After an incredibly busy spring and summer, it was time for our annual fishing trip. Having missed our spring getaway we decided to leave a few days early and visit friends that now live in Michigan. To save on some of the driving we took the car ferry across Lake Michigan.
When we boarded the ferry it was quite foggy and the choppy water made for an unpleasant voyage for Rod.
It was about 7:30 once we got into port and they’d unloaded the truck from the ferry.
After a couple more hours on the road we arrived at our friends house in the woods. It had been a long day of travel, so it was nice to unwind with a cold beer and good company. The next morning Don lead Rod and I on a leisurely walk in their woods while Michael made us a delicious breakfast.
We started the afternoon with a stop at the Grocer’s Daughter chocolate shop http://www.grocersdaughter.com/ where we purchased more chocolates adding to the collection we started at a popular old candy shop in Manitowoc. After all who can resist really good chocolate?? 😉 Our next stop was Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore http://www.sleepingbeardunes.com/
An older gentleman offered to take a picture of the four of us.
Pictures just can’t show how truly awesome these views are.
From the park we travelled north to Leland where we stopped at a coffee roaster. Not only did we get a good cup of coffee, we purchased a pound of Jamaica Blue Mountain beans . . . oh so smooth, a real treat!!
In Leland we checked out Fishtown. One of the only working commercial fishing villages in Michigan. http://www.lelandmi.com/fishtown/
One of the old shanties housed an artisan tile maker. Among the many beautiful tiles we found one for behind the stove.
We will use fill in tiles from Habitat Re-Store to complete our hanging. This should prove to be a fun winter project.
The next day we were shown a unique preservation of an old asylum http://www.thevillagetc.com/ It is quite an impressive undertaking. On the grounds is a brick oven bakery, and Left Foot Charley Winery http://www.leftfootcharley.com/ along with many other little shops and businesses. We end the day with some local pub fare and say our good-byes as we continue north getting a few more hours drive out of the way before crossing Mackinac Bridge the next morning.
Another full day of driving and we are at our cabin on Thousand Island Lake, one of 15 lakes on the Cisco Lake Chain which is located on the Wisconsin/Michigan border. The resort we stay at is on the Upper Peninsula (UP) side. Fishing this year was slow, but we did manage to catch enough to freeze a package.
We did a lot of driving this fall fishing trip, but it was worth seeing our good friends. As we tap into our jug of Cinnamon Girl cider from Left Foot Charley’s – we think back on our short but fun visit with Don & Michael.
Here’s to good times with good friends!