We got on the road from Escanaba after the fog cleared this fine Sept. 4th morning , and we headed to Marquette, college town for Northern MI University... Gorgeous brick buildings, on the Lake Superior waterfront, and we had a "Sneeches Break" in a waterfront park to eat fabulous salads from The Waterfront Restaurant! SO excellent. After lunch, we moved on to Copper Harbor and skidded in just in time by 8:30 pm, closing time,to grab the last 2 bedroom camper cabin in Fort Wilkins Historical Park and bought two bundles of firewood and immediately decided to stay 2 days, since we could see the rainstorms coming in! What a great place to hole up, right ON THE WATER of Lake Fanny Hooe. Our cabin also came with a row boat and a big fire pit and grill! True, we had to pee outside, but who cares...it's all nature! We got to grill local steaks, eat outside and enjoy a covered porch in the rain...time to read and relax for two whole days. Life is so good!
After two lazy days off, we drove to Eagle Harbor/Eagle River...oh my, don't make me ever leave!
Big Sand Bay Beach caused me to pull over and gape in awe...a windsurfer entertained us with his flips and antics and I was amazed at the sheer beauty of this Heavenly Place! We drove a little further south to find an even More amazing beach with picnic tables sitting ON the beach at the water's edge...no one there on this fine Sept. 5th afternoon! Somebody pinch me!
Hated to move away from this spot, but I made many notes of where I will stay when I return for a two week vacation to enjoy this place without moving on!
Next up was the beautiful drive down to Ontonagon, where we would choose the pet friendly SUNSHINE MOTEL, with it's beach access and it's proximity to The Porcupine Mountains, and we ended up staying two days, because owners Bruce and Kay were stupendous! They built a fire pit for all the travelers and we had drinks and conversations until the rainstorm drove us all inside for the night! There are such good people in the world!
Arose with ease the next morning and took off for a nice long day-trip through The Porcupine Mountains and got to stop at the gorgeous Lake of The Clouds to see this beautiful overlook. We could see for miles and the colors are just starting to change up here, which adds to the beauty. Then we went onward to Presque Isle to see the gorgeous waterfalls of that area of the park and then took a new way home, called " get to the closest gas station"! Bingo's on Hwy. 28 was the place, and we returned to The Sunshine Motel to see Sneeches before taking off to town (Octonagon) for a great thin-crust pizza at Northwoods Cafe! Home to sleep.
Today is Sept. 8th, 2012 already! Where does the time go?
We decided to head back through The Porcupines to enjoy The Summit Peak, and I'm glad we did! What a gorgeous climbing hike through the woods to a beautiful overlook and then on to the Tower to see the entire area below from this Eagles viewpoint at the top! Its a must for travelers who are in this area!
Then off we go, storm clouds threatening us from the West. We decided on Ironwood, but 20 miles out, George took the storm route and continued in the direction of Montana on Hwy. 2, brave soul, and I hightailed it on Hwy. 2 for higher ground East of there. Hard to say goodbye to my traveling partner, "Wingman", but our separate lives call to us from separate directions! I chose the sunny direction, by the way, and am safely tucked in here in Iron Mountain with Sneeches, the Wonder Kitten, at another Pet-Friendly establishment!
My next stop on my way home to Lakeview, MI was Brevort, where Minerva Luella Sneetches, my 11 week old kitten and traveling companion, got to go walking on her leash on the beach. You should have seen how big her eyes got when she saw all that sand!!! We arrived in the beautiful town of St. Ignace, near the bridge, where Sneetches and I chose the pet-friendly Driftwood Motel, right across from the beach. What a great place, with fabulous friendly people as their workers and their guests, and a really great sports bar to watch football! I made new friends while there and will return next year to walk across the Mackinac Bridge again on Labor Day and see everyone again! I'm getting quite brave riding a Harley Trike across the Mackinac Bridge for the 3rd time as I leave St. Ignace and head for home! I believe I conquered my fear of heights while WALKING OVER IT on Sept. 3rd, 2012!!!!
As I headed into the lower peninsula, I couldn't help shouting with glee as I headed immediately toward Lake Michigan and found the greatest little road (after all, it was only 1 lane wide) called Hwy. 119 which I followed for 20 miles through "The Tunnel of Trees"...I stopped several times because I encountered no other cars...just two other bikers, enjoying the same scenery. I just had to get off and admire the view and to tell myself that this has to be one of the treasures of the state of MI! Oh MY...I loved it and will definitely return to ride this one again!
Next up was a ride through Petoskey, Charlevoix, Traverse City, and then I ended the day with a stay in another sweet motel near Interlochen. After touring this campus the next morning, I could see just how fortunate kids would be to be able to study music and the arts in this location. No one was around, so I stood on the large performing arts stage and pretended the audience was in their seats, waiting to see me! LOL~ Wouldn't THAT be nice?
Then I headed home and arrived safely from this fabulous journey on my Harley Trike, and I'm sure Minerva Luella Sneetches loved getting home too. When a Harley goes by the house, I see her stop, stare and take a few steps in that direction...
How does it get better than this?
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