singin' in the rain

Have you ever heard of a Puh?  
Years ago, as I was reading flipping through an US Weekly magazine, I came across a page that had a collection of photos of celebrities.  Not really unusual for this magazine, but what was interesting is that each of them had a PUH.  A Personal Umbrella Holder.  Some employee who they had literally holding an umbrella for them.  Because....you know....holding an umbrella is hard work. 

I did not make up this term....and I don't know if US Weekly did, but I give them credit for it.
And ever since then, my sister and I have used the term as much as possible.  Because it's fun to think about someone who is doing this oh-so-important job to have a title like Puh.  Right?

So....the real reason for this post isn't to enlighten you on an important term in pop culture, but to announce to you that yesterday, I had a Puh.

Let's back it up a bit though....and give you a little background first.

My sister Capen* and I were in Muskegon visiting my aunt who has been in the hospital for a couple weeks.  (For those who know about this, she seems to be doing better every time I see her- and is supposed to go home next week!)   Since my aunt missed out on a trip to Ohio to visit with my brother-in-law's family who were visiting from Germany, my sister came up with the brilliant idea of Skyping with them.  Gotta love technology!

After our visit, we decided to get some dinner and then head to the beach.  Capen had wanted to get a specific picture of the beach, of the view when you first turn the corner and see the lake open up before you.  It's one of my favorite views ever....always gorgeous (I used to literally say "Well, hellooo beautiful" whenever I turned that corner-- okay, I still do), and it also reminds me of where I came from.

Ever since I got my beloved iPhone, I've been a little obsessed with taking photos (follow me on instagram for proof on that!) so I of course volunteered to take some pics with my phone for her.  As luck would have it, right as we left the fine dining establishment that is Lee's Famous Recipe, it started raining.  Not a downpour, not a thunderstorm, but definitely a steady rain.  Capen was a little bummed, until I pointed out the clear sky that seemed to be far in the west....toward the lake.
Determined to get that photo we had been talking about, we drove to the beach and decided we'd wait it out.  After we parked, and it was still raining, Capen got out an umbrella from her trunk and explained that we would have to share since that's the only one she had with her.  

Yep....she became my Puh. 

It only made sense, since I was the one taking the picture, that I couldn't possibly be bothered to hold the umbrella.  Well, this made for quite the comical walk down the boardwalk, with my sister trying to keep us both dry, as I asked her to stop every fifteen seconds so I could take a picture....of the dunes, of the DOUBLE rainbow, the beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan....and as I randomly broke into song..."Singin' in the Rain".  It was so literal that I couldn't resist.  Good thing it was raining so there weren't many people out to hear my lovely acapella version of the song. 

It did finally stop raining about ten minutes into our walk, so Capen was released of her Puh duties.  And I got some fantastic shots both during the rain and after when the sun began to set on what is possibly one of the most beautiful places....in my world at least. 

How it looked when we first parked....rain cloud overhead, with the sun peeking out of the clearing

On the boardwalk looking down.....notice the drops of water on the bottom of the rails?  Pretty!

Love the "waves of sand"

We saw a double rainbow!  If you don't know the joke behind this, go to You Tube and search for double rainbow.  "What does it meeeeaaan?"

Ahh....the dunes....



I thought this fallen tree looked like something that would be entered into Art Prize. Sorry for the dark picture, but the sun was setting and this was in the shadows.

This one is now the wallpaper on my phone....love it!

The deserted boardwalk at sunset after the rain stopped...

Speaking of sunsets.....:)

Here's the shot we came for....well, one of the fifteen versions of it anyway.  We come around the curve, and this is what we see.  The beauty gets me every time.

Another version, a little further back.  Hellooooo, Beautiful! 

(love the sun peeking through the trees)

See you later, my darling dunes!

*not her real name, but a real nickname