My Father's Day Post

As I did a Father's Day post for Dad, I thought maybe I should do one for me. Besides, I haven't had time to write and be that creative lately and since I hear a river calling my name and am taking off tomorrow to spend a few days paddling and fishing (and maybe getting ideas for new posts). In other words, I won't be around... For the time being, I'll post a few pictures from Sunday. I really should take a photo of the oil painting my daughter did for me, of the Golden Gate Bridge in fog (with the supports rising above the fog).

Taking our bikes with us, we drove to the community of Irving where we pedaled the Paul Henry Trail to Middleville. This section of the trail runs along the Thornapple River and is a part of the old railroad bed of the Michigan Central (the line ran from Jackson to Grand Rapids).

There a few old mile markers from the railroad. I'm assuming this one is 71 miles from Jackson.Riding on a bike, I first saw the hare (we'll, it was really a cottontail rabbit). Later I saw the tortoise (or turtle)... This guy wasn't looking too good and wasn't in a hurry to get off the bike path.
Take from a trestle over the river... Cracked Pepper was closing as we got to Middleville (they are open only for lunch on Sunday), so we ate at Champs Bar and Grill, sitting out on their back deck. I had eaten in there a couple of times, and wouldn't have gone their with my daughter in the PCA (pre-clean air) days. But with the smoking ban now law, we could all breathe. The food was good and, on a warm humid day, the bottle of Newcastle kept my throat wet. Riding back, the air against the wet humid clothes kept us cool, but when I stopped for photos, I was finding myself swarmed by mosquitoes. Peddling hard, we quickly loaded up the bikes and got away from the swamp and bugs. With the exception of bugs, it was the perfect afternoon.