After spending the better part of a day resting in Traverse City, it was time to sight-see. We took Highway 31 from Traverse City to Frankfort, on the shores of Lake Michigan. This is the Frankfort Lighthouse, located on the northern breakwater. The lighthouse was built in 1912, is 67 feet tall and could be seen from over 16 miles. It was taken off-line in 2010 and is now owned by the City of Frankfort.
The walkway to the lighthouse looked pretty challenging so of course I took the hike out to the point. Michelle and Cathy decided to take a short walk on the sand. It became very narrow and the waves were passing over the structure as I neared the lighthouse. I met a fellow on the way back (he was headed out to the point) and I attempted to warn him that the walkway was slippery . . . as he fell and got soaking wet. Luckily, he did not fall in. I had slipped and slid a few times on the way out and was lucky not to go down myself.
A note taken from Google: ” (The walk is) not difficult in nice weather but since the breakwater isn’t very high from the water, the little stroll can become deadly in storms. Unfortunately people have perished walking out to this lighthouse when the wind can suddenly pick up and the waves crash over the breakwater with tremendous fury and power”.
Here is the view of the newer southern breakwater, across the channel from the lighthouse.
This a view of the long, wet walk back. You can not see our truck, parked above the dunes to the right of the walkway. Michelle and Cathy are warm in the truck.
I passed a fisherman near the shore who had caught several rainbow trout (16-18 inches) and told me he had landed two King Salmon here a couple of weeks ago, at about 30 pounds each. I have to keep reminding myself that this IS NOT the ocean but a lake!
The first blast furnace of the Frankfort Ironworks fired up in Frankfort on July 1, 1870. It had 22 kilns to provide charcoal for the furnaces, which produced, at peak, 40 tons of pig iron a day, destined for Detroit and Buffalo. The furnaces required 15,000 cords of hardwood a year to produce the charcoal, and a narrow gauge steam engine was designed to pull the timber from the woods, making it the first steam locomotive in the county.
Evidently Adrian did not make the cut in the 2018 Benzie County Commissioner elections and now her signs are being used for rummage sales.
We stopped at the sale and I found a bird stuck in a window display, desperately trying to escape. Cathy caught the little guy and released him/her outside. After several failed attempts to re-enter the store through the glass, the bird flew off into the nearby trees and disappeared.
We made the mandatory stop at the Ironfish Distillery on the way back to town. We arrived a little early so we had to take a quick tour of the farmland before entering the tasting room. I picked up a small bottle of raspberry liqur for an after-dinner sip. It was wonderful. That evening we had dinner at the Cooks’ House, which is owned by Eric (Michelin Star Chef) and his partner Jen. Of course, the food was outstanding. Afterwards we headed to the local cigar bar and Eric and I enjoyed a sip of whiskey and a cigar before calling it an evening.
In the morning we drove north to the town of Petoskey for lunch and walked around the historic district. The garden club had done a great job of plantings throughout the downtown sections.
This scary guy was sitting in a chair on the sidewalk. It must be October!
After lunch in Petoskey, we drove past Walloon Lake to the little town of Boyne City. This bronze sculpture was in the river near the lake. It memorializes the importance of the loggers in the history of the town.
The waterfront was immaculate and Lake Charlevoix was crystal clear. I walked out on the docks and spotted large rainbow trout swimming by. Following are shots of the docks, the historical information building and water feature, a sculpture of a telescope and the mouth of the river where the logging sculpture is located.
We visited the farmer’s market on Saturday in Traverse City.
Eric and Michelle (well, mostly Eric) treated us to some just-baked pastries for immediate consumption.
I took pictures of some of the veggies, mushrooms and other produce available.
After the Saturday market, we decided to head up the Old Mission Peninsula to visit some wineries. We started off at 2 Lads Winery, a small production facility located on Old Mission Peninsula. 2Lads have 23 acres of established vineyards and specialize in cool climate dry red and sparkling wines, but also have small runs of white wines to round out the lot.
There are many chairs placed for enjoying the wine and the views of the vineyards and Grand Traverse Bay.
Michelle and her friend Karen enjoyed a taste flight of wines at 2Lads.
Our next stop was at Bry’s Estate Vineyard & Winery, a 91-acre estate on Old Mission Peninsula. This winery is notable for its “Secret Garden”. The Secret Garden consists of over 6,000 lavender plants, a fresh flower garden, a strawberry patch, a blueberry patch, and a herb garden. Guests can enjoy strolling the garden, picnic areas and browsing a variety of handmade lavender products in the farmhouse inspired garden shop with a wrap around porch. Lavender lemonade as well as flavors of custom made ice cream using Secret Garden supplied strawberries, blueberries and lavender are offered inside the shop.
Elevated above the vineyard rows, the Upper Deck allows guests to take in spectacular views of the vineyard and East Grand Traverse Bay. This is a panorama photo of the view of the lake from the upper deck.
Below is a closer view of the scenery afforded by the deck viewing area.
The viewing deck offers seating for over 100 guests and the views really are spectacular.
Our final stop was at Mari Vineyards, owned by Marty Lagina, a television personality best known for his appearances on the reality television series “The Curse of Oak Island”. Mari Vineyards was established in 2016 and features head winemaker Sean O’Keefe. Sean brought 20+ years of experience to the winery and his winemaking pedigree is unparalleled. His wines are excellent as are the views of the Grand Traverse Bay from the deck. Cathy, Michelle and Karen enjoyed staring into the direct sunlight for a photo.
Reserved seating for sunset viewing is open.
Michelle enjoyed her tasting.
We left Traverse City near mid-day and drove through the lower half of Michigan, into Ohio, then cut across Ohio on Alt 20 (which parallels the interstate toll road) and traveled through beautiful farmland, rolling hills, and many small historical communities that were well kept and very clean, We spent the evening in a WM Resort then continued on into Pennsylvania. We took an extra effort to keep off the interstates and really experience the countryside. We traveled on Highway 118 from Williamsport to Wilkes-Barre and actually deviated on different side roads to go through the Pennsylvania Amish country. We spent hours of small, narrow roads that were rutted from the horse-drawn carriages between farms and townsites. The farmland here was amazing, almost picture perfect. We probably averaged about 30 mph over this stretch, taking a little longer than planned but the side trips were well worth the time.
Travelling with the Schinglers 