As a graduate of Recreation Administration, from San Diego State University, I have made recreation and travels my career and life’s passion. After graduation, I traveled solo for one year throughout the South Pacific, doing travel photography in a wide variety of settings. Upon my return, many of my photographs became the subjects of my newly created line of handcrafted photographic greeting cards, "Exquisite! By, Elaine", a business I have had since 1986. Check them out at: http://ExquisiteCards.fototime.com .
In 1983, I began teaming up with my mom, Goldie, teaching arts & crafts to cruise ship passengers, aboard Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean. In addition, I lectured on travel photography, as well as Australia and New Zealand history, aboard Princess Cruises.
In 2004, I formed a new teaching team with my recently retired husband, Bruce, who serves as my "humble assistant" until 2010 when the cruise lines shifted the arts and crafts program to mostly being taught by their own staff.
Currently, our favorite mode of travel is by river boat. Along the way, we enjoy poking around small European towns, meeting the people, seeking out interesting photo subjects, and always stopping at every chocolatier to make a purchase. Adding to my chocolate label and wrapper collection is a bonus! And, as a U.S. Masters swimmer, if I can find a pool to get in a swim with the locals, all the better!
Cheers!
Elaine-iaK
~ Believing in your dreams can be far more rewarding than living by your limitations~ -Karla Peterson
It’s funny how the mind works. After choosing “Delightful Duluth” for my title, I remembered a blog I had written about our previous visit to Duluth in 2017. It was such a beautiful day last time we were there, so I wanted to include a link to those photos. After including the link (see above in blue font), I noticed on my site I had used the same adjective to describe Duluth—“Delightful!”
Although this was one of our only gloomy days during our entire 16-day trip, this visit to Duluth was delightful. We were fortunate to have just missed the rain that fell before we arrived.
Like a few of the other ports we visited while aboard Ocean Navigator, Duluth is located on Lake Superior in Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region. Tourism is the main industry, and the population swells from less than 90,000 residents to anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million in the summer. I would imagine it must feel like a ghost town in the winter when the average temperature is -2 degrees, the snowfall is typically 80” and the snowbirds flee along with the tourists. The lake rarely freezes over; however, the water temperature averages 39 degrees. I’ll give a big miss to swimming in those waters!
We heard an interesting statistic about Lake Superior to add to the facts we had learned so far about this Great Lake: There is enough water in Superior to cover North and South America with one foot of water! It’s also touted to be the cleanest and purest lake in the world with an average visibility of 27 feet. What a nice environment for the 78 species of fish that live in it!
It sure can be a wicked lake though. The largest wave ever recorded on the lake reached 31 feet! That explains why there have been so many ship wrecks, including the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sunk on November 10, 1975. For those of us who have been around awhile, we immediately think of the beautiful songGordon Lightfoot wrote about the 29 crew members who lost their lives that day.
Throughout our cruise we learned a lot about the Edmund Fitzgerald in the various maritime museums we visited, including the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center. We also had an “aha” moment after we learned that lake freighters that stay on the lakes are called “Lakers.” Now I know how my favorite childhood sports team got its name! Prior to becoming the Los Angeles Lakers, they were the Minneapolis Lakers, and the name was inspired by Minnesota’s nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”
Following our visit to the center, we walked all around the area before returning to the bus for the remainder of our included tour. These shots were captured along the way:
The Aerial Lift Bridge is a Duluth landmark dating back to 1905. It was first constructed as the United States’ first transporter bridge, and then it was converted to a vertical lift bridge in 1929-1930.
This is a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that connects Canal Park to the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center
What a clever idea for a lakefront takeaway restaurant! It is situated at the end of a parking lot and along Duluth Lakewalk.This restaurant, located next to the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center and Aerial Lift Bridge is also a clever idea. They converted a cargo container into a takeaway restaurant. Then, there was this. Hmmm. It is located just behind the takeaway and is a dine-in restaurant. At least they have a sense of humor!
Located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Houghton lies along Portage Lake and the Keweenaw Waterway. Native Americans mined copper here thousands of years before European settlement. The later discovery of copper lodes between 1855 and 1870 resulted in an economic boom that lasted until after World War I. Many Cornish and Finnish immigrants arrived in the area to work in the copper mines, and Houghton today has the largest concentration of Finnish/Americans in the country.
The last copper mines closed in the late 1960’s, and Houghton is currently a distribution center for wood materials, and for dairy and poultry farming.
