Date of dream: Monday, October 25, 2004
Level of Lucidity: N/A
Level of Cohesiveness: 
Lucid Intent? No
This dream has been viewed 4183 times.
Another Mackinac Island dream! :D Although I must admit, by my standards this was pretty dull. :/
I seemed to be with a group of tourists and we were all on Mackinac Island. I can't recall the specifics of this but there was this woman who seemed puzzled over why certain areas or land features were named the way they were. I can't recall which specific ones she mentioned but I'll use Cave of the Woods, the example I myself thought of in the dream, as her example. I also don't recall her specific argument but it probably went something like, "Why do they give these places these obvious names? Like Cave of the Woods?--I mean, it's a cave, and it's in the woods. So that name is rather obvious and kind of unnecessary. Why don't they call them something else or just not name them anything at all?" If she had spoken of Crack-in-the-Island, she probably would have said something like, "And Crack-in-the-Island...I mean, it's a crack, and it's in the island! How much more obvious can you get than that...?" You get the picture. I'm not POSITIVE that this was what she was arguing, but it was something along those lines; she didn't understand the naming system on the island. And as we walked out to British Landing and headed on toward Crack-in-the-Island and Cave of the Woods, that was when I thought of my example, and thought to myself, "You know, she's kind of right...it's a cave, and it's in the woods. 'Cave of the Woods' just isn't very creative." ^_^ I'm an old-fashioned sort though, and rather fixated on the names of island sites, so it didn't really bother me as much as it seemed to bother her.
I think it was overcast, maybe wet, as I think we...yes, I'm pretty sure I was at least wearing my jacket. So maybe it was a little bit cool but not so bad. And the trees were still green, unlike in real life. I do not recall the woods that one really has to pass through to reach this location, and I never saw the Crack or the cave. But we came out at the airport field just behind these two features. Even this area looked completely different from in real life--it wasn't nearly as big, was closed in by pine trees and such, was narrower, and didn't seem to have the airport in it! There was also no wooden fence that I can recall. We all just kind of filtered out of the woods at this spot and looked around.
I looked to my right, along the treeline, and thought of something I read, in real life, in a Fifties guidebook I have to the island. In that, it mentions in one part how to reach Crack-in-the-Island. It says to cut across the airport field until you see this big rock near the woods or something. Now back then, directions were not what they are now, and since they never seem to name any specific trails, plus many of the trails back then are no longer in use or accessible, the Fifties directions are practically useless. I kid you not; here are those very directions themselves, word for word:
"Follow directions to the Grand Hotel -- Pass the Hotel on the road directly in front, pause to view the Tea Garden below and the Grand Hotel Swimming Pool [you can't do this nowadays and hope to get away without paying a fee!], and continue on up the slope passing in front of the cottages. Follow the road as it leaves the bluff and turns right, turn left at the next block and continue west. Take the next fork to the right and stay on the most traveled road [does it have some sign saying "most traveled road" on it??] as it passes some lesser ones and some private drives. Follow on as it forks again, go right and then left and continue up the long gradual slope, leaving the cottages behind. Go right again at the next fork and take the first trail that wanders left into the woods. (It's wide enough for a horse if you happen to be riding and good going for a bicycle.) This road will take you to the airport. The airport is an emergency field used mostly in the winter when planes are the only method of transportation to and from the Island. Look across until you find a large rock just at the edge of the woods. (Incidentally, if it's in season try some of the wild strawberries at the south end of the airport.) Cross the airport [trespassing, anybody?] to this rock and enter the right fork of the trail that begins here. You will soon come to the 'Crack in the Island.'"
