The St Clair Passes Under the Bridge

It seems like its pretty rare when I see one ship at the Bridge.  It's even rarer when I see two there.  And I don't think I've ever seen three in this short of a span there.  But I did.

 Next up is the ship that I was expecting to see...the St. Clair.  She has the distinction of being the ship most often confused for a 1000 footer.

 She's not though...she's only 770 feet long.  I say only like that is small.

 Again, she's a beautiful ship and this is a beautfiul setting.  If you notice the black dots all over the picture, that's not dust on my lens or sensor.  That is the cloud of bugs that was hovering over the beach.

 She slowly approaches the Bridge.

And passes under the Bridge.

Next up...the Soo.

A Defiant Ashtabula Passes Under the Bridge

Next up is a tug/barge combo.

 There are not many floating things that I call ugly, but this is one of them.

 It is the barge Ashtabula being pushed by the tug Defiance.  Both are owned by Lower Lakes Shipping.

 I'm not sure why I don't like this combination but oh well.

 For some reason the pilot house of the tug reminds me of one of those table soccer players.

 She floats on by.

I'm not sure where she was heading though.

The H. Lee White Passes Under the Bridge

I was heading up to the Soo for Engineer's Day, which also meant that I was heading up there to watch ships.  As I was stopped at the Bridge, I saw that my shipwatching would start a little earlier than expected.

 I actually wasn't expecting the H. Lee White, so at first I thought she was the St. Clair, which I was expecting.  It's just as well.  Many people do not like this style of ship and I honestly don't mind them so much.

 I love the paint scheme of the American Steamship Ships.  I just wish that they would send out their classic lakers.

 The White approaches the Bridge.

 And she starts to pass under it.

And she passes under the Bridge.  This is probably my favorite type of shot for the Bridge.

A Stop At Da Bridge

Before continuing on to Sault Ste Marie, I had to make a stop at the Mackinac Bridge.  The light was just about perfect for it.  I also had to check AIS and I saw that there would be a fair amount of traffic there.

 I honestly don't know how many pictures I've taken of the Mackinac Bridge.  For that matter, I don't know how many posts I have made of it but I do know that every time I head up to the Upper Peninsula, I have to stop and take pictures.

 It is a beautiful bridge and it really doesn't matter what time of year it is.  This year, I may have to try and do the Bridge Walk.

 Just catching it from another angle.  I loved the way the towers were reflecting in the water.

 I couldn't pass on pictures of the lighthouse.

 The almost straight on shot.

 And probably one of my favorite angles.  I really like the way the towers reflect in this shot.

 The long view.

 I could almost do a series of just rocks.

One more shot of the lighthouse.

A Brief Stop in Clare

After picking up my dad and since it was on the way, I decided to make a stop in Clare.

 Clare is a nice little town.

 But the reason I stopped was for doughnuts at Cops and Doughnuts.  Of course I had to get a picture of the shop.

 The Doherty Hotel.  I think it's a kind of nice looking hotel although I wish they would have kept the old school windows.

 The Marquee for the movie theater.  I'm not sure how one screen theaters are going to survive in the digital age though.

 The Whitehouse Restaurant has really good hamburgers.  I'm going to have to stop there again.

 However, Cops and Doughnuts was my destination.  It used to be known as the City Bakery but it fell on hard times.  Some members of the Clare Police Force grouped their money together and saved the bakery.  I'd have to say that's pretty cool.

 I love this sign.

 They have a pretty good selection of other baked goods as well.

 But it's the doughnuts they are famous for.

 They have different types of police paraphenelia.  This one caught my eye.

 An attempt at a reflective piece.

I tried to get a better angle of the shop but the truck pulled in just as I was taking the picture.  The doughnuts were pretty good but I think I like Dom's better still.

A Brief Visit to the Capitol Building

So Thursday I headed up to the Soo for Engineer's Day on Friday.  I had to pick up my dad who lives near Lansing.  I left fairly early and as I looked at the light as I was approaching Lansing, I figured it would make for some nice pictures of the Capitol Building.

 But first I had to take pictures of the sculptures around the Capitol Building.  This is probably my favorite.

 A closeup of that statue.

 A statue dedicated to the Michigan folks that fought in the Spanish American War.

 And I wasn't disappointed by the light.  The Capitol Building looked radiant.  I kind of like the way the Austin Blair statue looks in this picture.

 Austin Blair was the Governor of Michigan during the Civil War.  He was one of the largest contributors to the Union's cause during that war.

 Another angle of the building.

 Just trying different ways of framing the shot.

 Looking up at the Boji Tower.

 The George Romney Building houses many state offices.  He was a Governor of Michigan.  He was also President of American Motors and father of Mitt Romney.

The Lansing City Hall is across the street from the Romney Building.

Posts Upcoming

I just got back from a wonderful weekend in the Soo.  Pictures are forthcoming, just don't feel like posting any tonight.

Wednesday Afternoon Wolverine

I decided to take the day off today since I'm heading up to the Soo for the weekend.  I was thinking of doing some trainwatching today but it looks like the best closest spot is Cleveland.  Since I had a chance to catch the Wolverine, I decided to go for that.

 One thing about taking pictures of the Wolverine is that it doesn't last long.

 It makes its way past the freighthouse, showing off its normal load.

 Gets a little closer.

 Showing off the engine and cafe car.

 It approaches the former depot.

And just like that, it's gone.