Houghton is small; just 8,000 residents. They must be hearty souls, because winters in Houghton are frigid. Some years have seen snow during every month! In 1978-79, the area logged in 406 inches, and it snowed for over 50 days straight.
American Queen Voyages organizes an included tour for every port, and the highlight of the tour in Houghton was visiting the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan Tech, which features specimens of copper and over 100 other metals and crystals. Neither of us have ever given more than a passing interest to geology; however, we were in awe of the natural beauty we saw in that museum! The vibrant rainbow of colors of many of the specimens were dazzling.
Outside the museum was a lovely garden and the most amazing specimen of all; a 19-ton tabular mass of native copper which was recovered from Lake Superior. It was discovered in 1991 by SCUBA divers at a depth of 30 feet.
Before the tour returned to the ship, we visited the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw. After a quick look around, Bruce and I opted to leave the tour and stroll the streets of downtown before walking back to the ship.
We got a good laugh out of our reflection in this curved window. How about those toothpick legs?! I just love the styling of that pick-up truck behind us!
We were impressed with the attractive park along the lake— a wonderful place to relax, have a picnic, enjoy the flowers, and take in the views of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. Connecting Houghton to Hancock, the bridge is the world’s heaviest and widest double-decked vertical-lift bridge. In the winter, the lower level is used for snow mobiles as a safer way to cross over the lake rather than on the frozen (or not so frozen, as the case may be) lake. More than one snowmobile has ended up breaking through the ice, due to its driver’s lack of better judgment!
Viewing the sail-away from the top deck was spectacular. It was a gorgeous day, and we had a perfect perch from which to enjoy the beautiful scenery as we cruised on to Duluth, Minnesota.
In between our visits to Mackinac Island and Marquette (and on the day before Mackinac), we had two days cruising. Normally, ships refer to this as being “at sea,” but since we were on the Great Lakes, Bruce and I joked about being “at lake.”
Before arriving in Marquette, we cruised what is reputed to be one of the most turbulent bodies of water in the world—Lake Superior. As I mentioned in my first post, we were very fortunate to have such calm waters!
This is how calm it was while we were cruising!
The Great Lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) are the largest group of freshwater lakes by total area and are second largest by total volume, containing 21% of the world’s fresh water by volume. Bordering both Canada and U.S.A., they connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River, making them a major source for transportation, migration, trade, and fishing.
A note to all my swimmer friends who might be thinking the Great Lakes would be a great vacation spot for open water swimming: Bring your wetsuit! Lake Superior averages 40-42 degrees, topping out at 62+/- degrees in the summer! It’s a very deep lake, too, reaching a depth of 1,332 feet.
Marquette (population 20,629), located on the southern shores of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, was most memorable for two reasons: An interesting water feature (for lack of a better word!), and a beautiful lakeside park and beach.
Upon our morning arrival, before heading up to the River Grill for breakfast, I had stepped out on deck to snap a few photos. This was the first thing I saw:
What the heck is THAT thing? I hadn’t a clue, but I knew I would find out during our included tour.
Having done no prior research on Marquette before our cruise (very uncharacteristic of me!), I hadn’t realized the port was known primarily for shipping iron ore. The first mining took place in the mid-1800’s, and by the 1850’s, Marquette was linked by rail to several mines. Docks were built to transfer the iron ore from rail cars to the freighters below for transport to other cities to be made into steel:
This photo was at the Marquette Regional History Center
Over time, the railroad companies merged and bigger docks were needed. Those docks were located in the upper harbor, and the Marquette Lower Harbor Ore Dock 3 B W, built in 1931-1932, was dismantled in 1971. Ever since, the dock has been a source of great interest and inspiration for the community.
A working iron ore dock at the upper harbor
Our included tour took us along Presque Isle State Park, which was a gorgeous 323-acre park featuring sandstone cliffs with outlooks to take in the views as well as beautiful beaches below. I was impressed by the natural beauty as well as how nicely it was designed for locals and tourists to enjoy for walking, hiking, cycling, picnics, and beach-going.
We also visited the campus of North Michigan University, passing the Superior Dome stadium along the way. The campus has an excellent art museum, and I found a few pieces that piqued my interest:
This was a painting! The subject matter– collections of a world traveler and letter write– reminded me of me.
The Maritime Museum was located in the old City Waterworks building. I loved the color of the local sandstone bricks!
