June 14 [Wilderness State Park to Carp River]
June 14
It was warmer and not as windy when I woke up, and a little bit stuffy because Aric had closed the windows so we wouldn't be as cold, so I pushed the back window open and stuck my head out to get some fresh air.
He'd parked with the back of Winston facing the water, and I just watched it until I felt his hand brushing at my tail, then when he didn't get my attention that way he sat up and scooted to the back next to me and looked out at the lake, too.
Aric pointed across the lake at the Upper Peninsula, and he said that it got a lot closer where the bridge was. And he said once he got dressed we could go down to the beach and we'd be able to see the Mackinac Bridge off in the distance, although some of it was going to be blocked by land.
He didn't have to tell me what he wanted to do before he got dressed, so I tugged the back window back down.
When he'd put on his clothes, we walked down the beach so that I could see the bridge. It was kind of hard to tell how big it was for sure, 'cause I didn't know how far away from it we were, but I thought we must have been at least a half-dozen miles away, and it was big. He said we'd be driving over it later, which I was looking forward to.
Aric said that if I flew up, I could get a better view of it, since I'd be able to see over the headland, and he promised while I was doing that he'd start a fire and make breakfast.
It was too bad that I couldn't share the view with Aric. On one side, the land came together and the bridge stretched between the narrowest point, and on the other the lake kept widening, to where the Upper Peninsula disappeared in the haze. I could also see off to the west a lighthouse that was built right in the lake, and it was hard to imagine how someone could live there and tend to the light.
When I landed, we had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast again, and when we were done he put out the fire and we got in Winston and drove towards Mackinaw City, which Aric said was the northernmost town in the Lower Peninsula.
There was a famous island called Mackinac Island that was out in the strait, and he told me how the island didn't allow any cars so there were lots of horses, then he said that we could go there today, although we might have to skip some stuff later if we did.
I thought about it—it sounded like a fun place—but it also kind of seemed like Equestria and I thought that maybe it wasn't smart on a vacation to go to a place like home.
On another hoof, even if the buildings were the same and the wagons were the same, I knew from the horse show that how people worked with them was different than what I was used to, so there might still be things to learn.
I must have been completely lost in thought, 'cause when I was still thinking, Aric poked my shoulder and when I looked over at him, he told me I'd zoned out there for a minute.
I told him that I couldn't decide what I wanted to do, and he said that we'd get groceries and if the total was an even number we'd go to Mackinac Island, and if not, we wouldn't on this trip and do it as a weekend trip later instead. He said if we went straight there from Kalamazoo, we could leave on a Friday, spend all Saturday and some of Sunday on the island, and then get back home.
It was kind of funny that we could easily see the Mackinac Bridge from the park, but then it wasn't until we were almost in town that we saw it again over an open field, and it was even bigger than I'd thought.
He said just wait until we got on it.
We went to a grocery store, and got beer and stuff to make sandwiches and then because I insisted a lot of vegetables too, and he also got some graham crackers and marshmallows and chocolate bars and I found they had some anchovies so we got those too, and he also bought a big bag of ice. Then he put all the stuff that was supposed to be kept cold and the ice in a beat-up green icebox he had which he hadn't used yet, and the rest of the things went into a plastic container that he said would at least slow down any animals who wanted to steal our food.
It wound up being an odd number of money, and he said that the gods had spoken and we were going to the UP today. Then he said before we left we had to go to the waterfront and find a fudge shop because you couldn't visit Mackinaw City and not buy fudge.
They made it right where you could watch, pouring it out on a big table and using a long scraper to level it, and it all smelled really good. There were lots of different kinds, and so we got one block of maple and one of chocolate with walnuts, and the girl at the counter put them in a little white box for us.
We had to get on the 75 Highway to use the bridge. It wasn't very fast because right after we got onto it we had to stop at a booth and pay to use the bridge. Aric said sometimes in tourist season it took a long time to get on the bridge, and sometimes they had to close it to traffic because it was too windy.
The road went up and up and then we passed a big concrete bunker and the cables started rising up, and I just kept looking around, trying to see everything. I noticed that the center lane of the bridge was grating like the drawbridges we'd gone over and asked Aric if this one opened, too (I didn't see how it could, it was so big). He said it was so the wind wouldn't blow it over.
