Deja vu at The Soo

During my recent road trip with the hubby to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I had the chance to visit the Sault Ste. Marie Locks, a popular tourist attraction in the area. Sault Ste. Marie, or "The Soo" as many call it, is famous primarily for the Soo Locks. These locks make it possible for ships to travel from Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes.

Per Wikipedia, the Soo Locks are the busiest in the world passing an average of 12,000 ships per year.The locks bypass the rapids of the St. Marys River where the water falls 7 meters (21 feet) from Lake Superior. Or as I heard one father recently explain to his young daughter, "the Locks are like a boat elevator." I couldn't have said it better!

Anyway, visitors to The Soo can watch ships go through the Locks via one of two observation platforms adjacent to the Locks. As I made my way to the platform to witness the first of several barges that would go through The Locks while we were in town, I had flashbacks to my early childhood when I was last at The Soo Locks. The year was 1984. I was six years old. I was missing a few teeth, and my parents were my best friends in the world.

A few things have changed since then. I now have all my teeth (thank God)! I just entered my third decade in this, the year 2008, and I have another best friend to throw into the mix, my husband of 10 months!

So I thought it might be fun to capture the "then" and "now." Check it out below (be sure to note similarity of attire)!

1984...


2008...

You actually might like it here (at least in the summer)!

Just got back from a needed vacation. The hubby and I spent a little less than a week in Michigan's Upper Peninsula touring what many rightfully refer to as "God's country." Some of the most beautiful landscapes awaited us as we took in much of the U.P. during our travels. I found myself surprised at how little I knew about this spectacular part of my home state.

The trip also provoked a lot of thought and fodder for upcoming blogs. So stay tuned for more!

But while on the trip, I found an interesting anecdote in a book I thumbed through while staying at the Laurium Manor Inn, a beautifully restored Victorian mansion that now serves as a bed and breakfast, in Laurium, Michigan (located on the Keweenaw Peninsula). Titled You Wouldn't Like It Here--A Guide to the REAL Upper Peninsula of Michigan, this short book humorously talks about the reasons not to like the harsh realities of life in the U.P.

The anecdote is as follows:

My friends, Johnny and Alice Penhale of Negaunee (in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula) took a trip around the world in their later years. On their world tour, the Penhales visited Catholic churches wherever they happened to be. In a church in Sidney Australia, they saw a white phone on the wall. A small sign said “Direct Line to God—calls $10,000.” A church in Budapest had a similar phone and sign, but this time the call cost $8,000. In Paris, the cost was $4,000. Finally, in New York City, a phone call direct to God cost $2,000. Upon returning home to Negaunee, John visited a local church to see what a phone call to God would cost. A sign proclaimed that such a call would cost 10 cents. John sought out the priest and asked why a call from Negaunee was only 10 cents when it cost so much more to call God from places overseas and cities in the United States. The priest smiled and said, “Because from here, it’s a local call.”

Michigan's Upper Peninsula--if you ever get the chance, check it out. It won't disappoint in the natural beauty that it offers!


(View from the summit of Brockway Mountain)