Traverse City, MI

I was still asleep when Ursula looked out the window and exclaimed, “Oh no, it’s raining!” That woke me up in a hurry, and I immediately started working on a Plan B for the day. Fortunately, the forecast showed the rain tapering off around noon, so we only had to scrap our planned hike in Wilderness State Park. Unless, of course, we wanted to get soaked and spend the rest of the day with muddy shoes.

Before leaving Mackinaw City, we took a quick drive through the downtown shopping and restaurant district and were relieved to discover we hadn’t missed anything important.

From there, we followed scenic country roads to Harbor Springs, where we treated ourselves to an excellent poke tuna and seaweed salad at the Pier Restaurant. According to Wikipedia, Harbor Springs is one of northern Michigan’s prettiest little resort towns. Just a few miles from Petoskey, it has only about 1,300 year-round residents, but during the summer it comes alive with boaters, sailors, vacationers, and cyclists.

Sitting on the restaurant terrace overlooking the harbor, we admired the impressive yachts tied up at the docks. Afterwards, we strolled along the waterfront, taking photos of the beautiful homes, many of them painted white. It didn’t take long to realize that this charming little town is home to a considerable amount of wealth.

Next, we made a small detour to buy fresh strawberries from an organic farm. While we were there, we noticed a winery across the fields and, on a whim, decided to stop for a tasting. The wine wasn’t exactly something to write home about, but the visit turned out to be worthwhile anyway. We met Cathleen and Tom, the parents of the winery owner, who shared the story of how they had purchased the property from a large landowner for their daughter and son-in-law. They admitted they didn’t know much about wine, but they certainly knew the history of the place. It’s amazing how much you can learn by simply talking to strangers.

With that, it was time for the longer drive to Traverse City. This time, we let Google Maps choose the fastest route. By then, the rain had completely stopped, patches of blue sky appeared, and the sun even made a welcome appearance.

Our home for tonight and tomorrow is the Travelodge by Wyndham. We finished the day with an excellent sushi dinner at Red Ginger downtown. As we walked out of the restaurant at 9 PM, we noticed the blue sky above us.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast looks very promising.Read more