Mom in Michigan

Mom flew in from Florida to take a break from the heat. We enjoyed a week relaxing at the cottage on Lake Manuka and showing her a little of northern Michigan.

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Found a "beary" good deli for lunch in Gaylord. The girls also spent most of a morning in a quilt shop in this fun, alpine themed, town.

Back on the deck at Judy's cottage, the tripod, a long lens, and gimbal head helped capture a Northern Flicker on a tree stump next door.

Profile pose...

...and launching.

Mom hadn't seen Lake Michigan so that gave us an excuse to visit Petoskey. Bayfront Park has easy parking and great views of the harbor entrance and Little Traverse Bay.

Looking towards Petoskey State Park and Harbor Springs.

The Crooked Tree Arts Center has works by local artists and a traveling show. Always worth a stop even if just to see the interior of this repurposed historic church.

You can walk or bike on a paved path twenty-six miles along Little Traverse Bay. We hope to return with bicycles some summer.

Sunny and warm weather allowed us to eat outside at Knot Just a Bar in the upscale development at Bay Harbor.

We all enjoyed watching the boats come and go in this very protected marina.

This classic wooden yacht is immaculately maintained.

Just down the road is Eastway Park with upper and lower free parking lots. Both offer great views of the bay.

The upper lot has picnic pavilions and is a good place to enter the wheelway.

Eastway park also offers views of the backyards of some of the smaller homes in Bay Harbor.

From Bay Harbor we drove north along the lake through Harbor Springs. Having read about a beautiful route called the Tunnel of Trees, we decided to continue north and see the sights. Don't do this in a large vehicle! The road is narrow, windy, and doesn't have painted lines on the edges or in the center. There are beautiful homes and pretty views of the lake, but there are very few places to turn around. We made it to Middle Village then bailed and headed east on a "normal" road.  It would be much more fun in our old Mini Cooper.

The week with mom was over before we knew it. Beth drove her back to catch a flight from Grand Rapids while I stayed with Miss Lucy. I think we all had a good time!