Lambeau Field -The Grand Palace of Football - U.P'ers - Mackinac Bridge -9,079 miles

Lambeau Field, Green Bay Wisconsin, the grand old daddy, the epitome of all that is football. I first became a Packer Backer in the early 60's when I was stationed at K. I. Sawyer AFB in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. That's what connects the subjects of this particular post all together. I befriended some local Yuppers shortly after my assignment at Sawyer, and it was my new Finlander friend, Dick Ontto, back in 1963 who first invited me over to his home on Thanksgiving Day for venison burgers and local beer to watch the Packers play. Peg and I toured Lambeau Field, the very expensive sky boxes, and we ran out the players tunnel to the edge of the field, and walked around part of it's perimeter. I actually did get to touch the grass when no one was looking.

You can't imagine, after all these years of being a Packer Backer, the exhilaration of standing on the actual ground these Packers played on.



Vince Lombardi


From the skybox


From the field


12, that is TWELVE, world championships


And this fan did it too.

Gwinn, Michigan is 3 1/2 hours northeast of Green Bay in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the town I spent most of my off duty time while stationed at K. I. Sawyer AFB.


Now there are a lot of jokes about Yuppers, by others and by themselves. They live in a land that averages 200 inches of snow a year on the flat, which does not keep them indoors. They work hard (in the iron mines or cutting trees for pulp), when they have work, they play hard: hunting, fishing, skiing, ice fishing, drinking beer, eating pasties, and playing cribbage. They believe God created the Upper Peninsula first, then he created the lower peninsula later for trolls, or in more conventional terms, those that would not make it to heaven. They are wonderful people that accept strangers with open arms. A visitor is not a stranger for long. We re-connected with Dick and Julie after 47 years. It was as though we saw them last week. This was a highlight of the trip for me.



This photo with Dick, Julie and myself was taken outside of Rodney's Cafe in Gwinn, Michigan. We had a delicious breakfast of eggs over easy, home fries and cudighi, a great northern Italian sausage. This breakfast was so good after so many hotel "continental" breakfasts which were made up of bland cereals, old fruit, and terrible scrambled eggs (like poured out of a jug). The owner of Rodney's actually has a daughter in Charlotte, NC. See what you find out when you talk to people.

We drove south, then east, on US 2 along the north shore of Lake Michigan to the Mackinac Bridge that would spill us down into lower Michigan. It was a scene of white birch and pine trees with, at first a few, then a lot of views of the northern shore of this magnificent body of water.

Ooh, very cold water


One of many lighthouses on the shores of the Great Lakes.



The Mackinac Bridge, connecting the upper peninsula and the lower peninsula of Michigan. The longest suspension bridge in the world, 5 miles, built under terrible winter conditions in the late '50's. It has to withstand high winds, walls of ice and extreme temperatures.

It almost looks like a Caribbean scene of a bridge connecting two islands.

This will be my last post until we get home mid next week, at which time I will post my final one regarding our travels. I hope these posts provide encouragement for some of you to get behind the wheel and see the greatness and beauty this country and its people have to offer.