UP NORTH

The Queen spent the weekend in Harrison. Some would call it God's country, I say, thank you God for electricity and indoor plumbing. Royal friend Sharon has a cabin down a secluded dirt road. Two nearby houses are inhabited by year-round residents. Most are vacation and hunting cabins that families bought decades ago before air-conditioning. Some still have feeders to lure the white tails and turkeys.

Several species of wildlife were spotted during our three day weekend, including mosquitos. One must have been caught in the queen's shorts because there were four clustered bites at the top of her thigh! After that, not much time was spent outside at night. Also because the royal friend told a story the first night about a bear that had recently visited a neighbor's porch tearing up plants and a hummingbird feeder.

Sharon and I have been friends since 1972, as college freshman roommates. After 35 years we can still talk for hours and have found new things to share. A couple of years ago she got me hooked on scrapbooking! At least one day of our time together is spent shopping at Arnie's, a huge craft store at Houghten Lake. Then we sit and drink and talk and scrap. I completed 8 pages to her 32. She's on a deadline, I'm only doing it for fun.

This year Sharon added a new highlight to the UP NORTH experience. She transformed the little shed behind the cabin into a TIKI HUT! It's the cutest thing! This is her daughter Jenah and boyfriend Scott inside, and Sharon and I outside. We played island music, mostly Jimmy Buffet and drank margaritas and our take on the bay breeze with blueberry vodka! She serves only imported Hawaiian coffee, and always has Bailey's and Kaluha on hand to make the mornings extra special!