On July 12, 2022, I drove up to Elsa Frohman & Judi Grant’s house because the three of us were going to travel to Traverse City and beyond. We left the next morning after breakfast at a nearby diner. Our first stop at a road stop had some irate gulls with strong opinions.
Angry Gull at Road Stop in Michigan
Once we got to Traverse City, we found our hotel, checked in, then went into the downtown area for lunch. To my delight, the girls picked Taproot Cider House as our eatery. The rest of the day follows as photos.
My hard cider flight at Taproot in Traverse City. My favorite was the second one, which had blueberry in it.The bar at Taproot. Loved the roots and plants that were dotted all over the restaurant. Food and cider were both tasty!Loved this old theater in Traverse City. Alas, we were over a week too early for the film festival.Me & Judi at the pier in Traverse City.Me and Grand Traverse Bay (part of Lake Michigan).Judi, me, and Elsa in front of Grand Traverse Bay.A cute sculpture at Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City.
Day two was our day to explore the nearby peninsula. It was covered in cherry orchards and vineyards. We had lunch at Bad Dog Diner and our supper was in TC at Brasserie Amie. (Mmmm, escargot!)
The Mission Point Lighthouse near Traverse City (tip of a nearby peninsula).I love Fresnel lenses. This is a similar lens that was used when this lighthouse was in operation. It’s Fifth Order (which means next-to-smallest size lighthouse lens). I took the 37 stairs (including the nearly vertical last few steps) to the top of the lighthouse to get this shot.See, evidence that *I* went up the stairs to the Lighthouse. After I got down from the lighthouse, I walked along the beach I had been looking at.This is one way to keep fallen trees off of the walking path. This is in the woods at Old Mission Park, where the lighthouse resides.The 45th Parallel apparently runs through the beach I was on earlier, but here’s a sign commemorating it.The girls let me take a longer hike through the woods near the lighthouse. The scenery was lovely and green.A selfie on the hike – was so lovely to hear the surf while I hiked parallel to the coast.This nice granite bench was in the woods near a path to the shore.The view from the granite bench – a path to the beach.A meeting of boulders in the woods.A replica log cabin church with steeple and bell. This was on the peninsula we visited as we returned to Traverse City.A purple larkspur at Secret Garden as Brys Estates (still on the peninsula). A clump of lavender at Secret Garden at Brys Estates.A field of lavender plants at Secret Garden at Brys Estates.Black-eyed susan (as identified by Picture This) at Secret Garden at Brys Estates.Orange lily at Secret Garden at Brys Estates.Oxeye daisies at Secret Garden at Brys Estates.Still at Secret Garden at Brys Estates.A gazebo at the Secret Garden at Brys Estates. See the grape vines to the left? Brys Estates is also a winery.After our peninsula visit, the girls dropped me off in downtown so I could do some shopping. I ended my trip back at Taproot for another flight of ciders.
For day three, we headed to the Upper Peninsula (UP) to check out the Tahquamenon Falls and Whitefish Point. Then we returned to our hotel, Breaker’s Resort & Beach Bar in St. Ignace for an evening of quality food (with slow service) and bonfires on the beach.
Elsa and Judi walking to the Upper Falls at Tahquamenon Falls.Upper Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan.Elsa, me, and Judi at the Upper Tahquamenon Falls.Some of the 94 steps and landings down to the Upper Tahquamenon Falls. That I climbed down & back up again. Just saying.The Upper Tahquamenon Falls from the overlook.Me and the Upper Tahquamenon Falls. I climbed the 94 stairs down (and then back up again).I took the scenic path back to the parking lot while the girls stuck to the paved path. Lots of ferns on the ground!None of the woods near me have ferns for undergrowth. It looked so magical like woods in a fairy tale. I did not speak to any wolves while returning to the parking lot.After we visited the Upper Falls, we traveled (by car) to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls. These are a series of falls on either side of an island that splits the river. Elsa, Judi, and I were surprised to find people playing around in the falls. It’s apparently a popular spot to go & play in. Even dogs were having fun.Judi and I decided to walk the one mile or so path to the island in between the two falls. Then I walked the path around the island. This is a more paved section of that path.I wore shoes & socks when we visited the Tahquamenon Falls. I might have gone into the river at the Lower Falls had I been wearing my Chaco sandals.A view of one of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls without any people in shot. Docks on the island between Lower Tahquamenon Falls. So peaceful!Another view of Tahquamenon River from the Island between the Lower Falls.You