She seems as normal as green grass in spring. Her tone is low key. When she speaks her authoritative demeanor is disguised as being quiet amiable. It's not good to take what she says lightly, though. Although she speaks in her feminine, unassuming way, the 3 of us men know who is in charge. Before the day is out, she has us "locked up". We call her simply . . . "Jackie".

I was standing (actually pacing), waiting in the dark, around 1:00 a .m. one morning. But, I didn't see it coming for another hour and a half. 

The mosquitoes were thicker than I have ever seen anywhere. You could just swipe your open hand through the night air and, when you made a fist, you would have a handful of them. A few of us solo passengers (men) just hung around outside the depot, walking constantly to avoid the mosquitoes. They were so bad you just could not stand still. The small, inside waiting area, was too crowded for us. The women and a few others waited inside with their luggage.

Finally, we heard the train whistle in the distance. The other passengers came outside to wait on the platform as the train approached, nearly 2 hours late! We were glad to say goodbye to the mosquitoes at this train depot in northeast Arkansas.

After such a long, overdue wait, we all just wanted to get on the Amtrak Train for our long journey. 

In my case, I would ride the train to the end of the line, Chicago . There I would catch a train to my destination, Kalamazoo, Michigan. After boarding the train around 2:30 a.m. I arrived at my final destination around 7 or 8 P.M.

Cousin Jackie and her husband, Clay, met me at the train depot. The next couple of days we ate the delicious food Jackie cooked up. She is a great cook and I talked her out of one of her recipes. It will be the next best thing to having her nearby to cook it!

Clay took time off from work and they drove me around the area for sightseeing. We visited an Amish site that included a large restaurant (where we ate) and there were buildings around the property filled with museum pieces as well as souvenirs to purchase. 

I saw some astounding wall clocks that would be great hanging in my house, if I had a house. The clocks were various colors and designs and most of them had moving faces that entertained you on the hour!

My favorite, though, was the Amish store that we drove to later . We would pass the horse-drawn buggies, filled with Amish, going down the road on their way to take care of their daily business. Signs along the road cautioned automobiles to watch for the buggies on the road.

We arrived at the small store. This is where the Amish people come to buy their supplies. It's not the 'tourist' type of place, but the real thing! Since the Amish don't use electricity, the lights inside the store were gas lights. In front of the 'hitching post' on the outside there were fresh 'horse droppings' left from the recent customers!

There were handcraft items for sell as well as small tools, food, household items and other common daily needs a family would have. It was a very interesting store and I couldn't help but purchase a few things.

Another of my favorite stops was when we visited Clay and Jackie's son, Don. He has been a fireman for 5 years and I have learned to think a lot of him and his family (wife and 2 sons) . His station is in 'Texas Township'. That made me feel right at home. He took a lot of time showing and explaining the firefighting equipment and station. I climbed inside the engine cab and would have cranked it and played with the controls, but I didn't think I could get away with that.
 
After a couple of days in Kalamazoo, the three of us drove to Grand Rapids for a visit with another cousin, Jimmy (Jackies brother) and his wife, Karen. They are always a welcoming family and I think their house stays full of visitors quite a lot because they make everyone feel very welcome and comfortable when they visit.

Early the next morning the 3 of us, Jimmy, Clay, Jackie and myself, headed for the UP (Upper Peninsula. (Karen had to stay behind and work).

The lower section of the state of Michigan is referred to as the Lower Peninsula (LP). It is conected to the Upper Peninsula, (UP), by a 5 mile long bridge, the Mackinac Bridge.

The UP is bordered by 3 of the Great Lakes . It is forested and I understand it is a hunter's and sportsman's paradise, especially during the winter.

The Mackinac Island is in-between the two peninsulas. Our planned destination today was to this car-free island. 

However, the day was rainy and chilly (August in Michigan). 'Jackie' decided she would not enjoy walking around the island in the cold and rain, and insisted we go visit the Soo Locks instead. (At least, that is the way I remember it!) 

Having 3 men to one woman on the trip, you would think the men would have total rule. But, I think all common sense men know that is not how it works. Even with 3 to 1, we were no match for her. We decided it best to bow to the wishes of 'Jackie'.

Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes are connected by just one river. St Marys River. Here, on this river, are where the Soo Locks are located, between Lakes Superior and Huron .

The locks are situated between the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. The ships that pass through the locks fly both the American and Canadian flags. The reason is, the locks are parallel to each other. One direction you pass through American waters. Coming back you pass though the Canadian waters. While inside the locks, waiting for the water level to change, you are right next to the ship sitting in their lock, going the other direction.

There is a 21 foot drop in the water level near the end of the St Marys River. The 3/4 mile stretch of low water over hard sandstone made it impossible for trading ships to pass through in the early days.

The ships cargo would have to be unloaded and transported around, then reloaded. So, in 1797, the first lock was built. It was destroyed by the U.S. in the War of 1812 and once again the ship's cargo had to be transported around -- overland . The new lock was opened in 1855.

About 10,000 ships pass through the locks every year, even though they are iced over during the winter from about January to March. (With the looks of the August weather here now, I think winter might come early to the region!) I spent most of the time on the top deck, enjoying the windy, cool weather (as is my habit!).

During the months the locks are shut down they are inspected and repaired.

The 3 of us men were given 'Veterans' Discounts' on our tickets and were thanked for serving our country. A nice touch!

The boat tour was supposed to last for 2 hours but ours lasted nearly 3 hours. There were ships lined up to go through the locks (mostly cargo ships) and our ship had to wait it's turn. However, we didn't just sit in one spot waiting. 

The captain took the boat on a tour around the waters where we saw both the shoreline of Ontario, Canada and then the Michigan shore . Even though you go into the Canadian water, you don't need a passport since you don't step on shore. We saw a large steel plant operating and a lot of interesting boats docked on both sides, as well as marinas and all types of commercial buildings.

Then, when our time came to enter the lock, our ship got back in line for the adventure. The really good thing about this tour is that you don't just see the locks from a distance, but you actually get to go through them!

It takes about 25 minutes for the water in the lock to rise up and maybe about 15 minutes to go down, depending on which direction the ship is headed. The boat entered the lock, and once the gates were shut, the water began to rise.

Waiting for the water to rise went by very quickly because, while waiting for the water to come up, we watched the ship (a very large ore boat) in the other lock, going the opposite direction as it waited for the water to fall . Also, there are tourists on shore watching the locks operate.

Once our lock filled and we were 'raised' enough to go through, the boat made a short tour, then turned around and we came back through the Canadian lock. This time the water was lowered once we were inside the lock.
  
The Soo Locks is still the largest waterway traffic system on earth and is often mentioned as being one of the great wonders of the world. We spent the night in the small, charming city, "Sault Ste. Marie", in a 'Jackie approved' motel.

We had a wonderful time in this quaint little harbor town.The tour through the locks turned out to be a wonderful experience and in the end we were glad the lovely and talented 'Jackie' was in charge!

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A TRUE STORY FROM LONG AGO
Long ago, I think maybe 7 or 8 years, I took this same trip by Amtrac with 5 other family members. It was the 1st time I have visited relatives in Michigan since a child .
On the train from Chicago to Kalamazoo, our group was broken up and some of us had to sit next to someone not in our group.
I sat next to a boy on his way to Kalamazoo to go to college. When I asked where his home was and did not recognize the name of the city, he held up his hand and pointed to a spot on it.
I thought this was sort of strange, but maybe I was out of touch with 18 year olds ways.
We talked about other places in Michigan as we rode on the several hour trip. Each time a place came up his hand would pop up and he would point to a spot on his hand when I asked about where it was. Sometimes he would hold his hand in portrait mode and sometimes in landscape mode. I am in Yankee territory. Maybe this is something peculiar to them?
The mystery deepened once I was visiting with the family, though. After a few days of this hand thing, which never told me ANYTHING about where a place was, I finally asked one of them what the hand thing was with them.
Cousin Jimmy explained that when someone held their hand in portrait mode (up and down) and pointed to a spot, it was in relationship to Detroit on the LP . If they held the palm of their hand sideways, they were referring to the UP and the spot they pointed to was in relation to the bridge connecting the two peninsulas. The position of the hand represented the Map of Michigan!
Wow, things finally made sense! THE END!
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NEXT: "A World Without Cars!"