Been keepin' busy....

We went to the Detroit temple for our first time today with a group of our YSA folks. Had a wonderful time. A lengthy sealing session and then we all gathered at the "Original House of Pancakes" on Woodward Avenue (home of the annual "Woodward Ave Dream Cruise" for the car guys) for a great breakfast. Since our session was at 8:00 AM we had to leave Lansing at 6:00 AM to make it. Chilly and dark, but a great day. What an impressive bunch of young people! Big week coming up, with not only our usual teaching and prep schedule, District Meeting, CES Meetings - not to mention Friday lunch preparation - but also Zone Conference in Grand Rapids on Thursday....We will have a General Authority presiding so are really looking forward to it.

Last week we finally found an uncommitted evening, so walked to the Wharton Center on campus to see "Mary Poppins". It was SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPEALIDOCIOUS (sp)! Only about a 15 minute walk from our apartment, and a beautiful facility. There seems to be lots to do on campus and it doesn't hurt to live right across the street....

There are a couple sets of railroad tracks that cross campus - one is only about a block south of our apartment. You'd think the frequent train traffic would be kind of annoying, but we are really enjoying it. Mostly very long freight trains but some passenger as well. Kind of a reminder of living in Orland and hearing the "Shasta Daylight" go by at 5 AM every morning blowing it's horn and rattling our windows. Seriously, we really are liking it. Maybe it's because all us young kids like trains, right?

Been adding to our "lighthouse collection" as time permits. This is Little Sable Point light between Muskegon and Ludington on Lake Michigan. Built in 1874 and well preserved! Have I mentioned how beautiful Lake Michigan is? I understand it's water has been been quite warm

(like in the 70 degree range) recently, creating what the locals call "lake effect". That's code for some seriously interesting weather systems when the warm air from the lake meets the cold wind blowing down from the north across the lake.

This is a little hamlet on Lake Michigan north of Whitehall with a lot of Michigan charm!

In front of the lighthouse museum at the White River lightstation on Lake Michigan west of Whitehall. Very cool museum! Oh, yes...brisk air as well!

White River Lightstation. Oh yes...factoid for the day...last week we observed the anniversary of the sinking of the ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior near Whitefish Point in the mid '70's. Gordon Lightfoot's song about it was at the top of the charts for a long time. Imagine a 700 foot long ore ship taking a nose dive to the bottom in 529 feet of water, then breaking in half with about 200 feet of it still sticking up in the sky! A very interesting story, and still talked about in northern Michigan. There is a shipwreck museum on Lake Superior that I'm really looking forward to visiting some day.

Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse (1903)