There is nothing like seeing your favourite celebrity in person—the excitement, the amazement, the joy, the overwhelming elation that fills your body. The most significant being the sense of connection.
My first celebrity encounter was with Mickey Mouse decades ago. I was surprised by how excited I was to see someone in a costume. I even began to look down on myself for having this feeling, since it was not even a real person but a mascot for a large corporation. Still, the initial experience was intense.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2024 that I had my first real celebrity meeting. I took my wife with me on the journey down some lightly travelled road to see the famous (and maybe even infamous) Rock of Rockley. This meeting was the highlight of our Summer Coastal Drive. Many people who have visited the Rock of Rockley have all had very positive experiences with this Nova Scotian superstar. So when I was planning our summer vacation for 2025, America the Beautiful, I made sure the Big Friendly Rock in Michigan was a priority visit.
Oddly, my wife does not share the same feeling when it comes to seeing celebrity rock stars, like the Rock of Rockley, Bleasdell Boulder, Okotoks Erratic and Big Friendly Rock, as well as others that I have failed to mention. I was all excited that I was able to get the trip to work out, so that I would be able to have a close and deeply personal encounter with BFR (how the locals call this magnificent and friendly Rock).
And then disaster.
A great disaster that almost ended not just the entire summer vacation, but even my time with BFR!
I devastated my back making lasagna.
I was making a pizza lasagna and must have put on one too many pepperoni slices. The proverbial “pepperoni that broke the camel’s back” was so very accurate in this situation. An odd twist, or bending too long, or some other mysterious force at play, injured my back in such an enormous way that pain was the only thing I felt. I had torn muscles, and any time I tried to use those muscles, I was screaming in pain.
I worked hard at getting my back in shape. I would use a trip with Mom to Algonquin to see if we could travel and tour, and also to see what I still needed to do before our big summer expedition, including visiting the Big Friendly Rock.
I felt the success of being able to drive, albeit painfully. I was able to stay in the car for a couple of hours and even get out and tour whatever we were to see at any spot or other. But then disappointment.
Just like anyone who has a favourite celebrity, seeing them is a joyous occasion, but what is even worse is getting so very close and failing to connect with the celebrity; it is a heartwrenching devastation that is hard to recover from.
This disappointment happened to me at BFR. So close, and yet so very far away.
We arrived at the Big Friendly Rock, and I was so happy to make it to the VIP (or dare I say, VIR) of Upper Michigan. I bounded out of the car, entirely forgetting my strained back and was dumbfounded to see my wife unmoved from her seat. I began walking to the Rock only to discover that there was a steep ditch between me and the highest-rated tourist attraction in all of the USA.
My back would not let me go any farther.
I was there, so close, so near, so willing, but so unable to traverse the incline to BFR.
It was a sad moment in my life, probably the most miserable event I’ve ever experienced. My wife, still unmoved from her seat in the car, must have sensed my pain.
I took my picture and shed a tear or two as I left the Rock behind. No connection. No joy. Nothing but the sorrow of a missed opportunity.
- BFR is easy to spot from the road. It says BFR right on the Rock.
- You may have to fight droves of people, like in the picture above. Oddly, no one was there when we arrived.
- You can find Big Friendly Rock on my All The Places We Have Been Map.