I thought he was joking about that, but he told me that there had been a similar bridge in Washington that had blown apart in strong winds, and so the designers of the Mackinac Bridge had wanted to make sure that that couldn't happen to this one.
We passed under the first tower, which was itself as tall as a skyscratcher and I bet there was an amazing view from the top. Even where I was, I could see the lakes widening out on both sides of the bridge, Lake Michigan on the left and Lake Huron on the right.
He pointed out Mackinac Island and another, bigger island that he said was Bois Blanc, which he had sailed to once. There was one between them, but he didn't know what it was called.
I was kind of sad once we crossed under the second tower. I wish we could have stopped, but he said that people weren't allowed to stop on the bridge unless it was an emergency, which was a shame. People always seem to be in a rush to get where they're going and they don't take the time to stop and look around them. Probably everyone else on the road was just hurrying along to get where they were going and weren't thinking about the scenery at all.
There was a long jetty on the north side of the bridge which we had to drive across before we were finally in the Upper Peninsula.
Aric said that he was going to break his rule about driving on the highway for a little bit, because he thought the best place to get lunch would be Sault Ste. Marie, and then after that we'd take back roads.
We got there a little quicker than he'd expected, and it wasn't lunchtime yet, so he parked Winston and we got out and went to a little museum about the Soo Locks, which was where ships from Lake Superior went through to Lake Huron.
The museum had displays explaining how the locks had been built and then enlarged as ships got bigger, and there were lots of historical pictures of people working on them. They also had a really big topographical map of Michigan and the lake bottoms, which showed just how deep some of the lakes were.
They also had little cards that gave facts about the locks, and Aric called my attention to one that said that a ship called the Perry G. Walker had once crashed through the locks.
He told me that outside there were observation platforms, and there was a schedule of when they'd be passing through, and there was one coming soon.
So we went out and had lunch, and then we came back and went into the observation balcony to see the locks work. It was coming up from the east, which Aric said meant that it was coming from Lake Huron and was an upbound ship. Right in the front it had a big white bowhouse on it with the name Michipicoten spelled out all the way across the front, and when it started to get close, it began blowing its horn, signaling to anyone else on the water I suppose.
It was kind of hard to get a good sense of just how big it was until it got close, and then I started to think that it wouldn't fit in the lock at all, but I suppose that the sailors all know how big their ship is and where it will fit.
It took a while to get it into the right position, but once it was settled in the doors closed and at first there didn't seem to be much going on, and then all of a sudden it began to rise, and it didn't take that long at all before it was towering over the lock, and the west gates opened, the crew brought their ropes back in, and the ship got underway again.
Aric said that we'd been lucky to see a ship in the locks like that—he said that the last time he had been in Sault Ste Marie had been about the only day that no ships were transiting—and then he said that maybe we'd get lucky again and see something in the Saint Mary's River, which was where they went between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
So we got back in Winston, and he drove out of town along back roads, keeping the river to our left most of the way. We got lucky; when we weren't too far out of town, he pointed out a freighter in the distance, and when we got to a long narrow passage just before we got to Munuscong he stopped and we got out and waited for it to arrive.
This one was even bigger, and Aric told me to watch the water carefully as it got close, so I did. The water suddenly started to just go away, and he said it was because of the size of the ship. I asked him where it went, and he said he didn't know, but that was what happened when big ships came by and that it would come back when the ship left.
The ship was an kind of ugly brick color, with a grey diagonal stripe on the front. There was a crewman standing on the railing in the front, keeping watch, and I waved at him as the ship went by.
On the stern, there were big open squares, and Aric said that they were for a type of unloader, and that the Roger Blough was the only ship he knew of on the Great Lakes that was like that.
I was busy watching it as it passed, so I didn't see when the water came back, but when I looked in the channel again after it was gone, the water was back to the same level it had been before.
After we caught back up to the Roger Blough, we didn't see any more big ships, but there were a lot of little boats out on the water, darting around. Aric pointed to one that was a big small boat with lots of fishing poles sticking up on it, and he said that was probably a charter boat. He explained how there were lots of boats where people could pay money and be taken out to where the fish were, and then they could catch them themselves. He said that it was more profitable than the ship captains fishing for themselves, because they got paid whether or not anything got caught.
