Restless Viking

1 day ago

One final stop, then scoot across the bridge quickly before the craziness begins. Good luck to everyone going on the Mackinac Bridge saunter/pilgrimage tomorrow. Poppins will be sipping some Port from our porch and I'll be sipping some starboard from Balhalla.

Next video just over a week away! ... See MoreSee Less

Restless Viking

2 days ago

You never really know what you’re going to find out on the road.

We rolled onto the Ironton Ferry and the captain strolled over.

“I’ll be . . . it’s the Restless Viking.”. "Can I get a picture with you?". (Of Course.)

Well, that changed the crossing a little.
Once we got to the other side, we parked the Jeep, put our name in for a table at The Landing, and walked back over to the little passenger bench set aside for walkers.

Walk-ons are free.

So we climbed aboard again and sat on the benches of the nearly 100-year-old ferry while Captain Art made a few more crossings.

And we talked.

About the ferry. About his work. About the children’s book he and his wife just wrote about it.
And mostly, about the people he sees.

More than 82,000 cars crossed here last year.
Happy people. Sad people. Regulars he knows by sight. Couples getting engaged. Just-marrieds. People on their way to pick up the remains of someone they loved.

And wide-eyed kids staring at the captain and pointing at his bright red shoes.

A little ferry crossing a narrow stretch of water, over and over again.

But if you sit there long enough, apparently quite a bit of life crosses with it.

Then the family started arriving .... son, daughter-in-law, grandkids ... and suddenly we weren’t just talking about the ferry anymore. We were sitting inside a little piece of somebody’s family history.

Not a bad way to wait for a table. ... See MoreSee Less

Restless Viking

3 days ago

Some of y’all were getting dangerously close.

So… a few more hints.

We rowed a few miles. The old fashioned way, but not "Old Man and the Sea" style.

We were dressed like it was more than 100 years ago.

There were pipes involved.

And now we’ve retired to considerably more civilized surroundings, where Poppins is reading by the fire in a rather opulent old hotel lobby.

What exactly are we doing?

First person to nail it wins an absurdly specific prize:
Da Viking will personally record the outgoing message for your answering service, explaining, in unnecessarily dramatic fashion, that the owner of this telephone is presently unavailable and has little interest in whatever trifling matter prompted your call.

Or something equally ridiculous.

Choose wisely. This prize has absolutely no cash value and potentially enormous social consequences. ... See MoreSee Less

Restless Viking

3 days ago

Okay this one's for a Restless Viking sticker mailed to your address of choice. What the heck are we doing now. ... See MoreSee Less