One of the reasons I like summer and warm weather, is the removal of nature's constraints on movement. Weather can be an encumbrance or an aid, a reason to go or a reason to stay. For me, summer says, "go." And so we did this past Sunday after church. We hopped in the Corvette with the tops off and took an uncharacteristically long trip for little reason other than it sounded like a good idea.
We were headed to Kalkaska to look at a cabin on some land whose listing I fell in love with while cruising the Zillow app on my iPad. It is one of my favorite apps. Real Estate in general is one of my favorite things. One day, perhaps I will be a realtor. I have always felt I would be good at it.
One thing I would try to do better than most realtors, though, is take better pictures of the properties I am representing. The pictures for this cabin were only so-so. I wanted to go look at it in person to see if it was as nice as it looked. I also wanted to know what the drive was like and all that.
See, in my head, I want to buy this thing. I tend to obsess, so we went ahead to look to get it out of my system.
Avoiding the 70 MPH highways, we pealed off 131 at M46 east. I used to take this road back and forth to college and I smile from ear to ear when I am on it now. Not much changes in this rural setting. There is still the sign that says "ceramics" that I still and without fail mistakenly see as "crematorium", and the place called Larrys... no, not Larry's or Larrys', just Larrys, thank you very much. I have no idea what Larrys is, sells or does. I picture a room of Larrys, sitting around, waiting for someone to need a Larry. If you need a Larry, I know a guy. Or guys. Whatever.
On to M66 which makes M46 seem like a bustling superhighway. M66 is hilly and on this day, all but deserted. It goes through a few quaint towns, but there are few other attractions aside from the increasingly green and hilly countryside.It is a fun road to take sort of slow and lopey in the 'Vette, enjoying the sun and struggling to hear Queen on the stereo.
We stopped at a little gas station to stretch and put in some gas as I never have trusted the gauge in my old car. I am 37 and I have driven what I believe is the majority of a million miles in my life and I haven't run out of gas yet. I wasn't about to start now. The attendant actually referred to Emily as a "city folk". Charming.
Avoiding the highways was a good choice. It was very windy already, so driving more slowly was less taxing. We got to see large electricity producing windmills whomping in the near distance arranged prettily, though seemingly haphazardly through the hilly terrain. It was almost like someone said, "Let's put these in for maximum asthetic effect." It worked.
Our trip took nearly three hours, but it was nice. the car performed perfectly and we were having a good time. I didn't think about the fact that I needed to take my poor 33 year old car a good way down a pretty rutty dirt road to get to said cabin, but we took it easy and the car didn't protest too much.
The cabin and the property it sits on was lovely. It was not without need of TLC, but it was just TLC, not a basket case. I am intrigued about the story behind this cabin as it looks to have a new roof, new furnace, new windows, new carpet and an updated bath. The appliances are newer or at least in good shape and the land this all sits on is really nice. Yet, it has been on and off the market for years and the price keeps falling. Is it haunted? Was this where the Idaho Hiker Hacker made his final stand? I don't care either way. I'll rent a shaman and a priest and a spirit healer to come and smudge, bless and talk the property out of anything untoward.
We walked a little on the paths that meandered through the property, rising and falling, revealing little clearings where the sun streaked through, dappling the ground with light. It was quiet, despite the wind that was causing the tall white pines sway madly at their tops. Down on the ground all was still, quiet and peacefulm the pines settling the stiff wind down to a small breeze. It was about 5 degrees cooler here than it was when we began the trip, given the shade and the fact we were 130 miles north of where we started. A perfect place to come cool off during the dog days of summer.
Emily christened it "Whispering Pines". Oh, jeez... now we're both in love. She was supposed to be the one who was grounded and rooted in reality. We can't both be smitten.
It is no matter, though, as buying a second home is not in the cards right now, even though this seems like the perfect option for a price that is literally unbelievable. If I had a wealthy benefactor willing to front me the down payment, I would stretch to make it fit into my budget. As yet, I have not found that person or people. Of course, I haven't looked, either.
There are a lot of golf courses nearby the cabin and property which
makes me think the area could pick up. Who knows, if I bought this
thing, maybe in a decade I would be a millionaire as I sell it to make
room for the next must-play championship designed course.
We drove into the town of Kalkaska, 7 miles to the north and looked around. It had been years since I had been there. It is nothing too special, just one of the many towns in northern lower Michigan.
Relenting to time and not wanting to push my luck much further, we stuck to the freeway all the way home, stopping in Cadillac to enjoy a sinful dinner at a place I cannot say the name of. Once you says its name, you must go there. It's a state law. I can say it rhymes with Baco Tell.
Our sinful mealwas about nine dollars and all told we burned about 30 gallons of fuel to go about 275 miles which comes up to just less than 10 miles to the gallon. Oy.
My wonderful old car, like a family member to me - driven proudly to two proms, to college with me during the summers, driven away from my wedding, with my new bride, lost for a period to the wilds of Nevada, pursued and returned to me.
But now I wonder if it isn't time to move on. Sell her to someone who wants to put in the time and money and effort required to maintain or even improve her. Then I can take that money and put it in the cabin fund. If it was this cabin, I would be OK with that. If not, there will be another some day.
It was such a wonderful trip. The question remains, what made it wonderful? The cabin, or the car?
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