The Highway 41 trek FINALLY reaches Georgia

Only a few stops left in Florida on Highway 41 -- it's a long state.  I expect to move through southern Georgia pretty fast, because it's fairly rural, without a lot of landmarks.  We'll see.

But first, we'll finish with a few more locations in Florida.


Jasper, Florida - important intersection, because 41 heads due west briefly right here. Don't miss the turn.



The Alapaha River Bridge



Jennings, Florida - by the Post Office, just to prove that's where it is



The Florida-Georgia State Line!!! Really! That's what the sign says!



The first stop in Georgia will be Lake Park.

This could very well become a major problem

The topic of this article is quite concerning.

At water-starved Lake Mead and Lake Powell, 'the crisis is already real,' scientists say

"The Colorado River basin, which stretches from Wyoming to Mexico, has been drying out during what scientists say is one of the driest 19-year periods in the past 1,200 years. The river has long been over-allocated, with the demands of farms and cities exceeding the available water supply, and the strains are being compounded by growing population, drought and climate change.

The scientists, who say their group presents an "independent, scientific voice for the future of the Colorado River," detailed how much Lake Powell has gone down in less than two decades. By the end of this year, Powell's levels are projected to have dropped 94 feet below where the reservoir stood in 2000, when it was nearly full."

So, to sum up, more water is coming out of the Mead-Powell reservoir system than is going in. I apologize for re-stating the obvious. The result of the process is dropping water levels.  When the lakes reach a designated level, then a water shortage is declared and the per-state allocations are reduced.

No state wants that.  But all the states may have to accept that.  So why is it happening?

"Scientists have found that higher temperatures have contributed significantly to reductions in the river's flow since 2000. They call it a "temperature-dominated drought." In one recent study, scientists projected that warming will likely cause the river’s flow to decrease by 35 percent or more this century."

Ah yes.  Climate change.

We're going to keep feeling it, more and more. This could get quite real.

The Capitals, OK. But the Mystics?

The Washington D.C. area was in a collective state of sports shock when the Washington Capitals defied 44 years of incomprehensibly bad luck, heartbreaking losses, playoff collapses, etc. and managed to win the Stanley Cup, led by the finally recognized for what he is (fantastic) Alex Ovechkin.  Probably no one in the region imagined that another professional sports team with a jaded history would suddenly reverse course and make it to the championship round of their sport.

But that's exactly what the Washington Mystics (the Women's National Basketball Association team) have done. And they did it somewhat in the same manner as the Capitals did in the Cup semifinal round.  If you'll remember (if you were paying attention), the Capitals fell behind the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in the series, but rallied to win Games 6 and 7 and go to the Finals. 

The Mystics, partly due to a not-as-bad-as-feared knee injury to nothing-but-a-superstar Elena Delle Donne, fell behind 2-1 in their best of five series with Atlanta.  But Delle Donne came back after missing game 3, some less heralded players stepped up (like Andre Burakovsky did in Game 7 against Tampa) to help, and the Mystics won games 4 and 5 to make the Finals.

Oh, by the way, it doesn't hurt to have former Maryland standout Kristi Toliver on the team backing up Delle Donne.  She can downright play.  (I guess the proper term in basketball is ball. Well, she can.)

So this is somewhat uncanny.  It would be nearly the same level of incomprehensible for the Mystics to win the WNBA championship as it was for the Capitals to win the Cup.  But you can't win it unless you're in it -- the Finals, that is.

And they are.

All aboard the Washington Mystics bandwagon

So they might.

Let's just celebrate Kate Beckinsale, again

My admiration for Kate Beckinsale knows few bounds -- just search in my blog with her name to see that.  She's a remarkably skilled (and perhaps underappreciated) actress, as well as an extraordinary beauty.  Still can't figure out how former husband Len Wiseman could make enough mistakes to split them up, because there was lots of photographic evidence that they liked each other's company when they were together.

So bringing us back to the present, the Daily Mail had three articles about Kate recently, and it seems that I must bring it to the attention of my meager readership.  Not sure if you, dear readers, are as interested in her as I am, but hey, I have to give you the opportunity.


Kate Beckinsale flashes her abs in a tight PVC crop top and pencil skirt as she leads the glamour at fitness event


Kate Beckinsale looks sensational in a sparkling crimson gown as she accepts 'The Talent Award' at the 44th Deauville US Film Festival

Kate Beckinsale, 45, stuns in crop top and high-waisted dress pants as she accepts award at American film festival in France

Highway 41, Lake City and beyond (but not to Georgia quite yet)

Next stop - LAKE CITY!

