August 19 - 21, 2018: Levering and Otsego, Michigan
August 19 - 21, 2018: Levering, Michigan
We wanted to stop in Michigan and visit Mackinaw Island area, so we found a BoondockersWelcome place in Levering, MI. We stayed for 3 nights with Alan, Lynn, and their two dogs Auggie and Dudley. What a great place to stay! Out in a smaller community in the country, so it was very quiet and peaceful. We had a ton in common with Alan and Lynn so we spent quiet a bit of time on their front porch relaxing, chatting, watching the dogs, and listening to the sand hill cranes and coyotes. What a great spot!
Auggie and Dudley
We got into their place late the first evening and didn't feel like cooking, so we drove into Cross Village, MI and ate at Legs Inn. Our hosts recommended this and it is also listed on Atlas Obsurca. What an incredible place and GREAT Polish food!
More art inside - remember it is all carved from driftwood and materials found in the lakes
Notice the 'legs' on top of the roof
Some of the art around the grounds
Anyone seen the movie Big with Tom Hanks? One of our favorite movies...we were too chicken to try it : )
Waiting outside on the grounds of Legs Inn
Holly's dinner - Taste of Poland. Golabki (cabbage roll), Kielbasa, sauerkraut, and Pierogi. I ate it so fast, did not have time for a picture : )
Craig's dinner - Polski Kutlet (pork tenderloin), sauerkraut and mashed potatoes
Dessert - Salted Carmel Pretzel Crust Brownie - YUMMMM
We watched the sunset on Lake Michigan while eating our dessert
The next day we visited Mackinaw Island. We took the ferry ride over (Classic boat to the island, Hydro jet boat back to the mainland). Once on the island we rented some bicycles (motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island and our electric bikes were not allowed either) and road around the island. We visited the Grand Hotel Carriage Museum, ate lunch at the Grand Hotel and walked around their gardens, and of course...people watched. The streets were filled with horse drawn carriages of all types and bicycles. We had a great time.
Hydro Jet ferry
Riding bicycles around the island. There was coastline, dense forest, and...had to share the road with carriages.
The Grand Hotel carriage that takes guests to the hotel
How garbage is collected from trash cans on the streets
Mackinaw Island in the morning with a lite fog over the island
How the Grand Hotel guest luggage gets to the hotel
The Grand Hotel and their gardens on the left
Some of The Grand Hotel gardens. The movie, Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeves was filmed at this hotel and gardens
Waiting for lunch at The Jockey Club
Of course we had to sample fudge at many shops to determine who made the best and...we got to watch the fudge making process
Fort Mackinaw
Visiting the Carriage Museum
Mission Point
Arch Rock
General buildings along the harbor
​We decided to take the next day as a down day and just catch up on stuff. It rained quiet a bit the entire day and we spent most of it sitting on the porch chatting with Alan and Lynn.
Thank you Alan and Lynn for letting us stay in our trailer at your place!
August 21, 2018: Otsego, Michigan
We are trying to meet up with some friends from Boise (Tom and Carol) who are driving to Maryland area in September. We started heading South more and stopped for one night in Otsego, Michigan. You ask why...Otsego? Two reasons, there was a City Park we could stay in and...it was 18 miles from the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. We knew we would want to spend a lot of time at the car museum, so we wanted to be as close to it as possible.
On our way to Otsego, we stopped for the afternoon in Holland, Michigan for lunch and to wander around. Our friends Candy and Larry recommended to stop here, so we thought why not. In April and May the town is known for it tulips, too bad we missed them. However, we found the downtown, ate lunch, had some coffee and of course....dessert. Ice cream and fudge. We really need to stop doing this! We thought about visiting the Dutch Village but wanted to get on the road continue on. What a great town that we would like to come back and visit more.
The planters in downtown were incredible and so beautiful. The picture on the right as furry cattail type plants in them. No clue what they are, but I will find out.
Lunch where Holly had to try Whitefish since we were in Michigan and then dessert - ice cream and fudge
Great buildings and architecture downtown and all around the town
This night we stayed in Brookside City Park in Otsego. What a GREAT spot! It was $10 a night for water and power. Only 4 spots available so we were not sure if we'd be able to get in or not. There was only one other camper at the park - yahoo! The park was really quiet and nice. We had a lot of our stuff (bike bags, rugs, chairs, etc.) get drenched in the rains from the last two days, we had plenty of room to lay everything out and give it a chance to dry. This is our first experience with staying in a city park and we said "wow, we need to find more of these".
