What Mug Are You Using Today?

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Morning! This mug comes from my first trip to meet my future in-laws. We decided to do a road trip, camping on our way up. We camped on Lake Michigan before crossing the Mackinac Bridge the next morning. Seeing a lake that from my perspective might as well have been an ocean was mind blowing, and never in my life did I think crossing a bridge would ever be a highlight of a trip, but it was amazing. The entire time my husband was describing growing up and driving miles out onto the ice in winter. At that point in my life, I had never experienced any amount of ice forming on a body of water. Any part of the world having the ability to get that cold was such a foreign concept to me. Also, at that time it was June, and I was woefully unprepared for Michigan in June. I'd packed shorts and t-shirts, and wound up having to borrow someone's coat for the entire trip. I was fully acclimated to the 100 degree summers of Texas at that point, so I was pretty miserably cold that entire trip, and was roundly teased (in a nice way) about it and my Texas accent. I also remember seeing a lot of signs advertising pasties in the UP, and it caused one of many embarrassing moments with the in-laws when I mentioned to my husband's mother that I was surprised stores weren't more discreet about their x-rated merchandise. Up until that moment, I had no idea the word pasties could also mean hand pies!
:lau
I'm a huge fan of Mammoth cave. Not so much of the pasties...either kind.
 
View attachment 3902699

Morning! This mug comes from my first trip to meet my future in-laws. We decided to do a road trip, camping on our way up. We camped on Lake Michigan before crossing the Mackinac Bridge the next morning. Seeing a lake that from my perspective might as well have been an ocean was mind blowing, and never in my life did I think crossing a bridge would ever be a highlight of a trip, but it was amazing. The entire time my husband was describing growing up and driving miles out onto the ice in winter. At that point in my life I had never experienced any amount of ice forming on a body of water. Any part of the world having the ability to get that cold was such a foreign concept to me. Also, at that time it was June, and I was woefully unprepared for Michigan in June. I'd packed shorts and t-shirts, and wound up having to borrow someone's coat for the entire trip. I was fully acclimated to the 100 degree summers of Texas at that point, so I was pretty miserably cold that entire trip, and was roundly teased (in a nice way) about it and my Texas accent. I also remember seeing a lot of signs advertising pasties in the UP, and it caused one of many embarrassing moments with the in-laws when I mentioned to my husband's mother that I was surprised stores weren't more discreet about their x-rated merchandise. Up until that moment, I had no idea the word pasties could also mean hand pies!

Our trip back down took us through Kentucky, and we camped in Mammoth Cave National Park, where naturally we also went on a cave tour. It was massive! I'd never been to a cave with so few cave formations. It almost felt man made, in a way. I wish we'd had more time to hike the camp trails, but we were in a rush at that point and were lucky we had time for the cave tour - and a quick stop to buy a mug, of course!

Mammoth Cave is about 50 miles from us. We just moved here a year ago and haven't been yet but maybe sometime in the future. Here's a chart that shows how big Mammoth Cave is:
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View attachment 3902699

Morning! This mug comes from my first trip to meet my future in-laws. We decided to do a road trip, camping on our way up. We camped on Lake Michigan before crossing the Mackinac Bridge the next morning. Seeing a lake that from my perspective might as well have been an ocean was mind blowing, and never in my life did I think crossing a bridge would ever be a highlight of a trip, but it was amazing. The entire time my husband was describing growing up and driving miles out onto the ice in winter. At that point in my life I had never experienced any amount of ice forming on a body of water. Any part of the world having the ability to get that cold was such a foreign concept to me. Also, at that time it was June, and I was woefully unprepared for Michigan in June. I'd packed shorts and t-shirts, and wound up having to borrow someone's coat for the entire trip. I was fully acclimated to the 100 degree summers of Texas at that point, so I was pretty miserably cold that entire trip, and was roundly teased (in a nice way) about it and my Texas accent. I also remember seeing a lot of signs advertising pasties in the UP, and it caused one of many embarrassing moments with the in-laws when I mentioned to my husband's mother that I was surprised stores weren't more discreet about their x-rated merchandise. Up until that moment, I had no idea the word pasties could also mean hand pies!

Our trip back down took us through Kentucky, and we camped in Mammoth Cave National Park, where naturally we also went on a cave tour. It was massive! I'd never been to a cave with so few cave formations. It almost felt man made, in a way. I wish we'd had more time to hike the camp trails, but we were in a rush at that point and were lucky we had time for the cave tour - and a quick stop to buy a mug, of course!
Great mug! I love the shape of it!

The Mackinac Bridge is amazing, so are the Great Lakes! It's awesome you got to experience them. Mackinac Island is also very cool!

Just for clarification, the meat pie "pasty" is pronounced like "pAss-tea" and the *other* kind is like "pAYs-tea". 😉 As a Michigander, I love a good pasty (some are better than others).

Mammoth Cave sounds awesome!
 
Good morning my fellow 'Muggers'!

Today's mug is brought to you from Puerto Rico! Oh how I love Puerto Rico. It's absolutely stunning, and the food......🥲🤤

Unfortunately, there is also a lot of poverty. The island is broken up into tourist areas - large resorts, beach areas, tourist activities (ziplining, kayaking, fishing, etc.) - and the homes of indigenous people sort of speckled into the landscape. Of course, those who have moved there from other places (i.e. the mainland) live VERY differently. This "divide" became even more apparent after the hurricanes in 2017. I digress.

There is so much to do and see (and eat) in Puerto Rico. Many tourists stay in Old San Juan, which is also where cruise ships come in - tons of shopping and restaurants - very historic sites. But, if you venture outside the city, there's a national park, El Yunque, which is one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen, and many secluded beaches, and restaurants with food that will blow your mind! This is one of those places that I could return to year after year and never tire of it. If y'all haven't been, I hope you get the chance!
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This is a pic of El Yunque from the north facing balcony of the place we stayed (we hiked there several times - it's magic):
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And this is the view from the south facing balcony of the same building!:
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