It's hard to get out when you don't want to leave.

Portage Point, Onekama, MI

I really really really want to move out west--I haven't settled on where, exactly, but I've got several hundred miles of ideas that lie roughly between Portland and Seattle. Maybe Northern California. But I have this one little, itsy bitsy, mitten-shaped hang up:

Sunset over Lake Michigan, Onekama, MI

I LOVE Michigan. Everything about it.

Except the unemployment rate & current job market.

I think big things will be happening soon here, especially in the film industry, and I'm doing my best to hang tight---more out of solid stubbornness than any noble reason--because I know, I KNOW that Michigan is the place, and entirely underrated (and often ignored) by the rest of the country.

I mean, yes, we do see a lot of this:

Christmastime in Northern Michigan

But it's absolutely lovely, I promise, and only lasts for..seven or eight months out of the year...

And if you're a nature lover, like me, and like J Edward , than there's simply an overabundance of inspiration and beauty to keep you going, doing, exploring, creating, driving, sharing, loving, growing...

Tahquamenon Falls, Newberry(ish), MI

So I ask myself, what's the rush? For now I'll be content with a road trip or three, out west or any which way, while I continue my studies & creativity here, and hopefully back at U of M (Go Blue!), with anticipation for the film industries (Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford?) and a wealth inspiration all around.

Well, all around in the North, I'm partial to the North.

All photos by C.Bromley (that's me!) Find more online HERE.