We turned back west in De Tour, which was at the very end of the Upper Peninsula. Then we followed the coastline all the way back to the 75 Highway, and then followed a parallel road to a campground called Carp River.
Aric said that he'd planned on getting all the way to the Hiawatha National Forest, but it was getting kind of late and so we'd stop here for the night.
We had sandwiches for dinner and I had some vegetables and I made him eat some, too, then he gathered some wood and made a fire and we sat around it drinking beer and telling stories until it was late and it was only after he'd put out the fire that he remembered he was going to make s'mores.
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It's little bits like this that elevate this above most "journal" style stories that I've read. It makes the story feel less like a story, and more like something that actually happened. It's a violation of the Checkov's Gun rule, and entirely something that happens all the time in real life.
Only one or two ships a day, then all those container lorries on teh roads burning fuel.
the Manchester Ship Canal doesnt even have any docks now, all the buildings have been erased and only a few new housing units and commercial units built.
Lake winds: They will wreck your shit.
Glaciers: They will wreck your shit (over the course of several thousand years).
Yes mum.
Briefly known as 'Galloping Gertie'.
With how often the two of them are <cutaway> I'm surprised Aric's youknowwhat hasn't fallen off yet.
Give the poor boy some time to rest Silver!
Tacoma Narrows, the bridge that all engineering students have to learn about to bring in the importance of knowing resonant frequency.
While yesterday I was really disapointed by the Tunnel of Tree, Aric made it some like some kind of big deal, that bridge do look awesome.
I did pass a longer bridge a few time (the Confederation Bridge), but it's a very boooring one. It's just a long causeway on the sea...
The Laker freighter's length and width have been normalized to make sure they would all fit into the St Lawrence Seaway's locks.
She likes big bridges and wants to stop - she should see an East Coast bridge-tunnel.
Most kids, you tell them about resonance their response is "Is that going to be on the test?".
I remember reading that when Tesla heard about it his response was to get a hammer and a stopwatch and try to use it to knock down a bridge. How close he got before they stopped him depends on who you ask. Sounds like something the CMCs would do.
7485522
He doesn't seem to be complaining all that much so far. Although we are only seeing this from Silver's perspective.
Not the smores!
>7484959 was on mobile. I could barely type as is.
Silver needs a camera with a live feed, like those drone copters.
You don't say?
Doesn't really sound right. "Number of dollars"? Unless it's another Silverism, but it just sounds grammatically wrong.
7485360 Please tell me the Latchford locks in Warrington are still operational.
i just looked up the Mackinac bridge on Wikipedia, apparently it's known as 'Big Mac'.
7485937
"... why did I agree to date someone with the stamina of a horse?
"
7485334
TOTALLY agreed! I get so thoroughly sick of Checkov's Gun sometimes. Even in live performances, sometimes scenery dressing is just scenery dressing. Insisting that every single thing highlighted in a scene have some sort of plot relevance strips out any sense of mystery for the audience, especially the ones who've caught on to the trope and use it to figure out the ending before the first act is five minutes in.
7487079
I used to revel in subversions of Chekov's Gun, until some killjoy pointed out that technically, they were still using it...
7485522
7485937
7486590
She does seem to be hellbent on testing whether the magic of friendship can also overcome the species barrier.
I wonder, has Silver ever considered having Aric ride her?
No, I mean, the other kind of riding?
7487432
"Also, they seemed to have been boiled in water, which Aric said was normal, but which made them soggy and much less crunchy."
7485385
Poor boy needs all the vegetables he can get, if he wants to keep up with her.
7485629 "Cutie Mark Crusaders Bridge Obliterators! YAY!"
7485397
Have any of you seen the video footage that shows the final moments of Galloping Gertie before it collapsed?
They showed it to us many times when I was in school - after all, it's an important part of local history here in Tacoma!
7485334
Thank you!
7485360
It kind of comes in surges. I think it was 2015, there were 10,000 ships that transited the Soo locks, and of course they're not open the whole year, due to weather (shipping on the Great Lakes generally runs from March to November or so). In 2006, Lakers carried 173 million tons of cargo.
