Sutton’s Bay

Chapter 9….

Wednesday evening we decided to check out the North Country bar and grill in Sutton’s Bay! What a quaint little town. It quickly became John’s favorite. Inside was rustic and the glossy wood was gorgeous. It had a small U shaped bar and less then 10 tables. It also had a heated patio on the side. We sat at a small table for 2. John was blown away with the fish options. I chose a cheeseburger with no bun that they grilled outside! John had the whitefish! We both had a salad with homemade croutons that had a sweet (and delicious) flavor!

After dinner we walked around the park and marina behind the bar. They had an adorable park on the sand and it made me miss my nanny kids. The library was just a cute house. The marina housed beautiful boats. Across Grand Traverse Bay you could see the cherry orchard!

A friendly tavern and fishing!

Chapter 8….

For lunch we stopped at Joe’s friendly tavern in Empire. Another very small town that reminded me of New Martinsville, WV. It had a store or two, a restaurant and a post office. The restaurant was like a small rustic diner. The servers were so friendly and the food was delicious.

After lunch John was itching to fish. We went back up North, just outside of Leland. We found a cute little park with tree trunk stairs leading down to the water. John didn’t catch anything but i think he just enjoyed fishing on the beautiful lake.

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive

Chapter 7….

As we were driving back up north we saw a sign for a scenic tour. We thought hey why not. We honestly had no idea what we were in for but that’s what makes vacation fun. We are so glad we did this. It was like a behind the scenes tour of the dunes and some beautiful overlook spots of Lake Michigan. You basically drive around this large gorgeous park, through the woods, and then there are parking lots for photo opportunities. This is another must see when you are up at Sleeping Bear!

Small towns, good eats

Chapter 6….

For lunch we ate in the VERY small town of Cedar. Yes the sweet little town with the man in overalls. We ate at the Cedar Tavern. Honestly i think it was the only place to eat, but John saw it on the drive in and wanted to check it out. The inside was rustic and clean. It had a long bar and about a dozen tables. The bar tender and cook were the only 2 people working. There were several other couples eating inside and they all appeared to be locals. The chili was so good! Our lunch hit the spot and we were ready for the next adventure!

For dinner we ate at Dick’s Pour House. This is a bar and grill closer to our cabin. This restaurant was very outdoorsy and John loved it. Our waitress was Roseanne. You know the sitcom? Yep it was her and i loved it. Our food was was really good. John had smelt and he was very excited this was even on the menu!

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Chapter 5….

Tuesday afternoon we dedicated to climbing the dunes. It’s miles of loose sand and the higher you go, the more beautiful the view. You are surrounded by Lake Michigan, farm land and Glen Lake. The climb can be strenuous at times, but i promise it’s worth it. Also doesn’t hurt to be in decent shape when planning on climbing to the top! Enjoy the tons of photos we took!

Sleeping Bear Point

Chapter 4…

Next stop….Sleeping Bear Point. We actually didn’t set out to go here, but on our way to the dunes we saw a sign. First we stopped to check out the old Glen Haven village. Although once a place where docks supplied fuel to steamers, it quickly became a village of farming, canning fruit and now tourism. There are only a few buildings. One is a general store, the second is an old blacksmith building and the large building on the water is the old cannery. This large building was a warehouse where they canned cherries in the early 1920’s. Today it is used as a small museum of historic boats that were used around Glen Haven.

After our tour of the village we headed just down the street to the old coast guard station and life saving building. Inside the museum Mary showed us all the boats and equipment they used from 1902-1939. The Lyle gun was my favorite. They fired this rescue line to boats in distress and used a pulley system to retrieve a stranded boat. The station moved because the sand dunes started to bury it. Behind the building are the tracks they used to transport the boats to and from the water!

Glen Arbor Township

Chapter 3….

Good morning from paradise! This morning we woke up and it was chilly! Fall is definitely right around the corner. We woke up a little bit before sunrise and the inn keepers were just setting up the coffee and oatmeal bar on the main porch. This was just steps away from our cabin and the coffee was SO GOOD!!!

We headed down the M22 to check out another small town, Glen Arbor. As soon as we hit the town we were so excited to get out and walk around. We had breakfast at a small corner bar. Arts Tavern definitely had the small town feel. The decor was sporty and every inch was covered with pennants from every sports team and college in the US!

After breakfast we walked to the lake. It was windy but the water was beautiful. The blue and green was so vibrant and no matter how deep the lake is, you can see the bottom. The sand is soft and very fine. I can’t believe I’m standing on Lake Michigan. I feel like I’m in the Caribbean!

We headed back down the road to explore the town some more. It was quiet and were the only tourists. This town is full of old buildings and unique art pieces. The have a small post office, book store, gallery, clothing stores, ice cream shops, a fudge shop, a small plaza with a hair salon, lawyers office and clothing store. They also have a small outdoor store, real estate office and winery.

We stopped inside the Cherry Republic shop. This was a beautiful little spot. They had a retails shop, a fresh cherry stand, a restaurant and a wine tasting building. They sell more cherry based products then you could even imagine. This place was founded in 1989 and every year it continues to grow.