Munising, MI
Elevation: 614 ft.

Driving through the repeating farm fields of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana would have nearly killed me if it wasn’t for my aunt Rattana who joined me for the first leg of my trip. The mission was to get her home to Westfiled, IN. During the drive we passed through Cambridge, OH and I knew that I had to get a picture with the sign. This was the tiny “engineer-town” that my mom and dad lived in when they first got married. My dad worked at NCR (which has since closed its HQ here) which more or less breathed life into the tiny town and my mom was looking for work. What was humbling to me was just how small, desolate and utterly depressing the town was…I was born and raised in Fairfax, VA and, from around the time I was in Middle School, wanted nothing but to get out of there. Growing up in an upper-middle class family I could only see what was familiar to me - strip malls, indoor malls, outdoor malls, my schools and the highways linking my home to other cities and their malls. What is familiar becomes boring and yet, as I looked around Cambridge all I could think of was, “Damn, my parents lived here when they were about my age, worked their asses off and got themselves to Fairfax, built their business from the ground up and then birthed my brother and I”. Not in a million years would I have been able to accomplish as much as they have. I have always looked to Cambodia and DC as the roots of my father’s and mother’s struggles respectively. I always overlooked their struggles during those turbulent 20′s. Pulling out of Cambridge I had a new found respect for my parents as well as a new found motivation for becoming a stronger person.

Being with my Uncle and Aunt for two nights was really really what I needed. It gave me a chance to plan more of my trip, recover some sleep/ emotional stability as well as get to know them both more. I had always spent time with them during holidays but this was the first time being in their home and was I blown away at the hospitality that they showed me. I don’t think there is another person alive as accommodating as aunt Rattana! Never was there a moment where I didn’t have enough to eat, drink or do. And my uncle Viseth gave me some good advice. He told me that taking a trip like this was a big step for me as well as my parents because it was the first real time I was moving away. He told me that, as long as I took it slow and did it right, I would learn things and see things I would never have even thought of. And he’s been right so far. It’s only been 2 days since I left Indiana but it feels like forever.

The Michigan leg of the trip was my first time driving solo. Right off the bat I headed for Holland, MI. It was where I visited Laurie during her last semester at Hope College and it was a place that held a lot of good memories for me. For a long time I kept a picture of her with me of her standing with her back against the endless, white expanse of a frozen Lake Michigan. It was the same day that she took me around downtown Holland and showed me all of the little places she has learned to love during her years here. Parking in the park’s parking lot I took a deep breath - “Thank god I guessed the name right”. Walking across the wet sand I tried to find the place I took the picture over a year ago. The wind was just as strong as it was that day and surprisingly cold (something I quickly realized about Michigan - it’s like NoVa winter up here still). Looking at the lighthouses on the left and the mansions in the distance on the right I closed my eyes and settled on a spot. It funny how physical places can hold so much emotional energy, how associations, no matter how small, can be inextinguishable. We ended on a logical note. There was no wrong or right - we were both wrong and right. I told her that I had put so much of me into her and us that there was still a lot of me with her (tongue twister) and it still feels that way. The further I moved away from Virginia the tighter it seems my heartstrings pulled. I left my heart in Shenandoah but I am making new associations and I am learning something new everyday. Plus, hell, this is the farthest north I’ve ever been and I have always wanted to explore Michigan - before and after her. As I opened my eyes I realized there was a massive dump truck literally pouring dunes out of its ass. I hadn’t heard it pull up because of the intense wind but I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The beautiful frozen dunes I stood on that day as I held her tight and kissed her before Lake Michigan - was shit out by a dump truck the spring before. It helped me de-romanticize the memory. Not that there was anything wrong or untrue about our memories, not at all. It’s just that I needed to come to terms with the fact that they were different for the both of us. After a few more minutes I walked to the light houses and took some more pictures.

