Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Come Ride Along

You are welcome to ride along with us as we continue our motorcycle ride up the western coast of Michigan.


I think this was probably a wonderful time of the year to enjoy the sights along the way.  Of course Michigan is known for all kinds of agriculture.  Probably the most famous is the blueberry crop and we did manage to stop at one of the many roadside stands.  I didn't think fresh fruit would make it all the way home so our only purchase there was a jar of sugar free blueberry jam.   
This was also the season for cherry picking.  We actually saw more cherry orchards than anything and many were of the "you pick" variety.  Can you tell which trees are cherry trees in the photo above?  They were truly bursting with color!  



We drove up through  the Old Mission area in the Grand Traverse Bay were many of the Michigan wineries are located. However, it was Sunday and they weren't open yet and  I  would have had to wait until after noon to buy a bottle of wine at this cute little General Store.  ( I did try, but was a couple of hours early!)

Oops, these two photos are not in order as to our route, but I did want to include them.  Lake Michigan is a boater's heaven.  The clear beautiful blue waters on the eastern shores draw many vacationers, especially from the Chicago area.  The marinas over here are very nice and this one  in Ludington  holds some memories for us. It's a long story, but we visited here in our own boat with a group cruise across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin many years ago.  An adventure that we'll never repeat, but one that we'll never forget.

After stopping for lunch in Ludington at nice little brew pub near the water, we noticed that a tire on our trailer was going flat.  Luckily, there was a tire repair place right downtown, near some cute shops.  So I browsed while D was in charge of tire repair!  

Up to the U.P.!  This was my view as we drove across the Mackinac Bridge.  What you can't tell though is how hard I was hanging on because it was VERY windy.  The water of the lakes, Michigan on the left and Lake Huron on the right was beautiful. The grated roadway in the left lane was a little disconcerting when riding on a motorcycle however. 


We spent the night in St. Ignace at the Best Western Harbour Point.  It is a nice motel with Lake Huron views that we'd recommend if you're in the area.  After dinner (and a small delay concerning a dead battery that I really don't need to expand upon) we drove to the end of a street in this small town and found a beautiful view of the bridge at sunset. 

I'll leave you tonight with this photo of  some of the residents of the lake shore at our motel.  More to follow soon.  Thanks for joining us on this leg of the trip!


6 comments:

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Beautiful photos Janet. Such a pretty place. Love the barn of course. I want one. :-) think my neighbors will mind?

Michelle said...

What night were you at St. Ignace? We rode over that bridge on Saturday, (yes, VERY windy)went to Mackinac Island, and stayed over night at the Econo lodge in Mackinaw City, starting our journey to Canada Sunday morning. Right now, we are in Niagara Falls, NY. A scary place indeed. I can't wait to get out of here.

Lori said...

Thanks for bringing us along. I've always wanted to do a circle tour of Lake Michigan but we haven't quite gotten around to it yet. It looks beautiful.

Sharon said...

I am so ready for a trip... thanks for sharing, I can take a virtual trip with you! Lovely pics! Have a safe and wonderful trip!

Thimbleanna said...

Very pretty photos! I'm guessing you can't take a motorcycle onto Mackinac Island?

Anonymous said...

Oh your post makes me homesick! I'm from Traverse City and now live near Philly. I miss the Michigan summers. Someday I'll make it back up there.