I have never walked the Mackinac Bridge. I have *driven* the Mackinac about a quatrillion times. Someday, I will walk it. Yesterday was not the day. The bridge is only open to walkers once a year and that’s Labor Day. I think there is also a run sometime earlier in the summer but I am not a runner (and I have the knees to prove it). Unlike the Golden Gate (which I have biked but not walked), the Mackinac Bridge does not have pedestrian walkways. They have to close a lane of traffic to provide a place for all the walkers and that’s a big production on a summer holiday in the northern parts of the Great Lake State. Can you say police? Everywhere!

I used to be kind of snooty about the bridge walk. For the life of me, I can’t remember why. Something to do with having to walk with a big mass of other people, some of whom aren’t crazy fanatic walkers like me. Whatever I was thinking was just plain nutty! Yesterday I saw strollers and wheelchairs on the bridge. I was humbled. I should be *encouraging* other folks to get out there and walk (and/or bike and/or kayak and/or swim and/or run — yes, even run, knees and all)! So now I am a baggy old bag and some of y’all may not believe this but I am a leeeeeetle bit less of a <insert-word-that-rhymes-with-glitch>. Except when somebody is tailgating me while putting lipstick on and yapping into their phone. Then watch out. Especially when there are turtles crossing the road. I will stop for turtles. And goslings. and and and…

Last year, a whole crew of Courtois folk walked the bridge. I had been planning on joining them but, as it turned out, I spent the weekend helping Uber Kayak Woman host a memorial celebration of Radical Betty’s life. Even then, we entertained the idea of going down to do the walk on Monday. Until we found out we would have to BE there at 6:00 AM. We are both early risers but that was a little much even for us, on that particular day at least, and I had to run the gauntlet down south to the Planet Ann Arbor later that day, so we elected to have a nice slow morning drinking coffee and surfing the Internet at the Green Guy Cafe.

This year? Again the question came up. I could blame the “hurricane” (Hurricane Jane?) that blew through over the weekend. But really, we didn’t spend all *that* much time searching for missing boats or chairs or shovels or rollers. Or dredging them out of sand and water. We know that, to an extent, Gitchee Gumee will eventually cough that stuff up. Or not. We spent the early part of Monday getting the moomincabin ready to close up in a few weeks. Taking Green Guy home to his owner at long last. Helping The Commander deal with low taaarrrrrs. Again. I didn’t have the psychological energy to drive down to the Mack, park somewhere, get bused to the bridge, walk five miles, get bused back over the bridge to the Ninja, cross the bridge in the Ninja, and THEN run the gauntlet down the I75 SUV Speedway to the Planet Ann Arbor. Was I up for all that? Not this time. I will do it someday when we can drive down to the bridge at 0-skunk-30 and *return* to the moominbeach after the walk. Some day…

And that looovvvverly picture is my latest experiment with yet another iPhone camera app. (It’s PictureShow @agategal, in case you don’t already have it.) I know. The iPhone is not a “real” camera. I don’t care. I am a point and shooter and I am travelin’ light these days and I still pack my beloved but aging Canon Powershot but I haven’t used it all summer. The iPhone camera apps are fun and girls just wanna have fun, don’tcha know? Roight? All you wonderful kayak/chair/shovel recovery women? 8)

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