Marquette

Wednesday we woke up to rain, so it was a good day to explore some museums and stock up on groceries.  We drove 45 minutes east to Marquette to visit the maritime museum.  I have to confess I didn’t know the exact definition of maritime.  So in case you also don’t know exactly what maritime means….

Marquette Maritime Museum

Maritime:

1. : of, relating to, or bordering on the sea maritime province

   2: of or relating to navigation or commerce on the sea

   3: having the characteristics of a mariner

It was a pretty interesting little museum.  Just inside the entry a message in semaphore  covered the wall.   The key to interpret the message was nearby, creating a fun interactive display.  Pretty cool!

The museum boasted 3 different Fresnel lenses from decommissioned lighthouses.  The largest  lens was from the Stannard Rock Lighthouse.  The display shared the history of Stannard Rock lighthouse and it’s Fresnel lens.  The lens was removed from the lighthouse after an explosion.  They were packed away and then lost for 30 years!    Once the lens was found,  it was returned to it’s home in Marquette.  Through 1000’s of volunteer man hours the lens was restored and assembled for the current museum display.

The Maritime Museum also had a small display about the Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest freighter to sink in Lake Superior.   A copy of the last radio transmissions  from the Edmund Fitzgerald,  as well as theories on how the boat sank we my favorite parts of the display.

Like all good museums, they had a small gift shop with a unique collection of books for sale.   More on the Edmund Fitzgerald, serial murders in the Great Lakes and a book on cold cases in the Great Lakes area just to name a few!

Cell phone pictures by Gabe.   So glad he took the time to take pictures of these beautiful lenses!

 

The Stannard Rock Lighthouse lens.  It was a huge and stunning display.

 

College town

Marquette is a beautiful college town with a lot to offer downtown.  We at lunch in an old restored building that had menus printed as news papers with actual historic articles on the outside and their offerings on the inside!  Very unique!  After lunch we checked out a few of the local downtown shops.  At a local Spice and Tea shop we sniffed several products to find  just the right ones to purchase.   Snowbound Books offers a large selection of new and used books.  They even had a few vegan cookbooks we considered for our daughter.    You have to admit The Wicked Healthy Cookbook  has a very attention grabbing cover!

After enjoying a bit of down town, we headed across town where Joe and Gabe walked down to the dock to watch a freighter being loaded!

 

Stocking up

Then just as if we were home we headed to Walmart.  Not very vaction-y,  but I was craving healthy food like crazy and we needed to add to the stash we brought.

So a pretty quiet day as far as vacation goes, but that’s real life, and we learned a long time ago we need a few more quiet down days even on vacation.  This helps us to enjoy the go and explore days so much more!

 

Favorite Recipe

One of our favorite vacation recipes to make on vacation is lemon chicken  adapted from Fix It and Forget it Lightly by Phyllis Pellman Good

We measure and mix the spices to pack along with the garlic and chicken bouillon.  We purchase a lemon and the chicken when we get groceries at our destination.

Note:  I usually triple everything but the chicken in this recipe, but often have some spices leftover.  Using plenty of liquid will help insure your chicken isn’t dry.

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. season salt
• 1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
• 1/4 c. water
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice–on vacation I don’t measure, I use all the juice of 1 lemon.
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. chicken bouillon

Rub combined spices over chicken.  Brown chicken in skillet over medium heat.  Once browned,  place chicken in slower cooker.

Combine water, lemon juice , garlic and bouillon in skillet.  Bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits.  Pour over chicken.

Cover.  Cook on low 3-4 hours.

We love this severed over quinoa or noodles (you can throw some of the extra spices in the water).  It goes well with broccoli, zucchini or carrots.   Leftover chicken is great warmed or added to soup or another chicken dish.

 

Come back Tuesday when I’ll blog about  hiking at Miner’s Falls.  To learn more about the places we explored or to check out more Fix It and Forget It recipes follow the links below.

 

Marquette Maritime Museum

Stannard Rock Lighthouse, Michigan

Spice and Tea Merchants

Snowbound Books

Fix It and Forget It Blog

 

 

If you’re a bride check out the Simply Seeking Photography Wedding Experience 

Seniors check out the Simply Seeking Photography Senior Experience

 

A week in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

More posts in this series:

1-We’re Off for a week in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

2-Cabin at Au Train Beach

3-Glass Bottomed Boat Tour

5: Miner’s Falls Hike at Pictured Rocks

6: Kayaking, hiking and Wicked Tuna