(Written on 7/13, but not possible to post because of lack of internet access.)
For those of you who need an explanation, the U.P. is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. That is where we now are, outside of the city of Escanaba. I am a native of the U.P., having been born in Sault Ste. Marie (“the Soo”) and brought up in St. Ignace until I was 16. Being from the U.P. makes me officially a “Yooper,” although I don’t believe that term was used when I lived here. There are a number of other famous Yoopers, most currently Tom Izzo and Steve Mariucci, both of whom come from Iron Mountain, through which we passed this morning. All of this history makes me feel very much at home here, and listening to the wonderful upper Midwest accent mixed with Canadian has me wondering if I ever sounded like that, and when I got over it.
Other U.P. terminology: If you are a Yooper, you don’t refer to the Lower Peninsula as the L.P. or any other such term. You call it “down below,” as in “I have to go down below tomorrow.” The people who live down below, since they live below the Mackinac Bridge, are called trolls.
I’m sure more U.P. lore will be following in the next few days. In the meantime, we had a fine 75 mile ride today, and we’re staying in an RV park behind a casino west of Escanaba. And not only have we arrived in Michigan, we also entered the Eastern Time Zone, so things are really starting to feel eastern, even though Michigan is solidly a part of the Midwest.
The best news is that Kathy rejoined us today! She drove a rental car all the way here from Paw Paw, and arrived at the Escanaba airport mid-afternoon. It is great to have her back in our little road community. No surprise, she immediately jumped right back in to support team activities. And there is some indication that it may be her turn to drive for the next eight days.
Other U.P. terminology: If you are a Yooper, you don’t refer to the Lower Peninsula as the L.P. or any other such term. You call it “down below,” as in “I have to go down below tomorrow.” The people who live down below, since they live below the Mackinac Bridge, are called trolls.
I’m sure more U.P. lore will be following in the next few days. In the meantime, we had a fine 75 mile ride today, and we’re staying in an RV park behind a casino west of Escanaba. And not only have we arrived in Michigan, we also entered the Eastern Time Zone, so things are really starting to feel eastern, even though Michigan is solidly a part of the Midwest.
The best news is that Kathy rejoined us today! She drove a rental car all the way here from Paw Paw, and arrived at the Escanaba airport mid-afternoon. It is great to have her back in our little road community. No surprise, she immediately jumped right back in to support team activities. And there is some indication that it may be her turn to drive for the next eight days.
No comments:
Post a Comment