Treasures from Michigan

Casa de Greenwood

For the past two years Evan and I have taken a summer trip to Michigan to visit his family. We stay at his parents house in Kalkaska and enjoy get togethers with family in the backyard. This year we got to do a lot of tourist type day trips that we hadn’t done on previous visits. We went to see to Torch Lake and had ice cream, went to Traverse City and saw the cherry spitting contest at the National Cherry Festival, went to see Sleeping Bear Dunes and crossed the Mackinac Island Bridge.

My favorite day trip of all was to Mackinac Island. Me, Evan and his parents, Jane and Bob, took the ferry over to the island and had lunch on the main strip. There are no cars allowed on the island. We rented bicycles and rode the 8 mile bike trail around the entire perimeter. Evan and I rode a tandem bike and didn’t kill each other, which I consider a great success since I’m not much of a bicycler. The weather was absolutely perfect for a day spent outside wandering. After our bike trip we walked around the middle of the city past shops and restaurants. We walked up to the Grand Hotel, but didn’t get on the property since it was $15 to walk on the porch. Next time we go, we’ll have lunch there. As we walked through the city, horse drawn carriages and bicyclers passed us by.

At one of the little shops I found this treasure:

It is an umbrella napkin holder (sorry for the crummy picture). When I was little my grandmother used to teach me how to fold dinner napkins, so when I saw this, I thought of her. One is going in the mail to her as soon as I can get myself to the post office.

We had a really nice time exploring Northern Michigan and catching up with the friends and family in Kalkaska.