Summer 2018 Part 2: Assembly Lines and our Fifth Great Lake

Facing many miles to travel, we departed Winton Woods Campground early Saturday morning; the campground was quiet, not a camper was stirring.

A highway rest area provided a picnic area for our lunch, and we were fortunate to finish just before the rain came.

The first of many hanging baskets of colorful flowers we would see.

A windy picnic at a rest area

Pure Michigan: just the beginning of our 2018 adventure

We arrived at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, in time to take the Ford Rouge Factory tour.  How interesting to see the Ford F-150 being assemble  Having never been in a factory, I was intrigued by the assembly line process. We only know the finished product; to see the individual components being installed was remarkable.

Looking across the Ford Rouge Factory campus

Ford museum

A mustang, of course!

However, I also know that this type of work is not for me.  Eight hours of repeating the same task would bore me, but I am grateful for the many who choose this line of work so that we can enjoy the conveniences this life affords us.

The Ford campus houses a living history museum with several attractions, but we opted to forego those; our interest on this occasion was the factory.

We had reservations at the fairgrounds campground, but we decided to continue northward as it was still a bit early in the afternoon.

We found another Walmart parking lot in Tawas City, Michigan, at the "bottom" of our Lake Huron shoreline drive.  We arrived about eight o'clock and walked across the street to a deserted looking restaurant for dinner.  The waitress informed us that tourism season begins in a week or so, hence the "deserted" look.  Lake Huron is our fifth Great Lake in three years of touring together.

Clear water of Lake Huron as viewed from the deck at Pier 23 Restaurant in Tawas City, MI

An evening view of Lake Huron -- around 9:00 PM!

A deck on the rear of the Pier 23 Restaurant overlooks the lake.  We were amazed by how clear the water appeared. 

Jamie and I awoke extra early to catch the sunrise on Lake Huron, but were met with a misty, overcast sky.  This shot of the streetlights reflecting on the rain-soaked highway was worth the early rise.

Notice the reflection of the streetlights on this wet street 

No luck catching a sunrise on this misty, overcast morning on Lake Huron in Tawas City, MI.  Taken between 5:30 AM and 6:00 AM.

McDonalds is situated in the corner of the Walmart lot, so we had breakfast there.  We inadvertently took the table where the local men usually gather.  Conversation later revealed the ninety-year-old talkative gentlemen to be a retired Michigan State Trooper, another the father of a current female Trooper, and several other public safety professionals.  Never know who you'll meet along the way.