The Maritime Museum had a wonderful collection of lighthouse Fresnel lenses, including this beautifully restored lens from one of the lighthouses that had been destroyed by a fire.
This view was from the lighthouse. North Michigan University’s Superior Dome is off in the distance.
Following our tour, we enjoyed strolling through downtown, which was quite attractive with its hanging baskets of flowers, historic buildings, and gift shops.
Detroit may be the “Motor City,” but Mackinac Island, Michigan is the motorless city. Banned by the village council in 1808, automobiles are nowhere to be seen on the island that lies at the boundary of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Instead, the less than 11,000 locals get around on horseback, horse drawn carriages, or bicycles.
Everything on Mackinac (pronounced “Mackinaw”) is done utilizing horse power—literally! Trash pick-up? By horse power. USPS and UPS? Horse power! Don’t believe me? This is how your packages get delivered, even to the Grand Hotel:
A delivery to the Grand Hotel
UPS getting ready for more deliveries
And, this is the garbage “truck”:
Yes, they even haul their own food!
There are 650 horses on the island; however, all but ten horses (including the one pulling the only winter taxi) are transported to the mainland by boat to be kept in heated stables for the winter. Most are draft horses weighing in around 2,000 pounds and able to haul three times their body weight. The largest carriages hold 35 people and are pulled by 3 horses.
Only 500 of the residents are full time; the others are seasonal, working in the tourist trade that developed following the civil war, or enjoying their summer homes.
For those hearty full-timers, there is one school for kindergarten thru 12th grade with an annual attendance of 60-80 students. The senior class has anywhere from 2-10 graduates each year.
There is one word that first comes to mind to describe Mackinac Island: charming. It’s like stepping back in time while strolling the downtown streets filled with horse-drawn carriages and bicycles, lined with beautiful Victorian-era buildings and colorful lilac-filled gardens; and, a lack of cars or motor noise—just the clip-clop sound of horse hooves. And, there is not a chain-hotel to be found, just cozy B&B’s, attractive locally owned resorts, and the famous Grand Hotel.
Our home away from home for 14 days!
What you will find a lot of in Mackinac Island are fudge shops! Bruce and I counted twelve of them on the 4-block Main Street alone! In 1889, Henry Murdick opened the island’s first “Candy Kitchen,” and by the 1920’s, fudge was THE souvenir to bring home. By the 1960’s competition among the fudge makers resulted in a “fudge wars,” and now Mackinac is world-famous for its fudge. According to the Mackinac Island tourist bureau, downtown shops make 10,000 pounds of fudge each day during the season!
It’s competitive alright. Ryba’s has four(!) shops within four blocks, Murdick’s and Joann’s each have two, and then if that’s not enough, there is May’s, Murrays, Sander’s, and Kilwin’s. Yes, a couple of them—Murdick’s and Joann’s—got my business, as if there wasn’t enough great chocolate on the ship! As they say, “When in Rome…” It sure was tasty!
Our day on Mackinac began with an included horse carriage tour of the gorgeous, lush island, our nation’s second national park (after Yellowstone). A two-horse carriage took us around town and up the hill past the Grand Hotel. We were then transferred to a larger three-horse carriage to tour the steeper trails of the park and visit Fort Mackinac.
Our tour carriage for the first part of the tour
These troupers hauled 35 of us around steep hills!
The view of downtown and our ship from Fort MackinacFort Mackinac
Rather than ride the carriage back to the Grand Hotel, we opted to walk and enjoy the breathtaking views of the Grand Hotel’s golf course along the nearly vacant path (except for the occasional horse carriage). Lilac shrubs and trees were growing everywhere, and they were in full bloom. We felt like we were walking through the pages of Better Homes & Gardens magazine. It was so lovely and peaceful!
The Grand Hotel is indeed grand, especially its 660-foot front porch, the longest in the world. Known as the filming location for the movie, Somewhere in Time (Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, 1981), the hotel was also visited by five U.S. presidents, Thomas Edison, and Mark Twain. Built in just 93 days, the hotel opened in 1887 and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 1989, it became a National Historic Landmark.
The hotel’s restaurant had the largest dining room I had ever seen!
After taking the self-guided tour of the massive hotel, we shared some delicious Mackinac ice cream from Sadie’s while rocking in two of the 100 rocking chairs that line the front porch. Sadie’s Ice Cream Parlor was named after the Scottish Terrier that won Best in Show at the 2010 Westminster Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show. The pooch is owned by the owner of the hotel and her ribbons, trophies, and memorabilia are featured in one of the hotel’s galleries.
