The adventures never cease! Yesterday, after leaving the Steed home (by the way, the Steed family was amazing, wonderful, hospitable, etc.), we traveled northward through Michigan, arriving at Macinac City. While there, we witnessed (ok, endured) a reenactment of a Native American attempt to capture a fort held by British soldiers. It was so drawn out and historically inaccurate–the French settler children and the Native American children did NOT hold hands, skip in a circle, and sing “Frere Jacques”–that we snuck out before the ending. We’re all still in suspense as to whether or not the Native Americans succeeded, but never you fear. They do this every year on Memorial Day, so we can go next May!
After crossing the Macinac Bridge (5 miles, longest suspension bridge in the world), we tried to head west on the Upper Peninsula towards our camp site in the Hiawatha National Forest. Val was driving and I was in the front passenger seat navigating. Although we have a rule that the navigator stays awake at all times, I was sleepy and Val said that she knew where she was headed, so I should take a little nap. The next thing I heard, Val was pointing to a bridge in the distance, asking me what it crossed. “Probably some river,” I groggily replied. Three minutes after that, Val said brightly, “Oh look, a sign for Canada!” I lifted one sleepy eyelid to see a sign. I expected it to read something along the lines of, “Canada–5 miles.” But no. Oh no. I see a sign that read, “Customs toll plaza. 50 feet.” I screamed at Val to stop, wait, we can’t go to Canada. It ordinarily wouldn’t be a huge deal, but this is no ordinary road trip. Val, due to visa constraints, cannot leave the country (well, at least not if she wants to be allowed back in). Under no circumstance can we go to Canada, yet this is precisely where we are headed. Third largest country in the world, and we are on a no-exit, end-of-the-road piece of pavement headed towards a toll booth and Canada. Not good. After pausing to catch our breath (by the way, there were no other cars in sight, so it wasn’t a huge problem for us to stop dead in the center of the road), we ventured up to the toll plaza. Val, in her smallest voice, explained that we were lost, could we please turn around? The worker laughed and gave us a receipt, upon which she wrote, “LOST” in capital letters at the top. We then pulled a U-turn, handed our receipt to another toll worker, and then cheered at the “Welcome to the USA” sign that we drove past. O Canada, this trip is amazing-crazy. I only wish you could all be here to share in the fun! More on our first night camping will be forthcoming…stay tuned!
