Day 23: Caleb's Camp

I woke up this morning on the floor of a camp near Eagle River. I had gotten six hours of sleep, but 8 am seemed way to early to wake up. I guess the 4th of July celebration had taken its toll. (I guess that is similar to most celebrations I go to.) No problem, life moves forward. We drove back to Andy's house in Houghton and I took a much-needed shower before taking off to study. That lasted a short amount of time as I parked in the city park and fell asleep for a 2.5 hour nap, waking up to some grandparents discussing their grandchildren's accomplishments as they went for a picnic.

After lunch, I resumed a study session on professional rules of conduct and stopped into the Bike Shop, the local bicycle store owned by Andy's friend, Caleb. Flash back to 10 pm the night before, when I asked Adam's friend, Caleb if I could crash at his place over Lake Superior for a couple of nights. Flash forward, all sober, 'Sure he said. Probably a beautiful place to study.'

After studying we went out on his pontoon boat with friends where we saw Bald Eagles flying over our heads. We eventually retreated back to Caleb's camp, a nearly 60 step drop down the bluffs of Lake Superior in Eagle River to the cabin he and his family built. It was another 50 steps to the shore. This certainly wasn't on the map when I planned this trip last winter. Then again travels always take you to places you never knew existed.

It seemed as peaceful as any place I'd ever been. The sounds of waves crashing into the rocky shoreline and nothing but nature. We had a late-night chat: me armed with my usual rye with two cubes and him having a Kalhua and Baileys discussing about our own personal travels. 'You know from my home in Chesaning to here is about the same as my home in Chesaning is to where I lived in Washington D.C. in another life,' I said. "Wow," said Caleb, who grew up in the Petoskey area. "This is far from everything, but you saw today why many of us transplants stay up here."

I departed for my quarter and the ambiance felt like one of those $20 noise machines you buy from Target to help you sleep better. Nope, this was just Caleb's Camp in the middle of somewhere special.