You might wonder why Lake City is so exciting. Well, if you're driving up Interstate 75 - and this becomes very important now, because Highway 41 and I-75 start to parallel each other pretty closely north of Lake City - this town is one of the last places to get off the interstate before Georgia.

However, there is not actually a lot in Lake City, tourism-wise. We're staying on Highway 41, not 441 through Lake City.

Which is why this next location caught my eye.

Chinese Restaurant - not kidding.  I'm not sure if it's great or not.  (Zoom in to see the name.  Yes, it is moderately famous.)



However, there are a couple more notable places (depending on your definition of notable) up Highway 41 before we get to Georgia.

Intersection with Interstate 10, Gateway to the Panhandle of Florida, Texas, and Los Angeles.  And Jacksonville.



Crossing the Suwannee River, just south of White Springs



The Stephen Foster Culture Center State Park includes the Stephen Foster Antebellum Museum, shown here ready for Christmas.


(For some reason, Highway 41 is also called Highway 100 in this stretch.)


By a gypsum mound.  Gypsum is a phosphate mining by-product.  The most mounds from phosphate mining are in Polk County, but obviously there are some others.



Almost to Georgia. Hang in there!

Forgot she was pregnant

Rachel Weisz, 48 years old, just gave birth to her child with Daniel Craig.

That's impressive (though she didn't surpass Brigitte Nielsen).

Rachel Weisz, 48, and Daniel Craig, 50, welcome their first child together as they reveal they are 'very happy' at birth of baby girl

Congratulations to the happy couple, because it isn't always easy to have a child under these circumstances.

Lighthouse of the Week, September 2-8, 2018: Port Sanilac, Michigan

If you think of Lower Michigan as a mitten for your left hand, Port Sanilac (map) is on the thumb on the shore of Lake Huron.  On the other side of the southern extension of Lake Huron is Canada, and at the far southern end of the lake, the St. Clair River drains the lake toward Detroit.

If Sanilac sounds familiar, it has a lot to do with milk.  Sanilac is a baby formula, and Sanalac is a powdered milk.  And that part of Michigan has a lot of dairy farms.

So let's find out more about the lighthouse.

Web site:  Port Sanilac Lighthouse (great history)

It was built in 5 months in 1886 for $20,000. A bargain.  It went automatic in 1928.

Port Sanilac, MI at Lighthouse Friends

"Situated 130 feet from the lakeshore, octagonal Port Sanilac Lighthouse stands fifty-nine feet tall and is connected to the nearby two-story keeper’s by a covered passageway. The eight-room dwelling had two, 2,200-gallon brick cisterns built beneath its kitchen that were used to collect rainwater for domestic use. Ile aux Galets Lighthouse is the only tower that resembles the one at Port Sanilac."

At the end of the Lighthouse Friends page, this status is stated:

"Carl Rosenfeld, of Carl’s Chop House fame, purchased the dwelling portion of Port Sanilac Lighthouse for $4,000 in 1928, four years before opening his popular Detroit restaurant. The tower, which still contains its Fresnel lens, was sold to the Rosenfeld family in 2000, though the Coast Guard is still responsible for the light. The light station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

In 2012, the Rosenfeld family placed Port Sanilac Lighthouse, along with a three-bedroom guest cottage, on the market for $1.599 million. The keeper’s dwelling, which was thoroughly renovated in the mid-1990s, now features three nautical-themed bedrooms, one full bathroom, a half bath, a kitchen, living room, dining room, and a Florida room added in the 1940s with a wall of windows facing the lake. The historic brick oil house, wooden outhouse, and well also remain on the property. The lighthouse, without the guest house, was still on the market in 2013 with a sale price of $999,800."

So I wondered if there was anything more recent.

And there is!

Port Sanilac Lighthouse now open to public

"Jeff Shook, lighthouse owner and Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy president, purchased the lighthouse in late 2015 and privately funded the restoration. The home attached to the lighthouse at 81 S. Lake St., is used by Shook’s family as a summer home, but the lighthouse tower will be open to the public on Fridays for tours."

So, it's possible to get inside the tower.  And based on one of my pictures below, it still has a Fresnel lens as its light source.