Gintaras Revisited

Once again, on the weekend after Labor Day, we headed over to Union Pier, Michigan--the land where the sun sets on the lake rather than rises out of it--for a last gasp of summer sun and beach time. You can read about our first foray into this distant land in the September 2006 archives, but as you can see from the picture above, the resort cottages rest on a bluff overlooking the lake. While last year's visit was marred somewhat by cool temperatures and rain, this year the weather was superlative. The only minuses were the ravenous mosquitos and black flies that congregated on the beach or by the log cabin door, waiting patiently to feast on any human undoused in DDT who happened by. Oh well. Can't win 'em all, but we came close this weekend!



As you can see, the surf was respectable. The water was the perfect temperature: a bit chilly upon first blush, then nice and comfortable once the swimmer was acclimated to it. And--I'm kind of embarrassed to confess after living in Chicago for more than a dozen years and a block from the lake for seven of those--I took my very first swim in Lake Michigan on Saturday morning. Well, swim would be forcing the issue a bit. I waded out far enough to get wet from head to toe, and I floated around a bit on the swells. Although I'm a good swimmer, I'm a bit wary of rough water. And to get to a depth conducive to actual swimming would have taken me farther away from the shore than I wanted to venture. Still, it was great fun.

This year, I did some googling before we went, searching for a diner or breakfast place within walking distance from the resort. And man, did I find a good one. The Blue Plate Cafe was about a mile and a third west of Gintaras, and we hoofed it there both mornings. We worked up an appetite on the way there and worked off our eggs and bacon on the way back! We visited the same shops as last year and added a few more to our roster as well. Much of this trip, though, was spent soaking up the Michigan rays or lounging in the cottage, reading or chatting.

Of course, there was the usual watching of the sunset...

At first, we didn't hold out a lot of hope for it. After a crystal clear day, the clouds rolled in and obscured the sun, diffusing its rays into a subtle prism.



Pretty, yes. Soothing, definitely. Spectacular? Well, not really.

Still, we gathered on the beach, heartily enjoying some liquid refreshment and Jeff's version of the yummy carrot dip we first tasted in Marfa last month, and waiting to see if the sunset would deliver.



The kids were still running around the shore, writing missives in the sand,



And splashing through the waves.



And even though the sun was still behind the clouds, the horizon was turning a lovely gold. And then we noticed it--something we really didn't expect to see...



I know it's kind of fuzzy and pixilated because it has been enlarged so much, but see that, um, thing sticking up out of the lake? That thing is the antenna of the Sears Tower! Yes! The air was so clear that we could see CHICAGO on the horizon, more than fifty miles across the lake.

Eventually, the sun appeared beneath the cloud cover for just a brief moment before it sank beyond the waters of the lake,



and we all headed back up to the house for our traditional Saturday evening potluck feast. Yum!



Primed by lots of good food, good wine and/or beer, and a guy with a guitar, most of the females of our group (being of a, um, certain age) started singing Beatles songs... much to the consternation (I'm sure) of the bizarre christening party of wedding-like proportions (right down to women in what can only be described as bridesmaids' dresses) taking place in the largest house on the resort grounds. Damn! We were loud. Not good, necessarily. But loud.

Sunday afternoon rolled around all too soon, and we packed our beach gear into our new Saturn (which did quite well on the highway, thank you very much!) and headed back to Chi-town.

Farewell, Gintaras, until next September.