.......orrrrrrrr.....rain ?....we dont need no steeken rain !
......well....Copper Harbor is just a memory..
.....we started out with 15 bikes Thursday night....the ride up to St Iggy was uneventful and....waterless...Chili and I got to the new hotel and most everyone was already there...did I mention that we always seem to be...fashionably late ?
.....after dinner alot of us hung out in the parkinglot and had a few beverages......then...wouldnt yanno it...clouds moved in....and it began to rain...
.....woke up around 3 am.....rain....6:45....still raining....Chili and I walked up to a nice little restaurant called The Hilltop for breakfast...highly recommend it....came back and it was still damp and drizzling liitely...soooo....whats a Wolf to do ? .....hitched up the trailer...got out my imitation Frog Toggs...and headed for the Shell Station..
....After everyone gassed up and got situated....gave a dumb lil speech and we all mounted up...and took off for Copper Harbor.....
......I think the pic sez it all
....wasnt all bad though....after about 45 minutes the clouds cleared and blue skies could be seen....it remained cool though...a detail that would dog us throughout the trip ....until the last day..
...we started out with 16 bikes and one car, and wound up with 19 bikes and one car by the time we hit the Harbor...it was good seeing the ol King Copper again..
....opening the room I threw my bag on th bed and took a look out our back slider....this is the view we had from our room....
....I opened the slider and took a stroll out back...the morning may have started out rainy...but just like last time...by the time we got to our destination the sky was blue and the sun was shining...
....the next morning a bunch of us had breakfast at this fine little restaurant....then mounted up and headed out for a fine day of riding around the area...up Rt 26 along the coast....then back onto Rt 41 which everyone knows the last 10 miles back into the village of that road....is some of the finest riding in Michigan...first stop was Brock Mountain....we had the pleasure of having a good friend of ours along for this trip...again..Black Dog and his good friend SteveK From Iowa....
....when we hit the top of the mountain, everyone suddenly whipped out their cell phones,,,ya see there aint no reception anywhere in town this far North....so if you were gonna reach out to loved ones...now was the time to do it...
....next stop was the Light House....there are two light houses ...one on the main land...the other out on a small Island, just off shore...
....a nice lil shot of my Chili Gurl...climbing round on the rocks...yep....thats a lake behind her....Lake Superior...
...on the way down we stopped at a tiny lil out look where they take most of the post card shots around here....thats the town of Copper Harbor down below..
....as we were all busy taking shots of the scenery and our bikes...a little old lady hopped out of her car and offered to take our picture...before she knew it, she had about 6 cameras hanging around her neck...lol
....the next stop...one of my favorites along this ride...The Jam Pot...yep...back to the scene of the crime...but this time, I took the time to talk to the head Monk...I asked if he remembered me...he didnt....I told him the story of last year...he laughed...he seemed to have turned over a new leaf...he was jovial and joked around with us....asuring us if there was a curse...on me...he had forgotten it long ago...wheeewwww....okay...then give us some of those....bodacious treats Monk Man !!
....we all bought big ol bags of all kind of goodies...something about the flour these Monks use...or there,s some ....secret spell...they use on the bake goods...because all their muffins and such are HUGE !!
....heres a pic of SteveK taking...heyyyyyy...wait a minute Steve....dint yanno...taking pics of food is a Sickness !!
....well...what to do with all these goodies after ya take picz of em ?.....Munch On fellow riders !
....gotta really fine shot of John and Alaine at Jacobs Falls before we hit the road again...
.....when we got back ...two bikes zoomed up into the parking lot....and a couple wind burned...long riders hopped off and stood smiling....it was two very good friends of Chili,s and myself....my God Father....TonyZ.....and his lovely wife Lara....they had been out west all week....Wyoming...South Dakota...then they Iron Butted it all the way back to the very netherlands of Michigan...to come hang out with us....these two are Chili an myselfs ...brother and sister...and it was ohhhh so sweet to see their smiling faces...
....after a sweet day of exploring the coast line...and then seeing Tony and lara pull up....we were all ready for a fine meal...we all rode up to the Country Club for dinner....the food at this place is superb....and to share it among good friends is ohhhhh so sweet..