Up next was the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Just a brisk 3 hour drive up the western coast of the mitten. 3 hours of farms later I arrived at the bottom tip of the lakeshore. This would be, possibly, the most frustrating part of my Michigan trip so far. First off, Sleeping Bear Dunes is both the name of the major dunes (the ones I wanted to take a picture of) as well as the WHOLE lakeshore which was 65 miles long. It was my fault for not looking at Michigan’s shitty maps enough the night before and it was also my fault for counting on their signs being any better. I had started the day late and by the time I was at the lakeshore it was already starting to get dark. Both campsites that I planned on staying at were empty, unmanned and freezing. I quickly realized this was the wrong season to be in Michigan. Chalking it up to bad luck I decided to just find the dunes, snap a few shots and then head up to Traverse City for the night. Way too confident. I couldn’t even find the dunes, let alone any signs indicating a way to them. The only thing I saw were signs for a scenic drive and a dune climb. Seeing how dark it was I yelped the nearest motel and crashed for the night, I figured this was something that deserved to be seen and that I would regret completely passing over it. The next morning I went straight for the scenic road only to find it was closed for the season. Then I proceeded to waste nearly 2 hours following roads I saw on the map that lead to the shore only to find that they were private roads that led to nothing. Nearly giving up I decided to give the “dune climb” sign a try. Turns out it was a really beautiful little park, but it also turned out that there wasn’t just one tall ass dune, there were 3 or more. I got to the third one and I realized it was nearly 11 and the shore was no where to be seen. I had to concede or I would run out of daylight before finding somewhere to sleep. I had planned to be in the mid UP by the end of the day. All said and done, it was my fault for not researching well enough. And I did manage to get a decent shot of it all the same.

The destination was Macinaw City. Along the way I stopped at the little port town of Charlevoix. Perhaps one of the cutest little places I have ever seen complete with a little downtown, a drawbridge, a lighthouse and little old ladies crossing the street everywhere. I had lunch at the Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station. What I liked about the town was that it was alive even during this tourist off-season. Proceeding ever northward the destination was a port city at the very tip of the mitten advertised as full of life, history and people dressed in colonial garbs. What I got was a cold, deserted city filled with construction and poverty. Again, I should have researched it. I drove to a small park and sat on a concrete turtle and stared out into Lake Huron. Lord Huron is a band near and dear to my heart. Their music represents adventure, love and bravery. I had been anticipating this moment for a long time - the moment where I would be standing in between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It was wonderful. Helped me regain my positivity. I realized that I needed to r-e-l-a-x. As I climbed back into Rhyhorn I blasted “Meet Me in the Woods” and throttled it for Sault Ste Marie.

It has been a big dream of mine to visit the UP (what’s with all of my dreams of visiting Michigan?). Right off the bat I was greeted by easily the most chill tollbooth guy ever. He was a long-haired native american wearing a worn out henley and beads around his neck. We vibed each other out during the 30 second transaction. I told him I was driving up from Virginia and he responed, “That’s a good drive man! Enjoy the UP man!”. I felt like he would have jumped in shotgun and not looked back if I offered. Driving in the UP is tricky. True to it’s wild reputation, there aren’t that many roads considering how expansive the land is. And all the forest you see along these tiny, two-laned roads are actually continuous, most of which are either national forest or state protected forest. It was really beautiful but really hard to stay awake on. Another thing is that there is so much to do in the UP off of these roads but they aren’t advertised well. After I arrived at Sault Ste Marie I was confronted with yet another seasonally dead town. The only differences was this time it was colder and it was getting dark. I made the decision to quickly snap some shots of the famous Soo Locks (god damn you Jickling I made it!) and then to head out to Munising. There I would spend the night at a hotel, rest up and plan for the rest of the UP tomorrow.

Oh I forgot to mention, about 10 minutes in I got pulled over by a cop. Apparently two-laned roads are 55 and are never 70. I had gotten used to the Michigan signs always saying 70 for car, 60 for trucks. As soon as I realized a cop car was approaching me on the other side it was too late. They are painted this ambiguous, pastel blue color and have a single, tiny red light on top. They are also Ford Explorer’s which, in my opinion, are mom cars. Anyways, the officer was extremely kind and I had a whole winter’s worth of treadmill running and watching North Woods Law and Alaska State Trooper to know that, in general, they aren’t trying to give you a hard time and would generally treat you well if you treated them well. I had a clean record, this being only the second time I was ever pulled over (first one being cause a new sign popped up in town that didn’t allow people to turn on red but so many people got pulled over for it they ended up dismissing it) and I was from out of state doing a road trip. I turned on that friendly “Chris So” charm and got away with a verbal warning as well as some tips on great places to hike and visit in Munising.

All in all. I am alive, I have a warm bed to sleep in, I have gas in the truck and a complimentary breakfast in the morning. I have, in these short 4 days, already learned so much. There are countless things to learn and discover once you step out of your comfort zone and take a leap of faith. But above all, learn to be grateful.

Until the next update,

Chris

P.S. Happy Earth Day!