Saturday June 6, 2015

Saturday Morning: Another great day is coming our way. I start the day by putting my bike on the rack and driving to Panera. I had oatmeal, bagel, banana and coffee for breakfast. The Saturday edition of the WSJ does not have much heavy news. I drove to Riverside Park and rode my bike to Rockford on the White Pine Trail, a distance of 11 miles. Unlike the bike paths in Cascade Twp the White Pine Trail is on an old RR grade so no steep hills. The trail was crowded as it should be on a beautiful day. Today is also the first day of summer vacation for school kids in the area. At home I did some chores around the house. I put up a shepard’s crook on our deck. I wedged the supports between deck boards. Nancy put a flower basket on the hook. I also hung another hook on the garage and put a basket on this hook. Nancy wanted to put a hook in our backyard so we can move the bird feeder out into the yard. I got in the Taurus and headed to Home Depot. On my way I stopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods to look for kid’s fishing pole. No Luck. I also struck out at Home Depot. No crooks. Finally I stopped at Fruitbasket Flowerland and found a hook. It is now in our backyard with a bird feeder suspended from it. For dinner Nancy and I drove to Sundance Grill. It was a pleasant evening so we sat outside. We both had their ham-d-scram. Debbie face timed us this evening. We talked for about and hour. We watched a show on netflix before turning in. I have been writing about my Grandmother Hughes and her 1927 trip to Europe. My Grandfather Hughes also took a trip that summer. Grandfather Hughes took a trip on a tramp steamer from the east coast of the US, south down to the Caribbean and then through the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal in 1927 was 12 years old and still owned and operated by the US Government. He went North on the Pacific to Seattle, WA. Grandfather had a sister who lived in Seattle. I think he then took a train home. I once asked my Mother where did her parents get the money. Lumber is the answer. NE Michigan had some of the largest stands of white pine. My Grandfather arrived in Alpena from Canada and started working in the sawmills. He ended up owning the Island Mill located in downtown Alpena. In the 1920s the NE MI timber was almost all gone so Grandfather bought 10,000 acres of southern pine in North Carolina. Of course the stock market crash of 1929 depleted all their wealth. Today, June 6, is also the anniversary of the D Day landing in France. I was six at the time of the landing and cannot recall the event.