I mean, SERIOUSLY!--it's hard enough going even with the CURRENT map! And I have always reached the Crack and the cave by taking the Lake Shore Road to British Landing, and using State Road to head inland...the airport always comes AFTER I reach those two, not before. So I have no clue where this guy is coming from. O_o
Anyway...I remembered these directions about the "large rock" and decided that I wanted to see if such a thing was still there, since there's no "large rock" in view when you approach the airport from Crack-in-the-Island. I accordingly turned right and started walking along the treeline. This field was narrower than the one in real life, and covered with medium-tall swaying grass, kind of light greenish but dry looking, like prairie grass; the treeline was perfectly straight as if it had been cut that way. I left the others behind and went looking for the rock. At some points it may have seemed like there was a smallish bluff through the woods but I'm not sure (there's no bluff there in real life, that's closer toward town). I think I spotted what might have been a big rock ahead, although it wasn't terribly impressive; still, I was curious. I approached but it seems like when I got there, instead of a rock there was a sign, and I think it was telling the name of the woods or else the kind of tree that dominated this part of the woods (there are different sections of forest on the island, some dominated by deciduous trees (like this part of the island is in real life), some by evergreens (like this part of the island seemed to be in the dream). I really can't recall what it said but it was two words, "_____ Woods," I believe. The first word was a tree name, I think, but it was short; I think it had a double E in it, kind of like the word "Leeds," though of course there is no kind of "Leeds" tree. I only give that as an example as I can't recall what the word was. I glanced at this in only mild curiosity before moving on. Again, I can't be too sure if that was the name of the woods or the kind of tree which dominated these woods; sorry.
I reached the end of the field where the treeline took a sharp left and cut off my access at a ninety-degree angle, just like it had been cultivated that way. I felt a bit disappointed that I couldn't go further as I'd intended to explore some more, but I just turned and started heading back, still keeping my shoulder to the treeline, on my left this time. A few of the tourists might have been wondering what I was doing but for the most part they ignored me and I ignored them. I know that I had taken some digital pictures with the Polaroid camera earlier in the dream, perhaps of the trees and woods as I went along; now as I came abreast of the sign I decided I wanted to take some pictures of it as well. I slowed down and pulled the camera out of my right jacket pocket (this is how I remember specifically that I was wearing my jacket, as I have no other clothes with big side pockets like that) and lifted it up to turn it on and take some shots.
Crap! I noticed that the light on it was blinking, and there was an image displaying on the preview screen--meaning I had not turned it off after my last shots! How long had I been carrying it this way and using up its batteries? :( It also wouldn't stop flashing. I considered turning it off and turning it on again to take pictures, but I worried that it would overwrite whatever I had on there already. (I've had some bad experiences with this camera in real life; see "In Search Of The Fairy Arch" for yet another recent Mackinac Island dream featuring camera worries!) I fretted about this for a few moments before sighing and deciding to just take some pictures and turn the camera off carefully when I was done. The image on the preview screen, by the way, seemed to be just some vague indistinct black background with a couple of little blurry blobs of white light in it. I was worried about overwriting my earlier pictures but started trying to frame some shots anyway. At first this sign had been merely a black sign with white movable lettering, but now it featured like a photograph of this area of the woods, mounted under glass. Kind of weird, to have a photo of the area right by the area itself, but oh well. o_o It didn't seem strange in the dream. I think the photo was older, but in color, and had a bearded, bespectacled man in it, kind of husky looking. I got the vague feeling that he was associated with this somehow, like he was the photographer, or a geologist, or something scientific.
I think I tried to take some pictures while the light was flashing. I considered checking them on the preview screen to see if I'd overwritten them, but decided not to since I thought that might mess it up even more, plus it uses up a lot of the batteries. I just took my chances. I snapped a couple of shots of this sign but I think the flash glared off the glass. They were okay but not wonderful shots. I got closer--the sign filled up almost the entire space, although I wasn't THAT close. And the edges of it always seemed cut off no matter how I framed it. I tilted the camera sideways to get the best shot. I think I tilted it at too much of an angle so the sign seemed uneven, wide at one end and narrow at the other; I tried to remedy this and get as straight a shot as I could. At that point, at least, the sign image seemed taller than it was wide, though I think throughout the rest of the dream it was wider than it was tall.
I crouched down now so I was practically lying on my left side, tilting the camera up and closer to fill the shot with the sign. Awkward. O_o I remember cocking my arms and head at this weird angle as this guy from the group of tourists came walking my way, giving me an odd look. But I was just totally engrossed in taking a good picture of this stupid sign. I noticed if I took the shot from below, the sunlight (such as it was) and/or flash would not glare directly off the glass and I could get a better shot. Despite the weird angle. *shrug* I kept taking pictures, but it seemed like they never turned out right!--they always seemed to come out dark, or something. And I kept trying. I wondered if there were other signs like this in the rest of the woods. As this guy approached and I cocked my head to take another, hopefully better shot, my alarm went off and I awoke.