The short walk back into town was so pleasant that it was a shock when we returned to Main Street, crowded with the summer tourists that came over on the ferry for the day. It felt so commercial and touristy that we were relieved when the ferries loaded up to return the tourists back to the mainland.
Following our dinner aboard ship and the last ferry departure, it was just me, Bruce, a few other passengers from the ship, and a handful of locals strolling the quiet Main Street after dinner aboard ship. Ocean Navigator didn’t sail until the next morning, so it was nice to be able to go back into town and have it almost to ourselves!
Like millions of other avid travelers now clogging the nation’s airports, several trips we had booked over the past two years had been canceled due to COVID. One of those trips would have been aboard American Queen Steamboat Company’s acquired Victory Cruise Line ships. Since then, the company was renamed American Queen Voyages (AQV), and the itinerary we had chosen was no longer on the schedule. We opted for a 14-day Chicago roundtrip cruise on the Great Lakes with three days on our own in Chicago after the cruise.
This post, as well as the next several, will be about our (thankfully!) COVID-free journey, and the wonderful people, places, and experiences we shared along the way.
As was the case with past American Queen cruises, the first night was spent at a hotel before boarding the ship. We were put up at Chicago’s downtown Hilton, a beautiful hotel located on a beautiful park-lined stretch of South Michigan Avenue.
Following our mandatory COVID tests, we were cleared for our cruise aboard the Ocean Navigator (previously named Ocean Victory) the following day. Whewww! All 131 of the passengers tested negative, so we were free to roam the city until our bus ride to the ship the next day. We ventured out to walk the parks, seeBuckingham Fountain, stroll along the lake, and then head to Lou Malnati’s for the deep-dish pizza I had been craving over the past two years! It was just as I had remembered it when I visited Chicago with my best friend, ten years before—awesome!
Unfortunately, Chicago authorities decided shortly before the summer cruise season they didn’t want cruise ships coming and going in their waters during the busy summer weekends, so AQV was forced to bus us up to Milwaukee to meet the ship. It was all a bit of chaotic mess, because the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing (thanks to a lack of communication from the home office), but once we got on board it was (almost!) all good!
Let’s get the “(almost!)” out of the way first. If you have poor hearing, wear hearing aids, and remove them at night, I HIGHLY recommend this ship. If, on the other hand, you have excellent hearing and wear industrial-grade ear plugs at night to prevent inconsistent noises from waking you, think twice before cruising on this ship—at least until they resolve the pipe noise issue. Even a white noise ap couldn’t mask the loud sound of pipes rattling when water was being pumped throughout the ship for the showers. The water tanks were located below our cabin, so Alex, the wonderful Hotel Director, moved us in hopes of resolving the issue, since the problem couldn’t be fixed. Unfortunately, the “upgrade” from the first to third deck didn’t make a difference; the rattling was throughout the ship. This wasn’t a big deal during the day or evening, but the first shift of officers (housed in the inside cabins; passengers had outside cabins windows or balconies) showered around 5 am!
Our cabin on Deck 1 before we were moved.
Bruce and Alex (Hotel Director) with me
Otherwise, I can’t begin to tell you how much we enjoyed everything else about the ship, its crew, and this cruise!
Unlike American Queen’s U.S.A.-registered paddlewheel river boats, the Ocean Navigator is registered in the Bahamas, allowing the company to hire foreign crew. Although most were Filipino, many nationalities were represented, including our charming and funny Scottish captain. Alex and the chief purser were from the Ukraine, and our cabin steward, Jose, was from Honduras. All were friendly, hard-working, and eager to please. They made our cruise!
Our Scottish captain
Meet Marisol and Sarah:
Whenever I went to the gym, located across from the Purser’s desk, I would hear, “Hi, Miss Elaine!” They told me that after seeing my passport and comparing my birthdate to the photo, and then to me in person, I was their inspiration, and that I couldn’t possibly be 60! They decided right then and there to give up unhealthy foods and start exercising, so they could look good at 60, too. Made my day!
This is Chef Ross, a skinny chef you can trust!
Of all the 56 cruises I have worked on or been a paying passenger, Ross and his staff prepared the best cuisine. Like other AQV cruises, lobster tails were available every night; however, these were absolutely the best. We ordered seafood every night and often asked for a lobster tail to be placed on top; we were in seafood heaven!
