The 2010 "Tipp of the Mitt" gathering, hosted by none other than Mark Hickey, was an absolute hit!  The hats were fantastic, the company was great, the laughs were plenty and the fellowship was something that, I am sure, will stay with us for quite a while!  I want to thank Mark for hosting an unforgettable party.  The entire weekend was so well attended.  Even the rain that somewhat interfered with the Saturday ride was nothing more than a distraction!

I had never been to one of Mark's "Tipp of the Mitt" get togethers, let alone Michigan!  The last time I visited the United States was quite some years ago. Travelling great distances on the bike was also something new and exciting for me.  We left the Great White North early in the morning and the weather didn't seem to want to cooperate but we were bound and determined.  At a bit of a chilling 10 degrees, a light rain falling, with five layers of clothing on and ten hours of travel ahead of us, both Kevin and I were a bit giddy to finally be heading to Mackinac to see friends that we were already missing although we had just seen them a few months prior!  The sun did happen to shine a few times during our trip but for the most part the clouds were taking up most of the sky.  This did not dampen our spirits in the least!  Kevin had let me know, about an hour prior to driving on to it, that there was a bit of a high bridge we needed to travel in order to ge to the "other side" - or the U.S. of A!  He could not possibly have prepared me for the height that I wasn't aware I had a fear of.  Once we managed to cross this bridge and I had calmed down a bit, Kevin, sheepishly announced that there was yet another bridge to cross, however this one was a bit higher and a bit longer!  NOTHING could have prepared me for this one!  Let's say that my fear of heights was heightened (pardon the pun) by this one!  Although the anxiety was at an all time high (again...please pardon me), once I was able to catch my breathe and take notice of just how majestic and incredible it's architecture is, some of that angst dissipated.  WHAT AN AMAZING BRIDGE!  And this lead us to an ever more breathtaking little city that could not possibly be explained with pictures alone.  One MUST, at one point in their life, make a point of visiting this "home away from home" that one could qualify as an escape from the every day!  It was like being in another world!  The buildings, shop fronts and town as a whole were absolutely amazing and what made it all the more of a positive experience was the people.  This was overall, an amazing experience that no amount of rain or even snow for that matter, could have ruined.