Chapter 1

It all started in Syracuse . . .

Thursday night, June 16th [Sue's birthday], found us at our first stop in Syracuse. We were more than tired, after working all day and driving 4 and a half hours through bad thunderstorms with terrential rain. But, as always, we arrived safely and set the alarm for our 8:30 breakfast meeting on Friday!

Friday morning found us next door to our motel for a prearranged breakfast with Turtle McQ and Lock Wench. While we had met and corresponded frequently with Turtle McQ, we had only emailed Lock Wench. Always so nice to put a face with a stamp or with an email. It was a meal filled with their individual stories, current projects, some family history and of course, some gossip. Lock Wench gifted Sue & I with a HH to take on it's maiden voyage called Road Trip, to highlight our adventure to come as we hit the road to Michigan. After a hearty breakfast and exchanges, we headed out to find some of Lock Wench's many Syracuse boxes. Her boxes are meant to be found in a day and are at some very neat places. We highly recommend stopping by and snagging them when you get the chance. I had a great picture of the 4 of us at Schiller Park but accidently deleted it while we were in Michigan! D'oh! Guess we'll just have to get together again to take another shot!

After some time hunting Wench boxes, Sue & I huddled with Angele/Turtle Mc Q to get a game plan for those Elba Onions boxes on the New York Thruway. After getting east messed up with west - can you believe it? - we set about with a plan, said our goodbyes in case our cars were seperated and headed out. While the first box was missing, we managed to consecutively find the next 4 boxes. Thanks to Angele who donned handy raingear and went after one of the boxes in pouring rain while she had Sue and I stayed in the car! I guess age has it's benefits!!

Somewhere along the line between boxes we lost Angele but kept on the Thruway to find the remaining 3 boxes there. Then, we headed via Niagara Falls to Canada and drove the long jaunt through lower Ontario. As we crossed back into the US and Michigan, Sue dug out some of our favorite Motown CD's to play - just to get us in the mood for the next day's gathering! Stevie Wonder and the Temptations never sounded so sweet! We arrived in Dearborn, MI many hours later; exhausted and hungry at 10pm. Had a light supper and then set the alarm for the Saturday gathering - Mo' Boxin' at Motown was in the morning!


Chapter 2

Mo' Boxin' at Motown - Great Lakes 2005 Gathering

Sue and I arrived at the Hudson Mills Metropark at about 9:30am. Things were well underway but those of us that know us can attest to the fact that we've been late for things every now and then. Plus, the state of Michigan is so huge! In Connecticut, we live in the geographical center of the state so we can reach almost any area in CT with about an hour and a half's drive at the longest! Michigan is not CT - as we learned this week and Azobox forewarned us!

We were a little nervous about how we would be accepted. We were really outsiders from back East and were entering this gathering of about 50 people not really knowing anyone except SpringChick and Azobox, whom we had emailed many, many times in preparation for this trip. Newbies take note! We've attended a bunch of gatherings and still walk into these things with a little bit of trepidation so don't feel you are alone in your nervousness about these gatherings. It's still the best vehicle that we know of to put a name with a stamp and to really get acquainted with and make some new friends.



Isn't that face the cutest? . . . and the kid's not bad looking either!
TJ Mich's son, Nickerboxer

Our fears were totally unfounded! SpringChick zeroed right in on us and gave us both big hugs as did Azobox. We proceeded to set up Boch's Circus on a table that was set aside for us. The intent was and is to hide this traveling circus at events but Sue & I arrived late the night before from a considerable distance and it just was not feasible to do so. Scarab had sent along some colorful gift bags into which Sue and I sorted the acts - yellow for animals, red for performers, etc. I had purchased a sparkly ringmasters hat that I intended to wear, as Marco Peperini, the surrogate ringmaster, but just couldn't get up the nerve to do so. We placed the ringmaster's hat in the center of the circus. As we were setting up the circus, many of the letterboxers came up to us and introduced themselves and gave us a wonderful welcome. Sue & I were made to feel very special.