Ross didn’t mess around when it came to chocolate either. He budgeted for a block of expensive, top-rated Valrhona chocolate, from France, for Gladwyn to use for baking his desserts. His Valrhona Chocolate Tart was just as good as Nancy Silverton’s chocolate tart that I had enjoyed when Nancy was considered one of the best pastry chefs in the U.S.A. After raving about it to Ross and Gladwyn, they surprised me with more that Gladwyn made special the following night. Pure chocolate heaven!
Another Gladwyn masterpiece
This ship doesn’t offer the production shows like AQV’s river boats have at night, but we enjoyed listening to the band—especially Tim’s saxophone, flute, and harmonica solos. We enjoyed sharing a few dinners with Tim, too.
Johnny (Piano & Vocals), Tim (Sax, Flute, Harmonicas), Bruce, and John (Drums)
After a full day at sea—uh, make that “at lake,” we docked at our first Michigan port…
Next up: Motorless Mackinac Island
Until then, how about a virtual tour of the Ocean Navigator?
Port side of The River Grill, located below the top deck. This was a casual dining restaurant where we enjoyed breakfast and lunch, rather than dining more formally in the dining room.
Starboard sie of The River Grill.
Promenade deck
This is how calm the water was on Lake Superior, a notoriously rough lake where the Edmund Fizgerald (and hundreds of other boats) sank.The tavern was located forward on Deck 2 with the lounge mid-ship.Our crew (and their adorable towel creations!)
Jose, our cabin steward
Diane, the shore excursion manager was one of my favorite people on board.
The dining room as located on Deck 1. This was the lobby before entering the dining room, and I thought Ross and his staff made great use of it! Every night, they lined up every single item on the menu, beginning with the appetizers. I had never seen this done on a cruise ship, and I thought it was a great idea! Being able to see the item with a description eliminated the need to ask questions of the service staff and to better decide what to order.
Just in case you weren’t tempted enough by the main entree’s I showed you earlier, here are a few of the appetizers I ordered during the cruise:
Last week, Bruce and I took a break from the routine to head up to North Georgia. Over the years, we had always passed through the northern part of our state on our way to other destinations. This time, we rented a log cabin on Cherry Lake Mountain, halfway between Ellijay and Blue Ridge.
Bruce found us a cute cabin through Morning Breeze Cabin Rentals that had a beautiful view of Cherry Lake below. We purposely booked it for a week before the crowds would descend on the area for the Ellijay Apple Festival and expected fall foliage color change. The last thing we wanted to deal with were crowds right before our hectic holiday craft show season!
Our cabin (top floor, with hot tub and another deck below)
The view from the screened in porch of Cherry Lake was lovely!
This bear-themed cabin had black bears EVERYWHERE!
Bruce kickin’ back at the edge of the lake
Cherry Lake, located just below the cabin
This is a pond near our cabin that I discovered on one of my Cherry Log Mountain Hikes. Bruce and I returned with his fishing pole; however, the fish weren’t biting.
Another discovery on my mountain hike, just beyond the pond.
If we had written a wish list for the perfect week in North Georgia, it couldn’t have been any better than what we actually got: Sunny and dry with daily high temperatures in the upper 70’s to low 80’s every day until we left. Better yet, there were no crowds! On our back-country drives, we often had the road all to ourselves—perfect for the loop from our cabin to the apple orchards in Ellijay, and then to Amicalola Falls, followed by Dahlonega, and then finally back to Blue Ridge via the curvy (and fun!) GA-60. What an awesome day!
These were the highlights of our week:
Amicalola Falls State Park. Don’t go to North Georgia and miss seeing these gorgeous waterfalls! Located eight miles from the Appalachian Trail, the park is within the Chattahoochee National Forest, between Ellijay and Dahlonega, in Dawsonville. At 729 feet, Amicalola Falls is the third-highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River.
Although there are longer hiking trails leading from the lodge to the falls, we opted to park at the Reflection Pool and hike in on the Appalachian Approach Trail to the observation platform. It’s a short hike that parallels the creek running from the falls, and the sound of the water was so mesmerizing. The first observation platform is at the base of the falls, and the views were spectacular! The higher observation platform was just 175 steps up. For those needing rest, there were small rest arears along the climb up. The views were breathtaking!
Blue Ridge. Located 90 miles north of Atlanta via I-575, Blue Ridge is located on the Georgia-Tennessee-North Carolina line. A hiker’s and trout fisherman’s paradise, Blue Ridge was ranked by Southern Living Magazine as one of the 2020 South’s Best Mountain Towns.
