Along the way we saw deer, another large turkey, and some beautiful farms.
We detoured off the main road to drive the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. We were the only ones on the road, and there was still plenty of snow around.
The dunes down to Lake Michigan are incredibly steep and high, and we were warned not to go down them; every year people have to be rescued from the bottom of the dunes because they are so steep, high, and soft and exceedingly difficult to climb.
After a quick stop in Glen Haven...
...it was on to Leland and the Cove Restaurant to try one of their famous "Chubby Mary" cocktails, a twist on the classic Bloody Mary. The restaurant was closed (opens on Mother's Day) but luckily the owner was there when we stopped by and he invited us in for a Chubby Mary. We were the only ones there, so he invited the mutts in too.
The Chubby Mary mixes a local horseradish flavored vodka with Bloody Mary mix, olives, lemon, and -the piece de resistance- a locally caught and smoked Chub fish right in the drink!
One peels the skin of the fish and eats the smoked meat with crackers while enjoying the drink. John and I absolutely loved both drink and fish.
The owner served us some local cheese with our drink, and the cheese was fantastic.
Here is the owner, Sean, and make an effort to stop in this place if ever in Michigan. It's fantastic.
Next door to The Cove, was "Fishtown", a fascinating district.
We stopped at this terrific cheese shop for some local wine and cheeses.
The kind proprietor recommended a local sparkling wine called "Sex" but I favored one named "Detroit". John wanted "Sex" so a bottle of "Sex" is chilling in Vanna's fridge now.
The river was right behind her shop.
We passed thru several very charming villages until we came to Traverse City. If one were inclined to lived in a mid sized town in the mid west, I don't think you could do much better than Traverse City. It is on Lake Michigan, has a thriving downtown, and is surrounded by vineyards and cherry orchards. This was sadly the only pic I took of the city...
....the whole town was cute as can be. This pic does not do the town justice.
Hers a vineyard/winery just north of town:
And here's a cherry orchard. It must be incredibly beautiful here when the trees are in bloom. In a normal year we would have timed it perfectly for the blossoms, but everything is weeks behind this year.
Then on to Charlevoix, another lovely town set between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. It was quite overcast by then so no good pics of Charlevoix.
We drove thru Petosky on our way to Mackinaw City to catch a ferry to Mackinac Island (two different spellings, same pronunciation).
It is cold up here, so we are wearing ski hats and gloves and our thick jackets.
Tomorrow we explore car-less Macinac Island.
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