Real-life associations: The day before I had this dream, I had written in my paper journal that I wished I could have more dreams about the island...so I don't know, maybe for once in my life my subconscious listened. Even though it was rather dull. ;P
As I said, I do not think it was the word used in the dream, as it's not the name of a tree--but "Leeds" makes me think of a character I created, Thomas Leeds, who lives on my fictional version of Mackinac Island, Manitou Island.
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Date of dream: Monday, October 25, 2004
Level of Lucidity: N/A
Level of Cohesiveness:
Lucid Intent? No
This dream has been viewed 4156 times.
This dream is from perhaps a few weeks ago; I never took note of it as it was so vague by the time I remembered it that it didn't seem worthwhile. However, since it was about Mackinac Island, I decided to at least make a brief note of the vague image I remember.
Basically it involved me walking along what was supposed to be the west shore of the island, toward Devil's Kitchen, a sea cave located on this side. I remember walking along what seemed to be the boardwalk, even though that doesn't extend out to Devil's Kitchen. And the layout was all wrong. I believe I was headed west so that means the island would have been on my right and the lake to my left, but instead I seem to recall walking on a boardwalk with the caves kind of to my left and behind me, as well as something pressing in on my right--like being closed in on both sides. And I was both beside these caves yet beyond them and even above them all at once; very confusing. They were supposed to be in the vicinity of Devil's Kitchen, I believe, but there was more than one (I've heard the Kitchen is actually a group of caves, though only one is visible from the shore). I was very curious about this area and seemed to be walking atop or over these caves, as their roofs formed a solid land mass which dropped off steeply on the sides, though I wasn't afraid of falling. They seemed much like the brecciated, water-worn stone of Devil's Kitchen, only darker, a very dark gray almost like charcoal. I think evening was coming on so I might have been pressed for time, yet I really wanted to explore. I feel there were some people with me doing the same, though I don't know if we were together or not. I was just kind of walking along, looking at these caves which were kind of behind me, thinking of walking a little further to see more. I can't stress enough how the caves and whatever else it was--the bluff?--rose on both sides to almost block me in away from the water, though there seemed to be some kind of opening to my front left...very odd. I walked a lot.
There was more to it but going along this boardwalk and looking at/walking atop the caves was all I could remember when I awoke.
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Date of dream: Monday, October 11, 2004
Level of Lucidity: N/A
Level of Cohesiveness:
Lucid Intent? No
This dream has been viewed 4317 times.
It was nighttime and Ma and I were at home; I'm not sure where Dad was. At some point I believe I heard Cosmas, the cat, meowing, and Ma said that he was ill. When I asked her to explain she did so.
"His meowing's different," she said; I do think it was deeper (in reality Coz has a very high-pitched, effeminate voice); "and his eyes have changed. He's going blind. It's the same thing that went wrong with Pepper."
I looked at Coz as he walked by and felt very sad. Pepper was our old cat who died in October 2001. She went deaf, then blind, a long while before she died; during her blindness her eyes changed slightly, and reflected reddish rather than green or yellow when light hit them, and you could see veins in the back of them if you peered closely. (I'm guessing the red haze to her eyes had something to do with the blindness.) Then in the week or so before her death she became very ill, bloated and lethargic, until we had to put her to sleep. She had been with us for nearly twenty years. :*( To this day I feel angry and guilty that I was not there when she was put to sleep; see the dreams I had during that time period for more on this incident. In my dreams, Cosmas and Pepper often combine or switch roles in a very odd manner.
Anyway, in this dream, Cosmas was apparently dying of the same illness that had threatened to take Pepper. (In reality I think it was mainly her old age that made her ill--her bodily organs, kidneys, bowels, were shutting down, etc. I do not think it was a specific "disease," but in this dream it was.) And I felt very saddened by this. I think there was the slight implication that it might NOT necessarily be terminal, but it was severe. "I'm going to keep an eye on him and do what I can," I vowed, determined to do everything in my power to keep Coz from dying. Even though I didn't really know what I could do.