....seems I found a new friend after dinner too....friendly lil critter..
....back at the motel...we all bundled up for some drinks and stories out back....unlike last year...it was just a taaaaaad cooler at night....but hey...after a few drinks...like 4 or 5...who notices the weather anyway ?
....the next morning...I woke up around 6:30 am...for some reason there was light streaming in our room...and the bathroom light was on...and...I smelled coffee brewing...I turned and looked for my sweet Chili Gurl...and she was gone...so i got up and took a pee...looken out the back door...I spied her sitting alone out on the doc...cup of coffee in one hand...camera in the other...I knew she was after the...elusive sunrise shot...so I grabbed my camera and quietly snuck out behind her...and got a few shots...then...I stripped back down and hoped back under the covers...I mean..it was 6:30 am for Gods sake...and this Wolf was definitely hung over !
....I did manage to get up...eventually....got myself a HOT steaming cop O joe....(me n Chili bring our own ...Bunn Coffee Maker)...I mean...we got priorities...and I slowly made my way out to the docks beside Chili...and while she was busy taking picz and such...I had other matters to attend to...remember that...Jam Pot Bakery ?...well...did I mention that they had cinnamon buns as big as yer friggin head ?!?
....well.....they do !
.....ahhhhhh....early morning on the dock in Copper Harbor...ya gotta love it...ofcourse...just when I thought Id get to eat that big ol cinnamon bun by myself....this character convinced me to...share...
....and before ya knew it...all of his friends showed up and amongst them....heyyy it,s our old friend Black Dog....did he follow them in or....did they all come out of his room after him ??
....well...we had a great time in good ol Copper Harbor....but like all good times...it had to come to an end...so we said our good byes to all our new.....feathered friends...and bid them adieu...it was time to mount up and head out into the wind again....we said our good byes to all our Misguided friends...Black Dog and our new freind SteveK...and even our friends Howard and his wife Sherpa from Thunder Bay Canada...they had veered off from their adventure in New Hampshire to come spend the weekend with The Misguided also....we watched as everyone took off for home....leaving us with the sleeping geese and ducks..
....but heyyyyy.....wait just a minute...we still got our good friends TonyZ and Lara !!....hooooo yeahhhhh......we got us a whole new adventure in the wind just a startn....so we gassed up and headed back up to Brock Mountian so they could have a ...look see...at the gas station we came across this...oddity...im not sure wht it was but...Chili and Lara shur dug it...lol...
......so we cruised back up to the mountain top and took a few more shots...
...then all four of us mounted up and headed back into the wind....we had a destination in mind...and we needed to hit it before night fall....and just around 8 pm we cruised on into Mackinaw City...I had a lil Idea of where we were gonna stay....we got our rooms and this is what we saw out in the water behind our patio....
....we spruced up a bit for dinner....I unhooked the trailer and off into town we rode...the night was cool and sweet...and even though we dug hagning out with all our Misguided friends all weekend...it was also sweet just to have the four of us out on the town enjoying a nice meal....we hadnt seen Tony and Lara in a while..and it felt good just to relax and catch up over dinner....after we had our fill...we headed back to our rooms...we had balconies side by side...and when we strolled out into the darkness after dinner....this was our view for the evening......what a way to end a great weekend indeed
....the nextorning we woke up.....and headed into town to explore all the lil shops on the main strip....Lara had never been here before...and Chili was only to pleased to show her allllllll of her favorite little shops to buy stuff in....look out Tony....the credit card is heating up !
.....having our morning coffee ....this was our view...the fog slowly burning off of Mackinaw Island out in the straights.....it was an incredible weekend indeed....and this was just the icing on the cake....after spending the afternoon in town...shopping....we alll high tailed it down the super slab to our place in the woods....we hung out for a bit sipping some of Chili,s home made Ice Tea and chatting on the deck...then Tony and Lara gave us a hug and were gone in the wind once more...it was a glorious weekend and not one Chili and I will soon forget...because they,res no better feeling then sharing the wind with good friends...
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........This has been a.... ~ Timbr n Chili Production
