Day #28: Parting Ways - Twice Over

Today's Route: Blaney Park, MI to St. Ignace, MI (71 miles)
Total Trip Miles: 1309

The theme for today's post is "parting ways." There wasn't just one parting of ways today. Nopsie daisy! There were two.

After spending a few days riding along with us, Mr. Andy has decided to ride 19 miles off-route today to spend the day chillaxing* at a Warm Showers host's digs. A warm shower, a comfortable bed to sleep in, a laundry machine, home-cooked food, good company. Yeah, I can see why Andy made this choice.

* "Chillax" combines "chill" and "relax." Get it? This is a new hip term I learned from Carenna.

Andy, many thanks for your companionship over the last few days. You make one hell of an awesome riding partner. Hope you'll catch up again soon so we can ride together more.

Jake, Andy, and me - parting ways.

You'll need to hold your horses for the details on the second parting.

First nonsense stuff.

We saw the below pump at an old school gas station. The yellow sign on the pump reads:

Please read before pumping gas. Pump registers half of the total price to be paid. That price will be doubled at time of payment. Example - Pump registers $1.00 - Payment $2.00

This just don't seem right.

Is this legal?

We thought it interesting that the "Pumps at 1.88 4/10 per gal" is written in permanent marker on the pump.

We also noticed the below sign in St. Ignace. The bottom sign on the post indicates that St. Paul is 496 miles away. That must be as the crow flies. As the cyclist cycles, my bike computer tells me that St. Paul is 638 miles away. Us cyclists don't like to be short changed!

Maybe as the crow flies.

A good portion of our biking today was along the shores of Lake Michigan. Alas, most of our ride was in a somewhat heavy fog, which didn't allow us great views of the water.

The fog lifted just a few miles short of our arrival into St. Ignace.

We, undoubtedly, had the best campsite in Straights State Park. Which, in my mind, made up for the foggy views. Take a look at our awesome view of the Mackinac Bridge.

Can't beat this view.

The Mackinac Bridge looks like a mini Golden Gate Bridge. This, of course, brings back fond memories from last summer's ride across the Golden Gate.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on last year's bike trip down the Pacific coast.

Jake and I walked down to the shore and put our feet in Lake Michigan. The water was cool and refreshing, despite its stinky odor. (For lack of doubt, the water was not made stinky by my feet).

My feet in Lake Michigan.

Before I get to the second parting, I have one more thing to say.

I have a tendency of waking mid-night to pee. Sleeping in a tent makes this habit a bit more unpleasant than usual. It's not just a usual stroll to the bathroom; rather, it means putting on shoes, unzipping the tent, and finding a good squatting place in the dark.

I will say, though, that I have quite enjoyed my mid-night pees the last two nights.

Last night I was in awe of the super moon, the largest moon of the year. I wanted nothing more than to go for a midnight stroll.

And my mid-night pee this evening was also made wonderful by the moon. The moon was right next to the brightly lit Mackinac Bridge. I wanted nothing more than to sit on the bench overlooking the shore and just stare. Forever.

Alright, you've been very patient. So here's the second parting, as set forth on Jake's Facebook page:

Cutting the bike trip short. Did over 500 miles. Sarah will press on while I rent a car and go down to Dayton to check out the Air Force museum and hop on a train or something.

Jake deserves more credit. Now that he has officially toured, he must not short-change himself. The "500" should be "638."

Jake, thanks for the companionship. I'm sorry you didn't ride all the way to Buffalo. I hope the experience has been (mostly) a positive one.

Starting tomorrow, I'm on my own again.