Lake Michigan Road Trip Day 2 & 3

One thing Dick and I most enjoy doing while taking road trips is getting off the interstates and finding hidden nuggets we might not see otherwise.

Our first surprise was the town of Charlevoix, MI, right on Lake Michigan.

The streets lined with the most lush hanging flower baskets was our first introduction.

Right after parking, we realized the draw bridge we had just crossed was opening to allow a couple large sailboats to pass.  They were on their way to the entrance of Lake Michigan.

Deciding to take a stroll down one of the side streets, we discovered the neatest little park.  I left Dick there and took my camera to get a closer look at the bright red lighthouse.

Charlevoix has been added to our do-over list for another trip.

Our next stop was Grand Haven.

We saw the remains of the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival from the previous weekend where thousands attended.  Grand Haven was the first city designated by an act of Congress to be Coast Guard City, USA

There were still several large boats at the dock representing a completely different lifestyle than we are accustomed.

Our next stop was Silver Lake and this opened a fun door to a special nugget.

Here we saw the Sand Dunes of Silver Lake.  This beautiful lake does not flow into Lake Michigan which can only be reached by crossing the dunes.

These party barges were ready to shuttle beach goers to the dunes for a day in the sand.

Remember my saying we like to take the roads less traveled?  We found this scenic road that paralleled Lake Michigan and saw a very worn sign about a lighthouse.  We followed the signs down this very, very narrow road and look what we found at the end.

The Petite Pointe Sable (meaning little point of sand) Lighthouse.  It juts into Lake Michigan and was completed in 1874.

Increased shipping on the lake started after the Civil War, largely due to the expanding lumber industry.  As a result, this isolated point became the site of several shipwrecks.  One of these was the beaching of the schooner Pride.  In 1872 the US Congress approved funding for the erection of a lighthouse.  Because the location had no road access, the building was delayed.

 In the 1900's, the lighthouse was painted white because it was decided that was the official color of a lighthouse.  However, a few years ago, it was decided to remove the paint and restore the original brickwork.  I approve of that decision.  We decided it is the prettiest we've seen.

From here, we continued to frustrate our GPS navigator and remained on back scenic roads.  Again, we were rewarded.

We found the Cherry Point Market located in Shelby, MI.

While looking around at the scones, and other appealing pastries, plus all the homemade delicacies in jars, I met the owner, Barbara Bull.  She was so delightful.  She is prolific author, and as she told me, she writes during the hard winters when the farm is resting.

I did purchase her book "A Point in Time" where she shares many tidbits of information regarding her life on Cherry Point and little stories associated with this remarkable place.

Again, a return trip is on our list.

After ending up on a gravel road between fields, we did eventually please the GPS and got back on the interstate that would take us to our family in Granger, IN.

Before getting there we found a large produce market advertising sweet cherries.  We couldn't pass them up and are so glad we stopped.  They were the sweetest cherries we have ever eaten.  Another repeat stop.

Yes, we will never run out of things to do and see in this part of the country.

Post Wedding Road Trip

On Sunday morning following the "perfect" wedding, Dick and I again enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Oaks Eatery in Three Oaks near our apartment.  Evidently both locals and tourists enjoy the food there because it is always full, both inside and out.

Our destination for the day was St Ignace in upper Michigan.  We enjoyed the trip and saw some beautiful parts of that area of the state.  After arriving and checking in, we drove around the town to familiarize ourselves again with the places we wanted to return to.

This was not one of them.  On a side street we saw this rehab in progress.  We were mystified as to the outdoor decorations or the possible use of the house.  This may say more about the town of St Ignace than we want to know.

On Monday morning, we took the 8:30 a.m. ferry to Machinac Island.

As we approached, we got a beautiful view of the Grand Hotel.  This is such a unique place and I think a favorite for many visitors.  We had a lovely dinner there the last time and I recommend doing that if you choose to stay in another location as we did.

Our previous trip there was a three-day stay at Mission Point Resort. As that is our favorite spot on the island, it was where we wanted to spend most of our time.  But in order to get there, we first had to walk through the shops and many of the lovely buildings and hotels along the way.

This is the only mode of transportation on the island.  Most of the hotels have their own carriage shuttles, but these are taxis in case you decide walking is not your first choice.

The other option is to bike and there is a wide variety of choices from a regular, hand gears, e-bike, mountain bikes, tandem for adults and children, as well as three-wheelers for seniors.  We chose to not test our balancing skills and decided to use the new and old hips.  This did require an occasional stop to watch the world go by.

Lady Liberty on the Island

Yacht Club 

St Mary Catholic Church

Entering the Mission Point compound

Mission Point is at the eastern tip of the Island and faces Lake Huron.

The Adirondack chairs on the front lawn offer a great place to sit and watch all sorts of boats and ships pass by.

We had a delicious brunch in the curved dining room and enjoyed watching all the bikers do what we had so much fun doing on our last trip - touring the island up close and personal.

Before leaving the island, we decided to indulge in one thing Machinac Island is known for and that is ice cream. Our cones did not disappoint, as usual.  As there was a storm moving in, we decided to get a head start and left before it got too late.

Machinac Island never disappoints; however, let me suggest you choose a less busy time to go than early August or late May.  The summer months are hot and overrun with families taking advantage of the last days of summer.

Tuesday morning found us back on the road heading south toward some interesting stops along Lake Michigan.  That's another post.