At some point I went to go to the bathroom. As I sat on the toilet, Coz came in or else was in there already; he turned away from me and sat down or squatted on the floor beside the tub for a minute. I stared at him, wondering what he was doing. When he got up and walked away I noticed that he had urinated and defecated all over the floor!! There was a big long puddle/stream of urine, as if it had spread out a bit, and near one end of this were some little runny smudges of feces, almost as if he had diarrhea; it was yellowish colored. (Sorry for the grossness of this.) I didn't even see the feces at first, until I looked for it specifically (I was thinking, "He PEED on the floor!! Did he crap, too--?"), and it looked like several little bits of it smudged onto the floor. I got the thought that he had been running his butt along the floor as if to wipe it off of himself. I know, this is incredibly disgusting, but it's what I dreamed. >_< (I have written down "weird look" but I'm not sure of that--maybe he gave me an odd look before he did this?) My first instinct was to be angry but then I reined myself in. It was probably because of his illness. Pepper had done the same thing, going to the bathroom in odd places in the weeks before she died; it's a sign of distress in cats. I waited for a little bit, considering simply leaving the mess there for some reason (maybe for someone else to clean it up?), then decided it would be best to just get it over with. I went and got the paper towel roll.
(I cannot overemphasize the yellowness of the mess he'd left. Like a dark kind of mustard yellow. Even his excrement was mainly this color; very odd. I have no clue what that means.)
The roll was maybe just under half full. I started pulling off paper towels and mopping up the mess but the puddle of urine had spread across the floor to seep under all my shampoo bottles and stuff standing beside the tub. (They seemed spread out all along the side of the tub, on the floor, rather than concentrated at both ends as they are in real life.) I hated that they were getting so dirty but couldn't help it. I tried soaking and wiping up as much of the mess as I could. But I was really using up these paper towels and there was still more mess to get to! It was so hard to clean it up and I was getting frustrated. I ran out of paper towels, in fact, and didn't know what to do. It's as if I pulled some sort of long plastic sleeve from the garbage bag beside me. It made me think kind of of the plastic tubes that Pop Ice comes in (flavored ice you freeze, then cut the tube open and eat), only bigger and sturdier, maybe as long as my arm. It was slit down the side to make almost a C shape. On a whim I just dropped this on the floor and scraped it over the tiles in the hopes of picking up the rest of the mess.
Wonder of wonders, this worked a LOT better than the paper towels! Only now instead of urine and excrement it seemed to be vomit I was cleaning up--thick and kind of foamy in texture, like a mix of cat hair, spittle, and grass, only not lumpy or anything like that...it was mostly white and foamy like when a cat coughs up hair. Again, apologies for the grossness. Now Coz seemed to be standing in the tub right before me, watching in curiosity as I used the plastic tube to scrape up this mess and deposit almost every remaining bit of it in the garbage. I felt impressed and relieved by the ease of this. There was still some remaining under and around the bottles on the floor, but at least I'd gotten most of it! *whew*
The dream seemed to switch focus here, though it was still the same. I guess I went to my room then, no longer worried about Cosmas (maybe the illness had resolved itself?), and decided for whatever reason to look at a book I have, Michilimackinac by David A. Turrill. This is a real book I own but have never read; I've only browsed it. It recounts, in historical fiction format, the events leading up to, and after, the massacre at Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, and the fur trader Alexander Henry's escape to Mackinac Island. The book is sexually and violently graphic in parts and the rape/mutilation and death of one of the characters depressed me so much that I could not ever read the whole book, and in fact put it away for a very long time (I really overempathize with fictional characters sometimes). In fact it was the excessive violence and such that made me get the book in the first place, when I was a teenager; I actually browsed it at Old Mill Creek and put it back, then had my parents drive me to Mackinaw City for the express purpose of buying a copy there, later on. And I only just realized it, but I think the graphic scenes in the book kind of contributed to some of the writing I do nowadays.