7485363
That they do. There's at least one former town on Lake Michigan that is completely buried under a sand dune.
7485385
Vegetables are important. Just wait until Silver Glow tries to persuade him to eat his pasture grasses.
7485397
Rather briefly, indeed.
7485522
7485529
At least the designers of the Mackinac Bridge learned from the failure of the Tacoma Narrows bridge.
7485531
The tunnel of trees is best viewed in the fall.
That having been said, for people who are used to secondary roads in the country, the Tunnel of Trees isn't anything special; it's just a wider version of what they're used to.
Some of it depends on where they're meant to go. I believe that some of the ore freighters are too big to go through the locks, and spend their entire lives on Lake Michigan, Huron, and Erie.
7485595
When I was out at Bronycon, I thought about driving down to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, but decided it was too far to be worth it.
7485629
IIRC, the Mythbusters got to get a bridge to resonate with a rather small weight, dialed into exactly the right frequency.
7485937
Show me one college-age guy who complains about how much sex he's getting.
7486204
7486477
Maybe someone will get her one for her birthday.
It is a Silverism, of sorts. And yes, it sounds very wrong (an odd amount of money would probably be the best way to phrase it).
She's got a [REDACTED] as strong as a horse.
"Why are you putting water in your oats? Doesn't that make them too soft?"
Or oysters.
7486509
It is, and had Silver Glow been from Ponyville, I would have made that reference.
7487079
I second that. The moment I learned about Checkov's Gun in theatre, I rejected it. Sure, there are times when it's appropriate, but in my mind a lot of stuff on the set is just there to . . . well, to set the scene, not because it has any other significance in the play. But of course it depends on the play or story, as well.
7487488
And so far, it is.
7487495
Per the terms of her pilot's licence, she's not allowed to carry passengers.
7491322
cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/external?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent6.video.news.com.au%2Fhuc2Y1MzE6qmvpSTlk6GvaeqPkqfh4_f%2Fpromo286047011&width=650&api_key=kq7wnrk4eun47vz9c5xuj3mc
I feel that Sweetie could manage to burn down a bridge.
7494210
I have. It's a great video.
7497022
Oh, really? So she's going to announce her pregnancy after she gets back to Kalamazoo?
7497008 Google's street view did show it in fall, with the colors and even in the afternoon/evening, you know when the sun start to go down and get a golden color?
It did made it a nice view, but nothing special. And since I do have seen many other roads like that, I suppose it did spoil me some of the fun.
When I looked on wiki to see what the exact length of a Laker was, they talked about Montreal's lock being the limit.
7497262
Now that would be an interesting twist. Friendship hasn't conquered the species barrier in that way.
Yet.
7497643
Yeah, that one section of road where Aric and Silver Glow have gone a couple of times is just as pretty, in my eyes. No Google street view of it, unfortunately. I've got one picture of the original Winston on it, but that was in the days before digital cameras, so I'd have to find the print and scan it in. Maybe one of these days, I will.
I could see that. Depending on where they intend to go, they could build one that wouldn't fit through the Soo, let's say, and have them only move freight on Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Like if you wanted it to haul grain from Chicago to a mill in Toledo, it would never have to fit through any locks. Although, I don't think anyone would do that, because that would mean if their one contract dried up, they'd potentially be stuck with a useless ship.
Ah I need to see the locks now
7498671
You do. The last time I was in Sault Ste. Marie was probably the only day that there were no ships transiting the locks.
Maybe it would be fun to get a big SUV like a suburban and re-create the road trip. If I could ever get the time off work. . . .
7494210 Hasn't every Eighties metalhead seen that footage? Headbangers Ball used a clip of it in their opening credits for over a decade on MTV. A major bridge spontaneously tearing itself apart being one of the most metal images they could think of in the Eighties...
Salt-stay. Marie?
...
(edit: Do you mean 'St. (Saint) Marie'?)
Moo-noo-scon
Moo-noose-cone
Mooo-noo-se-gong?
These names, man. I couldn't make them up.
7874383
It's pronounced "Soo Saint Marie." That one's a French name.
Pronounced "Monaskaaa." It's a Native American name.
