Day 15

I did not sleep well last night. I kept waking up and struggling to fall back to sleep. At least, since we have nothing to rush off to today, I got to sleep in till 7:30. I read for nearly an hour and then woke G3 up. He’s been wanting to play catch, but we either run out of day light or we have just a few minutes snagged between activities or before darkness falls. Since we are already close to where we need to be for the trek tomorrow, we have nowhere to rush off to. Nothing pressing to see since we have already been through the Upper Peninsula. I asked G3 if he wanted to have a catch and he said no. He wanted to sleep a bit longer instead.

I have finished Tell It To The Bees by Fiona Shaw. It is a historical novel about two women, from two different classes in England who fall in love and have to navigate the discrimination of the day. One of the woman has a son who befriends the local doctor. The boy is unhappy because his father doesn’t love him and his father is leaving his mother. The doctor has beehives and the boy learns to take refuge in her garden with her bees. When his mother meets the doctor, the women begin to realize there is more to their acquaintanceship than possible friendship.

For breakfast we went to Suomi, a restaurant that serves Finnish food. It was good, not great, but the waiting staff was fabulous. Friendly and hard working. And the food was reasonably priced.

We stopped in at the Isle Royal National Park headquarters. I purchased my annual parks pass so that we could access the Island tomorrow. Kati also discussed with the ranger options of what she might be able to do to see the island if she can’t walk. She will look into those options later today. The ranger was friendly and informative, a former Boy Scout who had been to Philmont in the sixties. He told us that after he asked what sort of condition G3 and I were in and Kati told him we had been training to go to Philmont next summer. He said G3 and I shouldn’t have too much trouble on the Island. Originally, he’s from New York. The Buffalo area. East Aurora to be exact, but no one ever knows East Aurora so he says Buffalo. He was surprised we knew it, but we only heard of it because we were there last month when we visited Fillmore’s house. Before leaving the gift shop we purchased way too many souvenirs. Shirts for me and Kati. Hats for me and G3. A shopping bag for Kati, a patch for G3, and a Christmas ornament for the family.

We drove out to the point of Keweenaw Peninsula to Hunter’s Point Park. It has red pebble beaches surrounded by large volcanic rock. Kati sat on the beach while G3 and I took a walk on the beach and climbed over the rocks. It was pretty—but everything around Superior is.

Next we went to Bete Gris Bay which has a white sand beach and the water is so incredibly clear you can walk way out to chest level and still see your toes. G3 has commented that we didn’t have any time to just chill at a beach so that’s why we went, so he could have an afternoon in the water. But when we got there he didn’t want to go into Lake Superior. He sat on a chair and I went swimming alone. I took a nice long swim, staying in until I felt chilly. I asked G3 if he wanted to have a catch or toss the football around but he didn’t. Just yesterday he was upset that we didn’t have more time to play. While I read on the beach, he slept. I don’t know how to make him happy.

We went to Culver’s because it was G3’s choice for dinner. From there, we went to Walmart to pick up a few things for the trek. Now, we need to pack our rucksacks for the journey.

As we were packing, G3 was getting excited. It warmed my heart to finally see him happy and looking forward to something. He can’t wait to get on the island and begin our backpacking trek. Conversely, Kati is devastated and disappointed. Her knee appears even more swollen. After months of planning, this isn’t the trip she wanted.

There is no cell signal on the island. Therefore, you will not hear from me again until Monday, but I promise you a full account of our trek.