In our typical style, we turned Monday’s less than three-hour drive into more than eight hours. It’s what we do. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
An hour into the trip, we passed through the downtown area of Charlevoix, Michigan. It was clear this is a town that cares about its image.
As part of the Keep Charlevoix Beautiful campaign, the town folk used to plant petunias along the roadside from one end of town to the other. When a remodel of the main road forced them to give up the “petunia watering truck,” they switched to large hanging baskets. 450 of them, in fact, along a 5-mile stretch through town!
After winding our way through the petunias, we left Charlevoix behind for more stretches of farmland.
We were off to the Horton Bay General Store in Boyne City. Okay, why? Did you forget something?
Nope. In her research, Susie read of Ernest Hemingway’s connection to the Petoskey area of northern Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. When you say Hemingway, everyone thinks of Key West, right? Yes, if you’re an Olsen (or from Florida), but guess what? Wrong…. Michiganians really have a claim. Turns out Mr. Hemingway spent a lot of time in this neck of the woods, most summers for his first couple of decades. He even refers to the Horton Bay General Store in two of his novels. Since the store is still in operation, we had to stop so the Key West man could check it out.
Wait…back up. What’s reflected in the window in that last photo? We were completely unfamiliar with the fluffy tree/bush/plant thing that looks rather like something from a Dr. Seuss book. (Our more botanical friends have permission to laugh at us now.) The specimen near the General Store, and featured in the reflection, is about 15′ tall. Todd went back inside to ask the proprietor what it was.
After leaving the general store, Susie requested a snack stop at the nearby Magnus Park in Petoskey. Todd sensed an ulterior motive more so than treats but went along with it anyway. W-e-l-l, since we’re here, Honey, we may as well spend some time rock hunting. 🙂 Look, several people have buckets of Petoskey stones! How hard can it be?
After more time skipping than actually finding, we continued past the grand houses on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.
We were moving toward the “Tunnel of Trees,” a popular scenic drive on M-119, from Harbor Springs to Cross Village. Wow, what a beautiful drive on a picture-perfect day!
That was all well and good, but the “snack” (a shared savory scone) had worn off. It was almost 1500 and time for some actual food. Not to worry, Susie the Planner had a plan for that, too. We found ourselves at the historic and quirky Legs Inn, specializing in whitefish and polish fare, not to mention woodwork galore. Walk out to the back garden and one can see four lighthouses. What a spot!
With our legs stretched and bellies full it was finally time to get on to the Mighty Mac. Opened in 1957, the Mackinac Bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac, the waterway connecting Lakes Michigan and Huron. At five miles long, this connection between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
And then we drove straight on across. What? We’ll return to explore the U.P. next week. For now, next stop, Canada!
And with that, we’d left the country.
Incidentally, we entered Canada on July 1. While patriotic citizens stateside are planning for the upcoming July 4th Independence Day celebrations, the Canadians celebrate Canada Day on July 1. The holiday marks the 1867 Canada Confederation, when three separate British colonies of the United Province of Canada (now the provinces of Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into a single dominion within the British Empire called Canada.
Happy Canada Day!
Our Travels 