A storm blew through northern Michigan last night, and while much of the high winds and damage took place south of us, we still had a few spots on the Old Mission Peninsula that were affected.
I talked with my brother, Dean Johnson, this morning, and he said the cherry crop was A-Ok. Which is great, because they just started shaking cherries two days ago, and let’s at least get a week or two into the season before we have to deal with a major disaster.
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However, one spot that did see some storm damage was the dock over at Neahtawanta Inn (where I have done yoga with innkeeper Sally Van Vleck for the past 15 years – check out her summer schedule here). When Sally got up this morning, she discovered that her beautiful wooden dock had washed ashore in pieces.
Fortunately, her lovely and colorful dock chairs appeared to be unscathed.
But if you know Sally, you know that she is the epitome of resilience, as shown in the photo by Dan Plasman below, where she is making the best of things.
“When high winds of an early morning storm dismantled the Neahtawanta dock, our intrepid leader, Sally Van Vleck, encouraged us to embrace the moment with our favorite glass of red,” wrote Dan on his Facebook page. Dan and his partner, Jody Betten, help Sally run the Inn (and are the very best people in the world).
A little behind the scenes info on the photo. As mentioned, the photographer is Dan Plasman, on the right in the photo. Sally said he set up his tripod and timer and sloshed through the water in time to hop on the dock! Check out his photography website here.
A little farther up the road, some water had washed up across Neahtawanta Road near Shipman Road. By the time Tim and I got over there, it had receded a bit, but the water has been precariously close to the road since spring. You could see this situation coming down the stormy tracks.
Did you see any storm damage in your area of the Old Mission Peninsula? Tell us in the comments below.
A NOTE FROM JANE: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers like the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and magazines like Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So of course, I started my own newspaper. Because the Gazette is mainly reader-supported, I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks my way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the Old Mission Peninsula. Check out the donation page here. Thank you so much for your support. -jb
[…] Road yesterday, but I’m guessing it might have been a similar situation over there. Here’s a photo from earlier this summer. The water’s been close to the road – near Shipman Road […]