Shenanigans

Finally.  A Monday without having to go to town.

Finally.  A cool, rainy, gray day.  I suppose this particularly pleases me because the garden, all plants and I need it.  I got sunburned this weekend, and a break from the sun is essential.

How did I get sunburned?  Was I at the beach?  Was I sipping margaritas on a friend's porch?  Was I reroofing a house?

No, no and no.

I was on Brockway Mountain Drive for 4 hours in the blazing, breezeless heat of the afternoon.  But I had a job: to give water and Gatorade to over 300 grateful, wildly costumed single speed bike riders. They were indeed grateful.  I have volunteered at many types of races in this town, and I have never heard so much "thank you for being here," and "thanks for the water," and "thank you" in general.  It was as refreshing as the sugary red liquid must have tasted to the riders.

And they were indeed wildly costumed.  Again, I have never been to an event where the participants are so free-spirited.  It's almost a competition of flamboyance or a statement of alter-ego.  Here are examples of what I mean.

An afro over the helmet = extra safety

Even the bikes are flashy

I've got some other shots of superheroes and neon boas and men in dresses, but I'm saving those for other publications.  I'll let you know!

But the shenanigans were only beginning during the race.  This is a family blog, so I won't get too detailed, but Single Speed USA is the most interesting culture that's come to Copper Harbor in a while.  "Interesting" and "shenanigans" were two of the words I heard most from people and in my own mind.

I knew the sunburn would be worth it.

Like I told you before, Art in the Park is this weekend in Copper Harbor.  One extra to-do for me (besides running the bake sale.  How did the pregnant lady get in charge of a bake sale???) is that I am signing books at Grandpa's Barn on Sunday the 17th from 2-4 pm.  Check out what other local writers will be there on the poster below!

Pretty cool, eh?  Maybe I'll see you there!  If you come, make sure to tell me that you read this blog.  It keeps me believing.

Also, the Copper Harbor Improvement Association holds BINGO every Wednesday night during the summer from 7-9 pm, but players must purchase their cards before 6:50 pm.  Why am I telling you this?  For one, it's fun.  For two, you can win some moola.  For three, I am the number caller for most of the nights!  That's right.  I will B12 and N41 you until someone shouts "BINGO!"

See all the fun I get to make for myself these days?

Boy, oh boy.  What else can I say?  If you have any requests, please let me know.  I guess this whole nesting thing is more instinctual than I realized.  But it's not forever!

See you next week.  Get out and pick some berries, if you can!

A New Kind of July

Happy July!  Perhaps this is the first summer living up here that I actually mean that.  The Fourth is a huge weekend up here, of course, and because I have rearranged my life, I'm not dreading it.  I'll probably spend the fireworks hour at home comforting my drooling, shivering puppy.  But who knows.  I may get more adventurous...

If you are up, join us in the newly landscaped park on Friday at 9 pm where the Street Sweepers will play on the band stage.  Then, of course, fireworks at dark from Porter's Island.  The parade that morning starts at 10 am, I believe.  It's a big to-do, you know.

So the work in the park is finished.  It's quite lovely.  I hear that from locals and visitors.

Da new park, eh.

View from the trailhead

Speaking of the trailhead, it sure is busy these days!  The mountain bikers are out in droves.  I always feel a sense of pride when I see them all because my husband built and designed much of that system, and I helped promote it.  Man, I can't wait to ride those trails again myself.  I'll just have to wait until I'm riding for one, as they can be unforgiving.

One day I was out in Clyde's Field, and I was drawn to take a different way around.  I followed the sounds of the bull frogs in the little pond.  There, I actually got to see them making their sound that I can think of no onomatopoeia for.  But I could describe it as an upside down milk jug as the air fills it up after much liquid has come out.  Similar to the blubs on the frozen lake that made me a little skiddish this winter.

So the frogs were neat (alas, I had no camera on me), but then I saw a snake too!  It was harmless -- black with the two light green stripes running down its back.  Probably no longer then two feet long.  But when it saw me, it poised its head like it was on guard.  Then, of course, Duce came trouncing by, and it retreated to the water.  Cool stuff.

Did you know there is a new organization in town?  It's called Copper Harbor Art (CHA).  Yes, we artists finally organized ourselves to promote art in the area.  The last Friday of each month, we do a Gallery Tour/Art Crawl.  Here's the brochure of all participating galleries.  Pick one up when you visit!

Back of the CHA rack card

That's exciting for us.  We are also hosting an Art in Nature workshop for kids.  Here's the flyer for that. Guess who's leading the Creative Writing workshop!

Flyer for the kids' workshops

If you are on facebook, like our page to stay tuned for more Copper Harbor Art events!  And if you are an artist in the area, let me know, so you can join the group and promote your work!

For another art update, yes, my new book is out!  Click on the book on the sidebar above to find out how to get your autographed copy.  I sold nearly 100 copies in the first week already!  Guess that one is in demand.  That really is wonderful to me because the goal was to take the guess work out of exploring this magical area.

Oh heck.  One more writing update.  If you were not aware, I have traded bartending full-time to  prioritizing my writing career.  I am currently working with 3 editors, so you can see my published work pretty much monthly at:

• Action Hub Magazine
• Yooper Steez Blog
• The Great Lakes Pilot

Pretty exciting, huh?  Let that be a lesson in never giving up on your dreams!  I'll leave you with that thought.  See you after the busy weekend!