(in this video, the cameraman says the name at about the :13 mark)
Michigan has some strange names, because things were named by the French, the French trying to spell Native American names, the English, the English trying to spell Native American names, and so on. Also probably the English trying to spell French names.
The funniest, in my opinion, is that you have Mackinaw City and the Mackinac Bridge, and both "Mackinaws" are pronounced the same.
7876107
Heh. The way I see it the whole of America is filled with odd names.
But who am I to complain. We have stuff named in English, Afrikaans, and [insert obscure african language here].
Almost every town has a Church street, Kerk Straat, or both.
It wasn't so much that the wind blew it down as that the wind caused it to vibrate at its mechanical resonance frequency and tear itself apart. There's a reason soldiers don't march in step across bridges: too easy to set up a harmonic that will send them all swimming. If they're lucky and it's a bridge over water.
I've scuba-dived the wreckage of Galloping Gertie. Lots of big concrete blocks still down there in the Tacoma Narrows. Also lots of nasty currents that suck you down 70 feet in a few seconds when you're trying to do your safety stop before surfacing for tacos... *glares at his depth gauge*
8042663
It wasn't so much that the wind blew it down as that the wind caused it to vibrate at its mechanical resonance frequency and tear itself apart.
That's true, although for a laypony it's probably an unimportant distinction (although of course to an engineer it's a very important distinction; failure of Galloping Gertie is virtually nothing like the failure of the Tay bridge, except that it was wind that caused it.
Mythbusters demonstrated that that probably can't happen, although I suppose that's one of those things where it's still better to be safe than sorry.
Man, river diving has to be its own special kind of diving, because of all the currents that you normally don't have on open water. (I say this having never dived in my life.)
Incidentally, I have one side story to OPP which focuses on diving--this is sorta shameless self promotion, but if you're interested, I'll give you a link to it. You don't have to have read any of the other stories in the 'verse to enjoy it.
Sea Swirl's Dive
(A second one, The Trek to Ice Cream Rock is much more laid-back, and also focuses on diving.)
And pony trip 'oop north' continues!
We start by observing the nesting habits of the Pegasus Silverus as she seeks to comfort the weak, furless human, using her superior furred body and wings.
And there are those that would agree having a fur coat would be amazing, and that line made me thin about ponies going to a furry convention, and just what would end up happening at that level of insanity.
Have to obey the pony! Even if it includes taking her gambling. But hey, if anyone can get some sympathy points and get the House to go easy on her, it's a pony. Also... this bit then got me thinking about gambling ponies, and more so, have ponies learned about 'playing the ponies'? I know one fic where Sunset ended up losing all her money doing that, and claimed when called out on it 'hey, I have to support my people!"
Pony going around to all these stations must be confusing the hell out of the dealers, but given casino, they are likely used to just going with whatever comes up, so long as they take back the money. And then Silver goes and wins a long shot, and of course the spinner is sad you left, they always hate to see people leave with more money then they started with. But, just... damn, pony is UBER lucky!
And another thought during all this, casino's trying to deal with a pony that's got a talent for gambling. Even more so, a Casino dealing with Twilight. You know she'd be the type just going through for the sheer math and the fun of figuring out the perfect way to win, just to do so, not for the money. And you can't really kick her out, she is a foreign dignitary, plus good luck keeping her out. Besides, they can just take sollace in the fact, as much as Twi is winning through counting EVERYTHING!, they are making a good chunk of it back through RD placing huge, long shot bets without a care.
Then the Pegasus Silverus tries to instruct the human on how to properly fuck in the open, taunting it into overcoming it's hesitation.
On her thoughts about it not being good to vacation at a place too much like home... maybe, but at the same time this isn't like your home, too much, and more a chance to see how different the human version of something like it would be.
The Silverus is also a kind, concerned, caring master for it's human, ensuring it is provided a large amount of nutritious vegetables. Truly, the ponies will be compassionate overlords that ensure their slaves are well cared for.
Try all you can to slow down the foodbeing nommd, it shall not hold back the pony!
Maple and choco-walnut, good fudge choices, but no peanut butter fudge? That is the BEST!
The whole, bridge blowing down in the wind... yeeeaaaahhh we've learned a LOT about how to build stuff since then, especially the issues with resonances and how to cancel them out.