SpringChick and Azobox partake of the Boch's Circus and all of its many acts

Boch's Circus is a truly amazing concept and a wonderful array of talent from around the country. The quality of these stamps are some of the best we've ever seen and we heard nothing but glowing reports about it from the Great Lakes attendees. We also heard about a few complaints about sore hands from the stamping of over 3o circus acts! The circus also managed to pick up two new acts in Michigan - contributed by SpringChick and Azobox. They fit right in with the rest of the acts. Scarab's concept is to have this circus continue to grow as it makes it's way around the country. Be sure to listen for the calliope at a gathering near you.



Mrs. Doglvrs conducts a logbook making class

There were 3 seminars conducted during the gathering. The first was a logbook making session. The style of logbook is know as a monkey journal, which is similar to the coptic stitch books that Alafair so kindly taught a group of us at our home late winter.



Student with finished products and Teach

We found these books much easier to make - but I'm far from crafty so this may not be saying much. Sue and I both made a logbook and we're ready to start churing these babies out for our boxes.



SpringChick conducts her Mystery Boxes seminar

The next seminar was conducted by SpringChick and dealt with how to make an effective mystery box. There were handouts galore to take home and read, which included the basic ingredients to making a good mystery box and some of the tools that can be utilized to produce such a mystery. SpringChick is the queen of mystery boxes in Michigan and her knowledge and pointers were very well received.

The third seminar was conducted by yours truly. The discussion was based around our trip to Dartmoor, with tips and some history mixed in. Discussed were how Dartmoor boxes differ from ours and some of the experiences of The Baker's Dozen during their September 2004 trip to this boxing mecca. It seems that we interested more than one Michigander into Dartmoor - we've heard from at least 10 of the gather attendees who would like to be considered for our September 2007 trip when we hit the moor again.


Chapter 3

Mo' Creativity!



This cleverly hidden box was duck-taped to a branch and then hidden with a branch of leaves to conceal it!

Was it the foreign soil, the fresh Great Lakes air or just the "C" factor? This is one Creative group! There were pseudo boxes hidden everywhere at the gathering within the pavillion or 50 feet away! These "camoflaged boxes" took many shapes and sizes but we hesitate to divulge anything further as they may be used at subsequent gatherings. There was Motown music playing on a boom box constantly in the background to remind us the subject of the gathering and to bring back memories of our youth!



Relaxing after finding the Ford Mustang letterbox
In the forefront: The Doglvrs of MI
In the center: Tiptoe & Tonto of IL

The boxes that were hidden on the trails were well done and very innovative. One box was a Ford Mustang, carved by Dragon of WI, that was very unique in it's presentation. This box has become a permanent addition to Hudson Mills Metropark so I will not say anymore - but if you ever find yourself at this park - be sure to hunt for this box. It's one of the coolest we've ever seen.

We also marveled at SpringChick's Smokey Robinson Stamp which also had a creative twist of its own. Motown Landmarks was a series of 4 stamps, each depicting a different Detroit landmark - the old Fox Theatre, the People Mover, Ambassador Bridge and the RenCen. Each stamp was intricately carved and they have a very distinctive look on a common page in our logbook. Other boxes that we found were Tranquil Moments, Soul Train, Cleveland Rocks!, The Labtations [a canine take off on the Temptations], Ain't No Mountain High Enough, and Stevie Wonder.

One of the final boxes we managed to get was the first letterbox in Michigan, April Fools, placed in 1999 by Marty and maintained by Silent Doug and TJ Mich. It was great to get this one into our logbook as it is a vital piece of letterboxing history. One of our goals is to collect all of the first boxes in each state that are still around. At this point, we only have 2 - April Fools and the box closest to our hearts, Prayer Rock in VT.

While we left before finding all of the boxes planted for the day, Sue & I were satisfied with a day filled with new friends, some special letterboxes and the thrill of being a ringmaster, if only for a day. It was now time to get ready for the rest of our Michigan adventure - an adventure that might yield fewer letterboxes but more tranquil and slower-paced times - the stuff that makes great memories.