Well...in my dream I decided to look at it, maybe to see if it had any information about Mackinac Island which I had missed; I've been very interested in learning more about this place lately. I sat down near my bed and looked at the book. I saw the author's name on the cover and was immediately confused. The name was like the word Manitou, which is the Ojibwa Indian term for a spirit (and is the name I gave to my own, fictionalized version of Mackinac Island in my writing). It was more like an archaic or alternate spelling, something like Muneedoo or Munedoo, but I knew what it meant. I frowned. I hadn't ever noticed it before, and I was pretty sure the author had a regular name. Had he changed his last name to this when publishing the book, in order to garner attention? You know, like how if somebody writes a book about sex or something, they'll give themselves a sexy or porn-star-sounding name. I felt like scoffing this author now for pulling such a stunt. If he was a truly good writer he would not have to rely on such devices!
Well, I opened the book, seeking information on the author's true name. And in the front pages I found my answer. The Munedoo name, in fact, was the name of the publisher, the company or outfit which had published the book. NOT the author. (The oddness of seeing their name on the front, rather than the author's, never struck me.) Okay, that made more sense. I had never noticed it but then again who really pays much attention to that sort of thing? I flipped through the book and now found a map of Mackinac Island, and was immediately thrilled. I began to study it to see if it referred to any of the older landmarks which are no longer included on current maps.
I think the map was a new one, made for the book, but it did refer to some odd things. I noticed firstly some sort of trail or path in the vicinity of Rifle Range or Arch Rock Road, called Charbonneau (or Charboneau) or Charbonneaux (Charboneaux), only at some points it seemed to bear a shortened, bastardized version of the name, something like Charbonno or Shabono. I knew this was an important trail running up in that area, but I think it was no longer included on new maps; maybe it was out of use or no longer in existence, though it was possible it could have still been there. Not sure. I kept thinking of "Charlevoix Heights" and "Forest King"--these are two things listed in a Fifties Mackinac Island guidebook I have in real life, which are in this area, but they apparently no longer exist. At least, they are not listed on any maps I know of. I think this Charbonneau was identical to "Charlevoix Heights," whatever that is.
I looked over toward the other side of the island, toward Point Aux Pins. And here was listed something called the "Shelter." On the map there was now an illustration of a little set of steps leading inland straight from Point Aux Pins; it was like this map was much closer now, and I knew this little set of steps led up an incline to a bluff or overlook or something just inland, set back in the trees. It's like this was somehow illustrated on the map--it was more like a map you'd find in a computer roleplaying game, when you look down on things from above. It was a kind of golden-sandy color. I understood now that this "Shelter" was in fact the Coureurs De Bois Shelter, another site which is listed in the Fifties guidebook but not in newer ones. In reality I think the shelter was just a space in the woods or on a bluff or something, but I harbored hopes that it was a cave or an actual building from that time period, and this dream seemed to indicate that, with this set of manmade steps; it was where French-Canadian coureurs de bois (woodrunners, or unlicensed fur traders) would hang out. My dream seemed to be mixing fact and fancy here, and since I do not know much at all about the actual location (which according to the book is actually on the OTHER side of the island), I can't really clarify.
"I'll have to go looking for that the next time I visit," I thought, looking at the set of steps leading inland--it's like the land was cleared here in a big swath. I was excited to find such new things. I then turned my attention back toward the middle and east parts of the island and now saw an odd thing written in the vicinity of Sugar Loaf Rock, a natural formation not too far from Fort Holmes. Instead of reading merely Sugar Loaf Rock...the map said something like fragments of Sugar Loaf Rock.
??? Fragments of Sugar Loaf...? Growing alarmed and confused, I looked closer. Sugar Loaf itself was not listed, just "fragments" (or "shatters," or a word similar to this, meaning broken pieces). Either it was illustrated or I received the impression that there was a wide swath of broken fragments of rock spread out across the ground near where Sugar Loaf would be or had been. This was seriously perplexing! Sugar Loaf is still standing intact and well! I puzzled over this wording for a good long while before sighing. "He must mean just little pieces that have fallen or broken off over the years," I decided (meaning the author of the book). "Sugar Loaf is still there, it's just not listed; the fragments are instead." I have written down "near SL but closer to shore/bluff," so I guess these fragments were closer to the East Bluff overlooking the shore than Sugar Loaf is in real life, yet I feel they extended outward from the rock in basically a westerly direction, so maybe Sugar Loaf was closer to the shore. In any case I made up my mind that the author meant the rock was STILL there, but for whatever reason had decided to indicate the fragments on the map rather than the rock itself. A weird thing to do, but it made more sense than thinking the rock was gone! I thought perhaps the broken fragments had some bearing on the story; maybe they had come to be because of the actions outlined in the book. *shrug* Never found out.