Yeah, very deep lakes, and could go on a lot about details, buuut, XKCD has me covered.
Silly human, you can trust pony with fire. It's the Science Oven that ponies can't be trusted with.
The tea stained water... this also brought up a thought, ponies needing to be sure to be told, and really understand, water sources are not as safe to drink from as they are in Equestria.
Silly worried human, Pony has more expainrece dealing with flying, and with rough water then likely everyone you know combined. This ins't some human thing she isn't sure about, this is what she DOES!
And of course she wants to tease him a bit and not do as he said.. gotta remind him who is the soon to be overlord here.
Oily, greasy, and salty.... you mean the best kinds of burgers?
And new train of thought, the Edmund Fritzgerald... it's near-ish to Chicago, but way to lod to be Dresden's work, maybe related to Deamonreach You just know something Dresden deals with was really behind this, at least in Dresden 'verse.
We then see the pony having her slave well trained to hold her food for her while she eats.
You know you might be a bit to nympho ish, when nature goes out of her way to hose you two down...
Silly pony, worried about polar bears.... Now, drop bears... be glad those aren't around.
Well, can't fault his resourcefulness at getting that fire lit. It did work.
Fucking in the public shower... naughty nuaghty pony, and yes SIlver, it's better to go in the mens side, a chick in that side causes less issues then a dude on the other side, plus, more likely anyone who does come in wil just "Heeey, nice one dude, have fun!' Also, trying to fuck a pony in the shower can not be easy, just.. how do you get any position that doens't involve a lot of laying down or kneeling on some really uncomfortable floor?
For shame Aric, you mention, but do not fully warn the pony of the shear horror, and danger of THE DREAD GAZEBO!
Then sudden melancholy pony worried about how things might fade away and even towns can be forgotten....
Sp., are the ATC's in this area just faster on the uptake to figure out what she's doing, did word spread, or is it just such a low traffic area, they really don't care that much?
Yes, you do not want to know how a sausage is made.... ESPECIALLY if you are ever in Ahnk-Morpork. The single greatest proof that Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler is one of the greatest salesmen in history is that he can sell one of his sausage-in-a-bun's, to someone who has eaten one of them!
And yes, no need burning marshmallow ponies. Pinkie doing that once is enough....
more trip... again will say more at the end.
9017729
Furred body and wings (and also a higher body temperature) are the best when the weather's cold. Maybe not so much in the summertime, though.
Well, I can say that Lyra would lose a cosplay contest to somebody playing Flufflepuff.
Ooh, that's a toughie. I think in general, casinos are heartless (I have to assume that they make a large amount of money on addicted gamblers) and given the constant monitoring, I have to assume that a dealer can't really favor the pony even if he wants to very badly.
I don't think that they'd really get the concept of playing the ponies exactly, but then I do think that if they did, they'd generally have an unfair advantage. Especially if they got the chance to talk to the competitors before the race. And heaven help humans if unicorns used magic during a sporting event.
(back to back shameless self-promotion!
)
That legit happened to one of my ex-girlfriends once. Not at a real casino, but still. She asked me how to play roulette, I explained it, she placed a single number bet and won, then asked what to do next. I said, "Never play roulette again."
All the games, the numbers are in favor of the house (of course). Even if you count, over the long run, the money will flow to the house, not the other way around. That having been said, there are ways to beat it if you're really smart and have some friends to help you out (apparently, some guys at MIT figured out a system that worked using about a dozen people, some small losers and a few big winners and then they split the pot). Of course, with magic all things are possible, and I can't help but wonder if Twilight could get the cards she wants with magic even if she isn't actually intending to use it in that way.
Sooner or later, all casinos will have a 'no unicorns' rule.
Heck, for that matter, what happens with a pony who's got a cutie mark in being lucky?
pre00.deviantart.net/4c74/th/pre/i/2014/236/a/5/lucky_clover__point_commission__by_buizelcream-d7wgn3t.png
It's after the first of May, so it's totally legit.
And of course pegasi just hook up on clouds in the wide open sky.
It's kind of a mixed bag. Close but not the same is probably good; basically identical isn't, at least in my opinion. Of course, she's going to have a hard time finding basically identical on Earth, unless she doesn't look too hard.