The quaint downtown is the starting point for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway; however, we opted not to ride the train to the Georgia-Tennessee border and just stay in Blue Ridge. There were a lot of nice shops, galleries, and restaurants in a quaint, but not too touristy-looking atmosphere. Thankfully, it wasn’t ruined by tacky Ripley’s “attractions” like Gatlinburg, Tennessee was. (We later drove on our own to McCaysville, GA / Copper Hill, TN; however, the journey was more enjoyable than the destination.)
For us, the highlight of Blue Ridge was visiting The Art Center, home to the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association. Located in the former Fannin County Courthouse, exhibits are on display throughout the building. Our favorite was the Contemporary Southern Folk Art exhibit (ending soon!) on display in the former court where trials formerly took place. The association did an outstanding job turning the courthouse into a spacious and beautiful gallery! Check out their website for upcoming exhibits and make sure to stop by to check them out. We visited mid-week and had the entire place to ourselves! There is no charge, but please drop a donation into the glass bowl as it is a non-profit arts association.
Whenever I research a travel destination, I always search the Trip Advisor website for recommendations. Since the top-rated restaurant was a casual, locally-owned favorite with outdoor dining, it was a must for us. We will definitely return to The Rum Cake Lady Cuban Food Café in downtown Blue Ridge when we visit the area again! The food was delicious, and the restaurant offered vegan and vegetarian options.
This very fierce looking dog guarded The Rum Cake Lady Cuban Food Cafe.
If it’s fried, I ain’t eatin’ it! We passed on this restaurant…
This pig greeted us at Hillcrest Orchards.
Further south in Ellijay, the highlight was hitting the apple orchard trail. Although Mercier Orchards back up in Blue Ridge has the most Trip Advisor reviews, our favorite orchard of the five we visited was Panorama Orchards, located three miles south of the center of Ellijay. Both orchards are rated 4-1/2 stars on Trip Advisor; however, we enjoyed shopping for goodies at Panorama Orchards’ market much more than at Mercier. The apples are priced the same at both markets; however, Panorama has an incredible selection of food items at better prices, including their homemade preserves, jams, apple breads (delicious!) and other bakery items.
In the back of the market, there is a large window where you can watch them making fudge and other candies—all priced better than at any of the other orchards we visited. The fudge (made with fresh cream and butter) is heavenly, so pick some up to bring home.
Panorama Orchards was also the only one that made their own ice cream, and it was priced better than any of the ice cream shops we checked out in Northern Georgia. The Blueberry Cheesecake ice cream was delicious!
We picked up a ½ peck of Honeycrisp apples to munch on in the cabin, and then stopped by on the way home for another ½ peck to bring home with us. They were the best apples I have ever had!
Here are a few more snap shots from our trip. (I still haven’t replaced my broken favorite camera, so all of the shots in this post were with my cheap, sub-par Fuji underwater swimming video camera.)
This not-so-humble 4-story abode (complete with boat house) was located across from Lake Blue Ridge Marina.
I roped Bruce into straddling the state line for the ultimate cheesy picture. SAY CHEEEEZE!
Hmmm, drugs and guns. What could possibly go wrong? This is so typically North Georgia…
I pondered over this shot debating with myself whether I should include this or not. There is just SO MUCH I could say about this that it could take up an entire blog post. Suffice it to say that I would never last a day as this guy’s neighbor. After all, McCaysville Drug & Gun was located just up the street, and I’m sure the owner of this banner is their best customer! I’d be a goner.
Badass superwomen continue to grace our Sun City Peachtree bench. Meet Marvel Comics’ Invisible Woman, aka Sue Storm Richards. She is a formidable heroine with the ability to render herself and others invisible (or partially invisible) at will, affecting up to 40,000 cubic feet of volume. To achieve these feats, she mentally blends all wavelengths of light in the vicinity around herself, or the target in question, without causing any visible distortion effects.
“Stormy Sue” also has extended vision allowing her to see invisible people and objects. She can detect anything made invisible by means outside her powers, and can restore those targets to a visible state at will.
Invisible Woman can project and manipulate near-indestructible invisible force fields, making her a more effective combatant. She can also shape invisible fields into constructs, turning them into offensive weapons as small as a marble or as large as 100 feet in diameter.
