Lake Michigan Circle Tour

Clint doesn't crack jokes too often, but when he does he makes me laugh! As we drove past the sign for Des Plaines, Wisconsin, he pointed and hollered, "Des Plaines! Des Plaines!" We weren't quite on Fantasy Island, but we were coming close--Mackinac Island is a fantasy come true for me, as well as my dear friend, Julie. If anyone remembers the movie, "Somewhere in Time," starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, they might recall some of the scenes taking place in a beautiful hotel. The movie was filmed on Mackinac Island in all its old-fashioned splendor. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Milwaukee held about 3,000 fantasies for Clint! That's right, we toured the brand new Harley-Davidson Museum. It really was fun to see those perfectly maintained motorcycles and to read about the history of the company. So Clint's appetite for another Harley is thoroughly whetted now! Between the museum and all the Harley riders on the road, hair flying in the breeze, he's raring to get another one upon our return home. Clint had more fantasies satisfied in Milwaukee (get your minds out of the gutter!) when we toured the Miller Brewing Company. The tour was interesting--especially the tasting part. They gave each of us three steins full of beer to try. I was SO sluggish the rest of the afternoon! Nevermore... We stayed in a campground right on the shores of Lake Michigan that night and then it was my turn to be thrilled. They had a heated (82 degrees) indoor swimming pool. I can't tell you how good it felt to exercise my bum leg!

Door County, Wisconsin, is simply gorgeous. Rolling hills of farmland that stretch right to the shores of Lake Michigan. Corn growing, sandhill cranes eating in the fields, and Canada Geese covering the beaches...except when we scare them and they take flight. We saw some cute signs as we travelled through: Birdbath and Beyond; Honest Injun's Tourist Trap. And before we knew it, we'd crossed from Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

And, of course, the farther north we got, the more beautiful the leaves became. But we're still hoping to catch the New England leaves at their peak. Now, it's time for me to talk about Mackinac Island. We caught the ferry that left at 9:30 the next morning and there were 6 of us hardy souls who sat on the upper deck in the cold--the others were Wisconsinites! The Great Lakes area is full of lighthouses, but the Round Island Lighthouse that we passed on the ferry trip seemed particularly beautiful. Mackinac is full of Victorian houses, flowering gardens (even this late in the season!), and horses--600 of them! And they take the majority of the horses off the island for the winter--to the Upper Peninsula where it's even colder! But we discovered they just don't want to have to ship in all that hay and feed. It has nothing to do with the weather. We did take a carriage tour of the island and had lunch at the Grand Hotel. And the island is known for its fudge, so we got some at JoAnn's Fudge (just like you did, Cousin JoAnn!). There's a secret photo in this blog. Whoever can guess what it is will get a gift card to...oh, I don't know, a restaurant or See's or something. We had a magical day on Mackinac Island, then it was on to my favorite town, so far: Petoskey, Michigan.

We stayed at the nicest, award-winning KOA campground that night where they offered all kinds of free food: homemade doughtnuts (Maureen, they were just like Mom used to make!); apples; and ice cream sundaes. (By the by, earlier that week we went through the Wisconsin town where Ice Cream Sundaes claim to be invented.) Then we discovered Petoskey the next morning. I've never seen such beautiful Victorian architecture in my life! The entire town is simply pristine with a gorgeous boat harbor. We wandered through town and bought a cherry pie from Jespersen's Restaurant, purported to have the best cherry pies in the world--according to many magazines including The New Yorker. And it was good. And since it is Clint's favorite pie, it was gone before morning! From Petoskey, we headed south along Lake Michigan to Charlevoix where we happened upon an Oktoberfest celebration. So, of course, we had to have a brat and a beer and listen to the oom pah music. We wanted to see the Dachshund race, but it was going to be much later in the afternoon. So, we continued on to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where we camped for the night.

The Lakeshore is full of sand dunes that go right down to Lake Michigan. The area is full of chipmunks and beautiful trails. We spent many hours there, then continued on down the coast to Holland, Michigan, where we spent last night. Today, after spending some time at this gorgeous library, we'll go see an authentic Dutch Mill here in Holland, Gerald Ford's Museum and Meijer Gardens both in Grand Rapids. So much to see...we're so grateful for this fabulous experience.

Oh...I tried to take a good photo of the interior of our camper for those of you who think we just have a bed. I took the photo while on the bed trying to show the dinette, kitchen, fridge, and hanging closet. The bathroom, complete with shower, is behind the dinette. So, we're really very comfortable!