Veggies make you grow big and strong. Also, does it really count as being slaves when it's totally willing?
I dunno, maple's the way to go. That's about as Michigan as you can get. Maybe maple-cherry for the full effect.
Although back in the day, the Rainbow Bridge in Niagra blew down and apparently nobody learned too much from that before they built Tacoma Narrows. . . . Still, we humans do eventually learn from our failures.
Of course, the down side to the Mackinaw Bridge's design is sometimes small cars blow off it (well, that only happened once, but still. . . . )
I'm actually not sure I'd trust them with fire.
Being told, that's happening for sure. Really understanding, maybe not. Silver Glow certainly drinks from a few rather questionable sources.
That having been said, oftentimes it's still pretty low-risk for humans. I've drank water from a few places that probably isn't too wise (including a drainage ditch once), and I turned out okay.
While it's true that Lake Superior especially has storms that can really ruin your day, Silver Glow isn't some scrub who has no idea what storms and water can do, and she's got all the right instincts when it comes to that.
I, for one, welcome our new pony overlords.
It is a cheeseburger in Paradise. Would it be any other way?
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I'm not sure of the reference. I mean, IRL, it was a nasty storm and the FItzgerald was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What actually sank her will never be known for sure, but odds are she either holed her hull going across Six Fathom Shoal or took on water though her hatch covers. It's almost certain that the crew never knew she was sinking, and that she ultimately drove herself under.
And she's certainly not the only ship at the bottom of the Great Lakes, not by a long shot.
Nature's just a bitch like that. Best to ignore her.
I feel that Silver is uniquely qualified to deal with drop bears. First, she's used to things coming from above--be it weather, other ponies, or any other aerial hazard. Second, she can not only fly out of its way (the can drop, but they can't fly), but she can then go up to its nest and push it out of the tree, thus distracting it long enough to escape.
As a professional mechanic, I can say that the way that works is always the right way.
Totally the best to gender-mix on the men's side. Less likely to offend anyone (although I do know some people that would be all bent out of shape). As for the technique, her height works to her advantage, along with being a quadruped. Also, she's reasonably light, so it's not unreasonable for Aric to be supporting her somewhat as needed.
Gazebos might look harmless, but they aren't.
I used to live near one of those towns. When I was a kid, the only evidence of Amadore MI was a rusting sign that said 'welcome to Amadore.' Last time I went by, that sign was gone. [incidentally, the town still shows up on Google Maps.]
Word spread (possibly with the help of Mr. Salvatore), and there isn't much traffic in the area.
At least they aren't the worst pies in London.
When Rarity gets a tan, does she look like a toasted marshmallow?
I think yes.
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What if the ponies started trying to race humans? I could definitely see a few earth ponies asking random people to race each other so they could bet. "Hey, you two humans, y'all look nippy... One lap around the parking lot, whaddya say? Buttercup, I'll give you 2:1 odds on the one with the long mane."
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Actually, that could make a good basis for a story--role reversal between ponies and human racers. They could have the odds, the betting, the color commentators . . . I might consider that for a future story, 'cause that would be amusing.
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Jesse Owens used to race horses and win -50 yard dash. Horses just take longer to get up to speed
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Sometimes it depends on their motivation; some years ago I watched a human vs. zebra race. Zebra won the first round by a nose, human argued that it had started early so there was a rematch.
Second round, zebra went into full flight mode (”I see someone is chasing me and they probably want to eat me”) and smoked him. Zebras can change gaits quick when they think there’s a need.
But you do bring up a good point, I’ve also seen videos of cars racing airplanes and as long as the course is short enough, the car always wins. Airplanes aren’t designed to run quarter mile times.
For the record, the actual definition of slavery is essentially the misclassification of persons as property. Which is not actually occurring here.
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At least it isn't Wales. I still bring up Caledfwlch at every possible opportunity. Hussie was definitely trolling when he used the Welsh name for the artifact without a pronunciation guide.
This one takes place on my birthday, and driving around North Michigan sounds like an amazing time.
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Yay! Happy Birthday on June 14!
It really is . . . I actually have some blogs about that, with pictures!
The Admiral’s Epic Trip Up North, Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4