan. It is not something students can rely on. I don't like all the money spent on hotels laying over, but I am not unhappy. I will take that any day over my kid being wrecked riding with inexperienced drivers, or left sleeping in a not necessarily heated by station/bus stop in some hamlet along a remote road where the only motels are seasonal and shut down for the winter, and the only food IF lucky, is the gas station. There are whole little towns up there that do not have gas stations as well. Now I need to think.about the trip to Alabama with a departure time of 6 am the 18th, and I just lost my weekend of prep time! 😜 23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted December 12, 2021 Share Posted December 12, 2021 I'm glad you made it safely! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooCow Posted December 12, 2021 Share Posted December 12, 2021 Me too! I prayed for y'all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Glad you made it safely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasProud Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Glad you made it home safely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Glad you made it safely. Lake Michigan and the UP are nothing to mess with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Thanks for the update. Glad you got home safely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 I'm glad you made it home, those were some wicked winds! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted December 13, 2021 Author Share Posted December 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Ottakee said: Glad you made it safely. Lake Michigan and the UP are nothing to mess with. No joke! LOL, totally gorgeous vixens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 So glad you made it home. Rest up for the next leg. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 So glad you made it home! Enjoy your southern Christmas! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 I'm glad you waited and made it home without too much trouble. I shudder to think of the roads I drove on in bad weather conditions when I was younger. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 (edited) 9 hours ago, Faith-manor said: No joke! LOL, totally gorgeous vixens! Picture is not mine but from my area this weekend. Normally we walk out past that lighthouse on the pier and the water is a good 6-8+ feet below pier level. Sorry I don't know who to photo credit. Edited December 13, 2021 by Ottakee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Stunning photo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted December 13, 2021 Author Share Posted December 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Ottakee said: Picture is not mine but from my area this weekend. Normally we walk out past that lighthouse on the pier and the water is a good 6-8+ feet below pier level. Sorry I don't know who to photo credit. That is an amazing photo! People who do not grow up around the Great Lakes tend nor to understand their power, and their dangers. Unfortunately, this is why we have so many drownings in the summer. Tourists are aware of rip rides and wave warnings when it comes to the ocean, but ignore them here because they think "It's only a lake". Yup nope. I feel like this photo should be entered into a photography competition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 I'm glad you made it home safely. I hate to drive on icy or snowy roads, but it can't be avoided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Faith-manor said: That is an amazing photo! People who do not grow up around the Great Lakes tend nor to understand their power, and their dangers. Unfortunately, this is why we have so many drownings in the summer. Tourists are aware of rip rides and wave warnings when it comes to the ocean, but ignore them here because they think "It's only a lake". Yup nope. I feel like this photo should be entered into a photography competition. The photo will likely be in a competition. We have wonderful photographers here and our area is ripe for beautiful and powerful shots. You are right, those that aren't local often don't realize the power of the lake. Sadly we have several drownings a year. They have started though closing off access to the pier when waves are high and that has helped. I have taught my kids that if the cement is wet, they are to stop and turn around. It might be overkill, but the waves can be powerful and sweep you off your feet quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Glad you made it safely. I hope you can carve out prep time for the next trip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted December 13, 2021 Author Share Posted December 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Ottakee said: The photo will likely be in a competition. We have wonderful photographers here and our area is ripe for beautiful and powerful shots. You are right, those that aren't local often don't realize the power of the lake. Sadly we have several drownings a year. They have started though closing off access to the pier when waves are high and that has helped. I have taught my kids that if the cement is wet, they are to stop and turn around. It might be overkill, but the waves can be powerful and sweep you off your feet quickly. I don't think it is overkill. It can be hard for some people to judge wave height and strength. Better safe than sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Different Great Lake, but this photographer has some good stuff on Twitter, including videos. I started following him on FB because early in the pandemic, he'd make videos he calls 60 seconds of serenity. His photography covers a lot of upstate NY, including lakes, the grounds of historical homes/cemeteries, oddities like an ice volcano that forms yearly, Watkins Glen, and the Finger Lakes region if anyone else is interested in that kind of thing. Sometimes he has videos of huge ships going in and out of tight spaces and trains on railroad bridges in a state park if someone has kids into transportation. I am not sure what he has on Twitter vs. FB, but the Twitter links are easier to share for the lake storm pictures. https://twitter.com/john_kucko?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author I had it display as a link because it's posting his whole Twitter thread, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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