I’ve only scratched the surface of her vast powers, but you get the idea. In my opinion, her greatest power is that she’s an excellent swimmer!
Rogue, formerly known as Anna Marie, is another Marvel comic badass superwoman. She briefly visited the other day, and then magically disappeared shortly thereafter. I never got to see her, but the artist sent this to me:
Without the capacity to control her mutant ability to absorb memories and powers, Rogue was once on a dark path. She has successfully redeemed herself as a heroine, though, joining the X-Men and the Avengers to fight for good.
Rogue’s mutant ability requires skin-to-skin contact to absorb memories, powers, personality traits, physical talents, and strength. For most of her heroic career, she was unable to control her power, and anyone she touched would almost immediately fall unconscious. This inability to regulate her power was largely psychological in nature, but she eventually overcame it with the help of Charles Xavier.
Just like Invisible Woman, Rogue has a much more complex history and set of powers in Marvel Universe, so I’ll leave it to you explore their world in the comics while I wait to see who stops by the bench next!
First it was Catwoman, and then Wonder Woman; and, now Supergirl has arrived! It’s Superman’s cousin here to save the world!
Supergirl (aka Kara Zor-El) was born and raised in the Kryptonian population of Argo City. Kara Zor-El was sent by her parents to Earth to save her life and meet her cousin Kal-El. As a teenager and an immigrant, Kara has to learn to adapt to a completely different culture while she copes with their family’s loss.
A kind-hearted soul, Supergirl becomes optimistic and independent as she matures, but she felt quite lonely and alienated during her first years on Earth. Thanks to her cousin and foster parents, though, she eventually came to love her new planet.
There’s another side to Supergirl, though; the badass side. Having little patience for bullies, she can become short-tempered, aggressive, and snarky. When that badass side of Supergirl comes out, watch out! She’s one powerful gal—incredibly strong, fast, and quite the adept flyer. Her eyes can emit bursts of heat, while her vision ranges from the microscopic to the telescopic. She can even see x-trays and radio waves!
Supergirl’s hearing is also extraordinary! She can hear the faintest of sounds amongst a bustle of noises just by concentrating.
In addition to all of those superpowers, the mighty heroine can also inhale and exhale large amounts of air to either blow away or freeze her target.
The superhero was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959, and she first appeared in Action Comics #252. She became so popular that she has lived on in all sorts of media. You go girl!
Two badass women come to the rescue! First, Catwoman arrived early one morning, but somebody snagged the rock by the time the artist looped around our pod and revisited the bench. Darn it!
This photo is from the artist:
Catwoman is Batman’s lady superwoman friend. A jewel thief from Gotham City, she steals jewels in order to survive. (At least she does it in style!) She learned martial arts and trained extensively to perfect her skills in cat burglary. Her criminal activities are often tempered by a reluctant altruism, so she is an occasional ally to superhero Batman. She regularly eludes capture by the Dark Knight and maintains a complicated, adversarial relationship with Batman that frequently turns flirtatious and occasionally, legitimately romantic.
Selina Kyle was the original and most widely known Catwoman and first appeared in Batman #1, in 1940. Back then, she was known as “The Cat” and was an adversary of Batman. She carried a whip during her high-stake thefts. Modern writers have attributed her activities and costumed identity as a response to a history of abuse.
Since the 1990’s, Catwoman has been one of Batman’s most enduring love interests and has been featured in most media adaptations related to Batman.
Next up on the Sun City Peachtree bench? Wonder Woman! A DC Comics superhero, the character first appeared in All Star Comics #8, in 1941. I missed her, too, so here is the artist’s picture:
As a civilian, Wonder Woman is known as Diana Prince; but, when she is in her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira, her official title is Princess Diana of Themyscira.
The superwoman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Marston) and artist Harry G. Peter, during World War II. The character was initially depicted fighting Axis forces as well as an assortment of colorful supervillains. Over time, though, her stories came to place greater emphasis on characters, deities, and monsters of Greek mythology. Many stories depicted Wonder Woman freeing herself from bondage, which counterpointed the “damsel in distress” trope that was common in comics in the 1940’s.
Wonder Woman is a powerful and strong-willed woman who commands respect; and, she never backs down from a fight or a challenge. What a badass!
If you want to watch a modern-day badass in action, check out Queen Latifah in The Equalizer on CBS. She rocks!
Elaine-iaK's Travels: A Traveler's Tales of People, Places, Photos, Pools... and CHOCOLATE! 