Photo Essay Part One

Welcome to the first part of my little vacation photo essay, which is just a pretentious way of saying "boring-ass slideshow."
As you will see, having a better camera hasn't made me a better photographer, but I figure I might as well share what I've got.
And no, the population sign you see above is not missing any numbers; the population actually is 19. Winona isn't my hometown. I'm from about 3 miles away, where the population at least makes it into the triple digits (barely). It is where I went to school from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, though, and it's where my dad was born (In an old barn that's no longer standing, which was not far from where this sign is.) and you'll be seeing some pictures I took at the school, which was having an all-school reunion in honor of its 100th anniversary.
In any case, let's get started on our little photographic journey, shall we?



Here we see the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, which is, or at least was, technically named the John F. Kennedy Memorial Lift Bridge (so named in 1963, after the assassination).
The bridge connects the sprawling metropolis of Houghton with the equally sprawling metropolis of Hancock, allowing literally dozens of people to cross the Portage Canal each day.
(In case you didn't catch it, I was being sarcastic when I used the term "sprawling metropolis." Total population between the two "cities," is somewhere around 10,000, I think, not counting college students. Or maybe counting. I'm not the damn census taker; they're both really fucking small, okay?)
It actually is a unique structure. The raised central portion can be raised even higher to allow for large boats to get past. This naturally brings traffic to a halt, but fortunately there isn't a lot of boat traffic that requires the bridge to lift any higher.
The central section can also be lowered.
This was originally to allow railroad traffic to make use of the bridge at the same time as automotive traffic (cars drive on top), but the trains don't run anymore, so the bridge is only lowered in the winter to allow snowmobile traffic to cross the canal without having to risk falling through the ice.


As I mentioned, I got together with my friend Gretchen, along with her husband Jeff and their daughter Cat. Here they all are on the Houghton waterfront afterwards. The moldering remains of the long-gone mining boom can be seen behind them on the other side of the canal.


And here we see yours truly with Gretchen.


And now we come to the random pictures portion of our essay. I thought I'd share this picture of my mom's old school microwave. If I recall correctly, this may actually be the microwave that was bought for me to use in my dorm room during my freshman year of college, which was the same model as the one my mom already had. I had kept the microwave when I got married, then took it with me when I'd moved out after Lorie found herself a new beau, and somewhere along the line I think it replaced my mom's original. Maybe not. Either way, if the microwave were a person it would at least be old enought to drive.


I once mentioned that I own a wardrobe. Here it is. It had been my grandmother's and my mother decided to pass it on to me. However, the bother and expense that would be involved in moving it across the country means that it's staying in Michigan. Last I checked, it does not lead to Narnia, or anywhere, really.

In any case, I think that will conclude Part One, with quite a few more pictures to go.