I was quite surprised upon looking at a copy of the Mackinac Island Town Crier which arrived today. There is a half page ad for a fund raiser for Barack Obama which includes the names of some people who I would not expect to be supporting a Democrat for president. The Mussers, owners of Grand Hotel, have even contributed the use of The Gate House restaurant for the event. (For the benefit of those who have been to the island in the past but not recently, this was the French Outpost until purchased by Grand Hotel in 2005).
The event is to be held on Monday, August 25 from 4-6 pm (which unfortunately is a couple of days before I will be arriving for the Labor Day Jazz Weekend at Grand Hotel). Further contact information is available in the ad.
Maybe I overestimated how Republican some of the people on the island are. Perhaps the backers of the event include former Republicans who, like much of the country, are now disenchanted with GOP rule. I also wonder if some are opposing McCain due to his role in blocking the renewal of the H2B visa exemptions which resulted in preventing many people who have worked on the island for years from returning to work this summer. If this is the case and Michigan business owners are considering this issue, perhaps Michigan is not in play to the extent that many Republicans believe this year.
Is that where you live — the UP of Michigan?
I’ve seen pictures of the region and it looks absolutely beautiful. Way up at the top I think Michigan connects to Wisconsin and it’s just perfect.
I love out of the way, off the radar locales. We’re in Upstate NY and it’s very beautiful along Lake Ontario. Even further up, along the St. Lawrence Seaway, there are mansions and towns that time has forgotten. It’s pristine.
I grew up in California. A place so crowded and overrun with cars and traffic and people.
I live on the west coast of Michigan, along Lake Michigan in the LP. (That makes us a troll to the people of the UP, living “under the bridge.”)
We go to Grand Hotel once or twice each summer and subscribe to the Town Crier to keep up with events on the island. The paper also used to be largely written by a former neighbor of ours who moved up north, but recently we stopped seeing her by line so perhaps she want on to bigger and better things in journalism. It was a surprise when we went by the paper’s office when we first subscribed and saw someone we knew working there.
I have no desire to go to southern California based upon what I’ve heard of the region (which I grant might be totally unfair) but I do love northern California which I’ve traveled to occasionally. Last summer we went to Monterey, Carmel, and then San Francisco.
I was born and raised in San Francisco.
Back in the day when “normal” people could afford to live there. Believe it or not, there was a time when people making average, middleclass salaries could buy a modest house in “the City.”
My parents paid $58,000 for the house I grew up in out by the beach. Today that house (all 3 bedrooms and 1 bath and 1,100 sq. feet) sells for $800,000. It’s patently science fiction to me.
So, here we are in Upstate NY where you don’t have to be a millionaire to live the so-called American dream.
Visiting northern California and living there are obviously two different things. I looked at some of the housing prices while there and certainly would not want to move there. Of course the same is true when I visit New York City and look at the prices there.
At the moment a one bath house sounds particularly unacceptable as we are in the process of remodeling the bath room off the master bed room. Only having one bath would always be a problem, but it would be especially difficult now.
I rode my BMW Motorcycle from Florida up through the Lower Peninsula and across the Mackinac Bridge to the UP.
Stayed the night in Manistique.
What a beautiful place.
Dave,
But you missed the island!
Manistique is further into the UP than I’ve ever traveled.
I live about 60 miles east of Ron in Alto, Michigan. This summer has been extremely beautiful. Warm but less then 90 and the evenings are cool. Most nights we sleep with the windows open.
We live close to a lake and a river that have Muskeeys in them. Nothing like fresh fish..from the lake to the fire in minutes.
Now if the 10 feet of snow we got last year would fall somewhere else
You shouldn’t complain about snow after someone has mentioned going to the UP. They got far more than we did–and their winter lasts a long longer.
Ah yes, the UP…
Summer was on a Thursday last year.