can see the mainland trail and overlook from the Island. I imagined Judi sitting at the overlook, but turned out she was farther back. I’m guessing sitting in rapids at Lower Tahquamenon Falls is like a whirlpool bath. With cold water…The rock formations that the mainland overlook sits upon are interesting in their own right.After we left Tahquamenon Falls we went on to Whitefish Point to visit the Shipwreck Museum there. Here’s the lighthouse. Around 20 years after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank (in 1995!) near Whitefish Point, they were able to remove the bell from the ship and replace it with another that had all of the names of the men who died when it sank. Banana! (OK, so it’s not really a minion. It’s the amped-up diving suit used to remove the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald.)Now *that’s* a Fresnel lens! I had no idea what “Fifth Order” or “Second Order” were when I first saw them on the placards. Turns out Second Order is the second largest Fresnel Lens that Fresnel originally made. First order was biggest, 5th was next to smallest, etc. A few other sizes have since been added.Now *that’s* an anchor! If we hadn’t spent so long at the Falls, I might have felt more inclined to read more of the placards of the various shipwrecks in the museum.So you think I might like Fresnel lenses? I also like saying “fre-NEL” out loud. This is a Fourth Order lens, bigger than the one from Mission Point but smaller than the other one in the museum.The view from our hotel room at Breaker’s Resort at St. Ignace. On the horizon you can see Mackinac Island, which we three visited several years ago.Judi and I went down to the beach after supper to sit by the bonfire with a nice Middle Eastern family. The bonfire on the beach was lovely and the family that we hung out with were also lovely. The matriarch of the family is in the process of making coffee for the group.Awww, ain’t Judi and I cute????? Photobomb by Lake Huron.Judi wanted evidence that she had gotten into the water so she could send it along to her friend in Chicago. I also walked in the surf. It was a lovely evening.I had said the family by the bonfire were nice – they shared their coffee with us. The patriarch of the family said it was Caribbean coffee. Judi said it could grow hair on your chest. I had several sips. It was coffee. (I don’t like coffee.)
Our final day of our trip had Judi and I up early to take photos of the sunrise over Lake Huron. Then we had breakfast in our hotel before heading on to the delights of St Ignace: Castle Rock, The Museum of Ojibwa Culture, shops, and pasties. We picked up UP pasties for lunch (mine was veggies & cheese, the girls got beef) which we ate in Bridge View Park while looking at the Mackinac Bridge. I wound up driving over it both ways on our trip.
When I realized our hotel faced East, I told Judi I was intending to get up & take photos of the sunrise over the water. To my surprise, she decided to join me.Here’s a close up as the sun rises. The sun’s almost completely up!Is it the sun or is it the letter i?Final shot of the morning. I’m glad we got up to take photos that day.I decided 94 stairs up & down to the falls wasn’t enough. I wanted to climb the 160+ steps to Castle Rock outside of St. Ignace, too. I turned around at one point to get this shot.The ramp to Castle Rock. That’s I75 down there. And Lake Huron. Me on Castle Rock. I’m on top of the world, ma!A nice family took my photo standing on Castle Rock. Castle Rock from the ground. You can see the start of the stairs in the lower left of the photo.Some native costumes at the Museum of Ojibwa Culture at Old Mission. The museum and gift shop was quite nice and the ladies attending it told me how to pronounce Ojibwe/Ojibwa, Anishinaabe, and miigwech. I’d read the words but never heard them aloud. (I was doing well on all but the middle term.)Castle Rock’s little brother, St. Anthony’s Rock. This is in St. Ignace behind the shops on the main drag.Judi, me, and Elsa at Bridge View Park overlooking the Mackinac Bridge. We had UP-fashioned meat pies (well, mine was veggie & cheese) which we ate in Elsa’s car while looking at the bridge.Me and Mackinac Bridge.Another view of Bridge View Park and the bridge in question. Me driving over Mackinac Bridge. Judi was kind enough to try and get some photos of the trip since I was otherwise engaged.Here’s a closer view of the Mackinac Bridge that Judi took for me. It’s a 5-mile long bridge!
The next morning I took a walk to the boat launch near Elsa & Judi’s place and sat and enjoyed the moment. But soon we were off to Warren, MI for dim sum. After our brunch, I bade my dear friends a fond farewell. And now I’m hoping that the very, very faint line on the positive mark of my COVID-19 test this afternoon is a false positive. 🙁
The trip is done and I sit on a bench at the boat launch on 9-Mile at St. Clair Shores. I had a lovely trip and I really hope I don’t have COVID-19 as a result of said trip!
