Yoopers

Michigan.  I never felt the desire to visit Michigan until I heard my mother telling about my parents' trip to Michigan and going on into the "upper part" and then visiting Mackinac Island.  What did she mean going on to the "upper part"? 

I'm pretty good at Geography.  I got an A in college.  I obviously have never paid that close attention to the state of Michigan.  I guess I wasn't interested enough in knowing anything about Michigan other than Holland so I can sometime visit the Tulip Time Festival held in May each year!  The tulip is my favorite flower. 🌷

Many years have passed by and I had put her comment about going to the "upper part" in the back of my mind and recalled it one day when my friend Nellie went to Michigan and posted her pictures on Facebook of all the lighthouses she and her husband visited.  I was envious and jealous!  I needed to go there and see what all Michigan had to offer too!  I conversed with Nellie about it and she was more than happy to show me her lighthouse map and other brochures of places they had visited while on their adventure through Michigan. 

Last May I planned a trip to Michigan...the upper part.  My friend Jenny and I headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for our first stop.  Since Jenny's late husband was in the military, we were able to get free tickets to a Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals game.  We were ecstatic because two of our favorite former Royals had been traded to the Brewers so we were really looking forward to going to the game and there is nothing much better than getting to go for free!  We stayed a couple of nights in Milwaukee and went to the Pabst Mansion, visited where Laverne and Shirley lived, took a tour of the bottling company they worked for and even saw the Fonz down on the Riverwalk!  Milwaukee is a place I would love to go back to when I can stay longer.

Driving across the bay bridge at Green Bay, Wisconsin we saw the Packers stadium and as we crossed that bridge I felt like I was entering another world!  The Upper Peninsula was just an hour away, but we were already seeing the differences in the lay of the land in the beautiful Pine and Hemlock trees and the many lighthouses surrounding Lake Michigan.  As we drove along the coast towards Marquette, we started seeing billboards for "Pasties".  I didn't know what a Pasty was and neither did Jenny.  We had our guesses, but found it best to keep our guesses to ourselves!  It turns out they are like a chicken pot pie folded in half and are fabulous!  We made it to Marquette which is located on the southern banks of Lake Superior.  Our goal was to visit as many waterfalls, state parks, lighthouses, and sights as we could in our week-long adventure.  We were now in Yooperville.

Yoopers?  What are yoopers?!  Yoopers are residents that live in the Upper Peninsula.  Those that live south of the Mackinac Bridge are lightheartedly referred to as "Trolls" since they live under the bridge!  Those of us visiting from elsewhere are "terrorists" but what they really mean are tourists!  That northern accent!!  While in Yooperville we managed to hike several trails, saw tons of waterfalls, toured lighthouses, saw many bears and actually got to hold and feed a baby bear, noticed a ton of snowmobile crossings, watched ships go through the Soo Locks at Sault Ste Marie and learned about the sunken vessels in the Great Lakes.  The U.P. has so much to offer and I feel like an imbecile for never wanting to give Trollville or Yooperville a chance.  Their favorite saying up there is "Say Yah to da U.P., eh!"  I can't wait to go back to this awesome state!