Chapter 4

The Road to Mackinac

As Azobox warned, our trip from Dearborn to Mackinaw City would be a long one; much like driving anywhere in Michigan! Sue & I took advantage of a little extra sleep time and stopped at a gourmet bagel shop for a great bagel sandwich with some wonderfully flavored coffee before we left Dearborn where we had stayed for 2 nights to be near the gathering.



A lovely farm that was one of many we viewed on the road to Mackinaw City

The northern portion of the LP [Lower Penninsula] of Michigan unfolded as we drove into gently, rolling hills that brought back some scenes of our beloved Vermont; though the hills were more gentle and not as lofty. Another of the more striking features of this part of the state was the proliferation of wineries that dotted the landscape. We had learned during our pre-trip information-gathering that this part of Michigan was on the same parallel as wine-growing regions in France and Italy. Desiring to visit at least one winery, Sue & I stopped for a quick view of Chateau Chantal, a winery that has won awards for their Trio - a delicious blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Savignon. After some tasting and helping out the local wine community economy, Sue and I set out for Mackinaw City, where we would catch the catamaran that would take us on the 14 minute trip to Mackinac Island. But first, there was a letterbox to find at the Welcome Center in Mackinaw City - MI-CA-t, carved by Ron Golden from California and part of a state-to-state letterbox exchange. Sue & I had to get this one as we have corresponded with Ron over the years.


Chapter 5

A Grand Old Time

Sue had been anxious to visit and stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island for over 8 years. She first saw a picture of the Grand in our Disney Vacation Club exchanges booklet - that detailed the different resorts with which we had exchange privileges. Apparently the photo that showed that large porch with the row of rocking chairs really set her off! Then a vendor with whom she works closely started talking one day about his recent trip to Mackinac and their overnight stay at the Grand. Again, Sue was re-engerized! She always talked about going there someday and told me as we were headed over on the catamaran that this was her "Dartmoor!" She was as excited about this trip as I was about our trip last year to the moor! Her only concern was that the island and the Grand Hotel would live up to expectations. You know, when you look forward to something, many times you are disappointed with some aspect of that place to which you longed to visit?



A partial view of The Grand Hotel's famous porch

Last year, one of our Hartford, CT news anchors proposed to his wife-to-be on the porch of the Grand Hotel and - you guessed it, Sue was again excited when she saw the television news story. So we booked 3 nights, painlessly using our Disney Vacation points instead of paying cash like most of the guests! Just as a quick sideline - Disney Vacation Club is run by purchasing points and those points are issued on a yearly basis. The size of your accommodation determines the number of points needed to stay. The Grand Hotel runs about $400 per night for double occupancy for a standard room but includes a 5 course breakfast and dinner. I gladly surrendered our Disney points!



A ride in style!

We arrived on Mackinac Island via a 14 minute catamaran trip. All guests of the Grand Hotel are picked up with a horse-drawn antique "taxi" like the one picture above. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on Mackinac, which is only 2 miles wide and 3 miles long. Horses and bikes rule the roads. There is even a hired force that cleans up after all of those plentiful horse souvenirs left in their wake! Sue & I noticed a Fed-Ex employee delivering packages off of a flatbed pulled by a team of horses!

Mackinac Island is strictly a summertime vacation destination. Even the horses are transported off of the island in November. One of the 650 year-round residents told me that they take snowmobiles across the lake to get supplies and for recreation in the winter months. But in summer, it's downtown streets are busy with tourists buying a t-shirt or some of the famous fudge that is sold in many of the shops there.



Fort Mackinac

Besides fudge and souvenirs, Mackinac has a historical fort, Fort Mackinac. This fort can be seen from just about anywhere on the island and is probably the island's largest tourist attraction. Mackinac has an 8 mile loop around the outer edges of the island that is used for hiking and biking. Along the interior, connecting to this outer loop, is a series of interior trails that stop off at many beautiful vistas or local attractions. And - as happenstance, there are 6 letterboxes on the island! Can you imagine that?!



Arch Rock, one of Mackinac's popular sites


More to come . . .