August 12, 2013, Monday - Mackinaw City to Traverse City Michigan.

We're up and bushy tailed at 6 am, Carol is already sitting on the balcony reading.

8-12-13 6:45am Sunrise Mackinaw
City.

6:45 am Sunrise Mackinaw City Michigan.

8-12-13 8:30am A little Mackinaw City history.

8-12-13 8:30 am

8-12-2013 8:30 am.

8-12-2013 8:30am The Mackinaw Bridge

8-12-2013 8:30 am The Mackinaw Bridge

8-12-2013 8:30am.  Lake Huron near the Mackinaw Bridge.

8-12-2013  Lake Huron.

8-12-2013 8:30 am Morning view of the Mackinaw Bridge.

After taking a short walk to Starbucks we head out to take photos of the Mackinaw Bridge.

This is where for me, things start to get exciting in a very different way.  Just ask Carol, I love to drive narrow, curvy roads.

We are driving on lots of very narrow roads, watching for deer and bear.....we saw no bear.

8-12-2013 8:45 am Back to Lake Michigan.

8-12-2013 8:45 am.

8-12-2013 9am

8-12-2013 9am Scenic spot.

8-12-2013 9 am

8-12-2013 9 am Lake Michigan

8-12-2013 9 am.

8-12-2013 9am. Along the shore of Lake Michigan, just north of Harbor Springs.

8-12-2013 9 am Carol on the beach.

8-12-2013 9am Lake Michigan shoreline.

Carol and I stop in Harbor Springs and have a couple of delicious cookies at Tom's Mom's Cookies and just walk around town.  Harbor Springs is a very "high end" town with lots of attitude.

8-12-2013 Tom's Mom's Cookies, Harbor Springs Michigan

8-12-2013 10 am "Peace Keeper" Harbor Springs Michigan

8-12-2013 Harbor Springs Michigan

8-12-2013 10:00 am Harbor Springs Michigan

8-12-2013 10am Harbor Springs Michigan

8-12-2013 10 am Harbor Springs Michigan.

8-12-2013 11am Petoskey Michigan

8-12-2013 11 am We are here. Petoskey Michigan.

8-12-2013 11am Petoskey State Park.

8-12-2013 11 am Lake Michigan at Petoskey

"Antoine Carre, a descendant of French nobility, visited the Petoskey area in the late 1780s.  Carre hooked up with John Jacob Astor's fur company and married a Native American princess from the Ottawa tribe.  Carre so thoroughly assimilated into his wife's tribe that he became a chief and was given the name Neaatooshing.

In the spring of 1787, after spending the winter near what is now Chicago, Neaatooshing and his family began their long trek back to northwest Michigan.  One night during this journey they camped on the banks of the Kalamazoo River.  before daybreak a son was born to the proud chief.  as the sun rose in the morning sky, its rays fell on the newborn's face.  Seeing the sunshine on his child's face, Chief Neaatooshing proclaimed, "His name shall be Petosegay and he shall become an important person."  The Ottawa translation of the name is "rising sun, rays of dawn or sunbeams of promise".

Chief Petoskey's son, Ignatius Petoskey, like his father and grandfather (Neaatooshing) before him, grew up to be chief of his people."

8-12-2013 11am Petoskey State Park.

8-12-2013 11am Lake Michigan

8-12-2013 11am Petoskey State Park.

8-12-2013 Petoskey State Park

Continuing on to The Indian Hills Gallery, where I bought a peach colored Moonstone necklace and a very pretty beaded red bracelet.  Carol bought a present for Wes.

8-12-2013 11:30 am Indian Hills Gallery.

8-12-2013 11:30 am Indian Hills Gallery, Petoskey, Michigan on M119, Indian Owned and Operated.

We stopped at Michigan State Parks, stretched our legs and took several photos.  We also stopped at a fruit farm and got some blue berries and apricots.

We talked to a retired teacher and his son on one of our beach stops, he paints and tells funny jokes and riddles.  I found that Carol was much better at these than I. Maybe it's just me, what do you think?
#1  What do you call an alligator that stirs up trouble?   (I did get this one).
#2  What do you call an alligator that finds things out?
#3  What does a pirate pay for an earrings?

8-12-2013 12 noon. Little Traverse Bay, Michigan.

8-12-2013 12pm.  A gazebo! And me. Traverse City Bay.

8-12-2013 12pm  Little Traverse Bay

8-12-2013 12pm Little Traverse Bay

8-12-2013 12 pm.  Little Traverse Bay scenic walk.



8-12-2013 12noon  Thanks to the couple that took our photo, after we took theirs.  Little Traverse Bay.

8-12-2013 Noon Little Traverse Bay, Michigan.

8-12-2013 12noon.  Really was easy to climb...it was layered. Plus, plus, you see it from down here after you figure out you have to climb all the way back up to get to your car.

8-12-2013 Noon Little Traverse Bay Light house.

8-12-2013 Little Traverse Bay Michigan

8-12-2013 Lighthouse on Little Traverse Bay

8-12-2013 Lighthouse on Little Traverse Bay

8-12-2013 People enjoying the fine day.

8-12-2013 12:45pm Big Rock Point

8-12-2013 12:45pm Big Rock Point, we couldn't find the large boulder.....?

8-12-2013 Big Rock Point.

8-12-2013 Big Rock Point near Little Traverse Bay Michigan

8-12-2013 12:45pm.  Pure Michigan.

Our motel is the Park Sands Hotel in Traverse City.  We checked in at 3pm and then drove to the point, and saw the light house and many beautiful wineries and farms. Tons of wine tasting, which we did not do....I keep wondering how much wine have these other drivers tasted?

8-12-2013 4pm Lighthouse Park

8-12-2013 4pm Lighthouse Park Veteran's Memorial.

8-12-2013 4pm Puppy!!!!

8-12-2013 4pm Hesler Log House sign.

8-12-2013 4pm Old Mission Lighthouse built in 1870.

8-12-2013 Mission Lighthouse.

8-12-2013 4pm. History of the Lighthouse.

8-12-2013 4pm Old Mission Lighthouse.

8-12-2013 4pm The Old Mission Lighthouse on Grand Traverse Bay Michigan.

8-12-2013 Grand Traverse Bay

8-12-2013 The 45th Parallel.

8-12-2013 4pm Grand Traverse Bay.

The country side here is really beautiful, and we saw scenery that there is no way pull off the road and photograph.  Lots and lots of orchards, wineries, dunes and beautiful views.

We came back to the Motel for dinner in the lounge, roasted chicken and prime rib (again, my dinner was better than Carol's, she is not fairing well with meals on this trip).  But we did share a slice of Peanut Butter Pie with was so good.  So good.

Our room has a beach view and the parking lot, we did take a small walk on the beach here but there was a good storm building up. It did rain quite hard with wind, they are predicting a cooler windy day for 8-13-2013.

We found Traverse City to be too crowded to really enjoy, lots of car traffic and you really get the feeling that the locals just want you out of their way so they can get home.  At 5 or 6 pm I think that is understandable if not slightly uncomfortable.

#1  Instigator  #2  Investigator  #3  Buccaneer.