Despite my confusion, all these discoveries filled me with anticipation for my next visit, which I feel was going to be soon, rather than next year. I would have to look for Charbonneau (Trail?/Heights?), the "Shelter," and the "fragments" of Sugar Loaf my next time there.
There was another shift in the plot and this is where it gets haziest. There was something that had to do with a line drawing of part of the inside of Drake's house or apartment, or else one room of his house. Drake is a fictional character of mine, from my serial Manitou Island (indirectly referred to above); see "Dinner With Drake" for more about him. In this dream, he was again his young, gawky age, fourteen, and he and Charmian (the female protagonist of the serial) seemed to be having some kind of informal argument over something. I think it had to do with this room or inside of his house. This seemed to be taking place in my living room, facing west, and was kind of like I was pretending it and kind of like it was real; I never actually saw them or an argument as I was staring only at this line drawing, but...well, I can't explain it. You know how it is in dreams. I studied this drawing very closely while they argued. I think Drake had a crush on Charmian but I don't know if that had a bearing on the argument. Maybe they were arguing about whatever I was looking at. It was a drawing of a wall, and set into it were some round and rectangular devices...it was a line drawing, but I sense the wall was supposed to be dark tomato red, or maybe brick red. These devices resembled a speaker and maybe a thermostat and such; there were two or three of them, at least, different sizes and shapes. I'm pretty sure one was a speaker so you could talk between rooms in the house, and I think Drake and Charmian referred to it while arguing. (Drake was being defensive, in a "Well, how am I supposed to know??" way. I do not recall actual dialogue.) The speaker had a crisscross grid over it. One of the round objects on the wall had a little knob of some sort protruding from its left side, small and cylindrical like a lipstick container. I was really studying these closely--I had the page right up to my face and was examining them in minute detail--so that when I awoke immediately after, I could still remember, if not the entire drawing, then at least that particular knob on that particular object. I do not understand why I was so invested in looking at this otherwise boring picture.
Real-life associations: I already mentioned the Mackinac guidebook associations to "Charbonneau" and the "Shelter." Although I may have had it in mind when originally picking up the book, I never did find any mention of the Fairy Arch (a missing landmark which HAS preoccupied me in real life). I also associated Charbonneau with a surname in this area, but the only Charbonneau (Charboneau?) I ever knew personally was a student I knew in elementary school, and he and I were never close. (I asked my mother and to her knowledge, we are not related to any Charbonneaus, at least in recent history.) I associate the alternate spelling "Shabono" with the name of Sacajawea's husband (Lewis or Clark spelled his name that way, I think, in a diary). Charlevoix, by the way, is the name of a city in northern Michigan, and I wondered a bit over why there was a place on Mackinac Island called "Charlevoix Heights," but I've seen no other reference to it aside from that one brief mention in the old guidebook.
I was recently considering browsing Michilimackinac again, if I could only overcome my depression about the plot. In fact I did browse it a while before coming to type up this dream, and was not quite as depressed about the contents as I used to be. The real book does not have a map and actually says relatively little about Mackinac Island's land features themselves.
In real life recently, I located a map of the island in a 1941 book at eBay, and was amazed that it actually listed the location of the Fairy Arch--this is the first time I have seen it on any map, and I immediately saved the image and took note of the spot on my current map. I've considered bidding on the book; there are/were three copies on auction, but the other two are from the Fifties and I wonder if they might not have the Fairy Arch still listed as it's likely collapsed. (My own Fifties guidebook does not refer to it; this 1941 reference is the latest I have found so far. Until then, I had thought it collapsed not long after 1906, which used to be the latest reference I had.) The excited feeling I got in my dream reminded me of how I felt when I found this real-life map, even if the landmark is no longer there.
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