Rock Ice

"Spring is coming!" I announced like Peter crying wolf.  No wolf.  No spring.

In fact, the day after my proclamation, all the slush and puddles froze up solid and jagged like the shores of High Rock Bay.  Unshovelable ice.  I think it did that just to spite me.

I knew winter wasn't over, but that was a quick shift.  And now we're in the middle of our second "winter storm" since then.  More snow is predicted than is actually falling, but that often happens with a south wind.

Did I do anything fun and exciting outside lately?  Not really.  Sorry.  But Aaron and his fishing buddies did.  They've been catching some beasts out of the Harbor.  Here is a picture of one that nearly went viral on facebook.

Aaron and the big pike

This bugger was 44 inches long and weighed 24 pounds.  Photo credit goes to Allan.  Guess they had fun on the ice that day!

I'm kind of, um, waiting for spring now.  Darn it.  I should never do that.  For your benefit, I will make it a point to get out more and embrace what is left of winter.  You deserve that at least.  And so do I.  And so does Duce, but he's ready for spring too.  I can tell.  He likes to lay out in the sunshine and absorb it into his black fur.

Business has slowed way down.  Especially during the week.  There are still some die hard snowmobilers, skiers and ice fishermen, but they don't come up in droves anymore.  We've got two weeks left of operation at the Bear Belly, so if you want a cup of award winning chili or the best reuben around, you better get there quick!  Tell them Amanda sent you!

What else can I say without boring you with life's insignificant details?  My writing is going well.  If you want to check out some of my latest work, you can find it at Actionhub.com.  Just search "Amanda Wais" in the top right search box to see my articles listed.  And hey, if you do that, it gives them more traffic, and my editor is more likely to hire me again.  Win win!

Also, my article about professional mountain bike coach (and awesome person), Lindsey Voreis is in Mountain Flyer Magazine right now.  I guess you have to find a copy of Issue 35 to read it.  I should have my copy soon!

Okay.  You probably don't really care about my writing stuff.  You care about da Harbor.  So do I.  The ice on the big lake is still seiching.  Now you see it.  Now you don't.  Everyday is a surprise.  Just another thing I love about this place!

The Black Market Pamphlet

I think I can safely say that this issue's fire has been smoldered, so the time has come for me to tell you about my Copper Harbor Frequently Asked Questions pamphlet.

Working at The Pines Resort as a waitress and bartender for my first 3 years in this wonderful town, I was asked a lot of questions by the visitors. Now I can understand that a town with no cell phone service, Wal-Mart or shoe store could pique such curiosity. I would be curious too. But the people asked the same questions over and over and over. Some of them intelligent, some of them completely retarded (pardon my lack of politically correctness, but I could have used harsher words). I felt like a pull string doll spewing out the same phrases time and time again: Yes, I live here year-round. Lake Superior rarely freezes over. Our winters aren’t really that cold. We get an average of 270” of snow every year. I love that cell phones don’t work here. I have plenty of hobbies to keep me busy all the time. Those are just a few of the answers I would repeat.

But I am a writer. A slightly sarcastic one at that. So I thought, why don’t I compile a pamphlet that tells people what this town is like, on one handy piece of paper? Why wouldn’t I? So I did. I spent two years asking locals what questions they were constantly being asked. I learned the statistics of the weather, business hours of operation and population of the town. I spent countless hours wording, rewording and formatting it all onto a manageable-sized paper. And best of all, I put me into it. I still laugh at some of the lines when I read it.

When I had a polished product, I brought it to the Copper Harbor Improvement Association board, the Copper Harbor Trails Club board and the Grant Township Supervisor, so they could all read it and grant me permission to print and distribute my hard work. They loved it, and some even offered me a donation for this project. That is what’s great about a little town.

So off went happy little Amanda to print 500 copies of her beloved pamphlet. A pamphlet that could be given to any tourist who started asking the oh-so-familiar line of questions. It would silence them, and give them more information than they could ever be curious about. Their bartender could hand it to them with a smile, and continue to serve drinks to the rest of her customers. Everyone would be happy.

But everyone was not happy. Within 24 hours of distributing my F.A.Q. pamphlets around town, I had them all back in the box they came in (except for the few that escaped... yes!). A lashing of the tongue is what’s not-so-great about a little town. Some people thought it was offensive, and they would not be silenced until the pamphlets were out of sight. As I was collecting each pile of blood, sweat and tears, I did have a few people who realized the value of this banned piece of literature, and snuck one into their pocket for safe keeping.

Well, those people knew what they were doing. They have something that few people have: an unedited version of the Copper Harbor black market pamphlet... for free. That pamphlet no longer exists in original form. However, it does exist with a caution sticker that reads: “ATTENTION! Sense of humor recommended while reading” because, believe it or not, some people didn’t realize those "offensive" lines were supposed to be funny. Oy.

Since you have been a patron of my blog, I believe that you are mature enough to handle such material. And now that da Harbor is quiet and peaceful, I have time to respond to requests. If you would like a copy of this pamphlet, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to me at P.O. Box 94 in beautiful Copper Harbor, MI 49918. I can send two copies per stamp. Please limit five per household. Thank you for your patronage, and wish me luck for my future distributions!