Friday
Deb and Tom headed back to Betty’s for breakfast this morning and Dan and I enjoyed a lie-in and later had coffee and shared a breakfast burrito from the takeout deli in the lobby. At 10:00 we met and headed 15 miles north to Petoskey, population somewhere under 6,000.

Petoskey has a vibrant downtown with an impeccably maintained area called the Gaslight District. Named for the historic gas lamps I’m guessing. A shopping area for more than 100 years, this district is bursting with independent shops, boutiques, and galleries. We popped in and out of Deb and Tom’s favorite shops before ordering a takeout lunch that we enjoyed at a picnic table in a small, flower-laden public park.

Little Traverse Bay is a hop, skip, and a jump from the Gaslight District and is accessible by road as well as a nicely landscaped walkway. We went down with two missions in mind: check out the quaint Little Traverse Historical Museum, where Corn Roast tickets are now on sale, and walk on the beach in search of Petoskey stones.

The little museum, housed in a former railway depot, was interesting and fun. There was a small exhibit with pictures of influential women from the area; fun food displays that talked about the days when a ticket for 21 meals at the Petoskey Cafe could be bought for $3.50 (1901) and fresh lobster arrived from Massachusetts once a week (during prohibition); Odawa Indians and their black ash baskets; and the part the area played in the family life of the Hemingways who summered at a cottage on Walloon Lake near here.

The state rock is the Petoskey stone which is comprised of fossilized skeletons of once-living coral polyps. Our treasure hunt at the water’s edge for these brownish stones had to be called off because of rain.

Deb did not sleep well last night and wasn’t feeling tip top today, so we checked into Michigan Inn & Lodge mid-afternoon so she could have some downtime before dinner tonight. Deciding to play it on the safe side, Tom took her to urgent care and sad to report she really is ill. The rest of the day was well spent tracking down prescriptions, getting takeout, and making arrangements for Deb and Tom to head home ahead of schedule.

We are all disappointed in this unexpected turn of events after all the postponing and the detailed planning that Deb put into the trip but agree that it’s best she recover at home surrounded by their dogs, her flowers, their garden, and her things.

Saturday
MacMuffins around in our respective rooms kicked off the day followed by Dan and Tom sussing out a couple of meds that were unavailable last night. Dan and I have decide to stay on, so while the guys were out shopping I worked on logistics for the rest of the trip.

Mid-afternoon Dan and I dropped Deb and Tom at their hotel in Pellston, so they could get organized and rested up as much as possible for their trip home tomorrow. We headed east to Cross Village, population 100+/-.

Village seems a bit of an overstatement in that all we saw was a cute rock church, a couple gift shops, a post office, and a funky restaurant. The 100 year old restaurant, Legs Inn, is touted as the second most iconic restaurant in Michigan and clearly the draw. The roofline is trimmed with metal legs from old stoves, hence the name, and the interior is bedazzled with the fantastical creations made of tree roots, limbs, and driftwood created by the restaurant’s founder, Stanley Smolak. In homage to his heritage the gift shop sells primarily things from Poland, everything from chocolate to jewelry to pottery. Quite a find tucked away on the banks of the lake.

One end of The Tunnel of Trees is in Cross Village. Once we had appreciated all that the village had to offer we drove the narrow, no center line, 20 mile route along a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan under a peaceful canopy of branches.

After a quick stop at Pond Hill Farm, a real farm that offers food, live music, a huge playground, farmers market, amazing views, and a gift shop, we went on down the road to Harbor Springs. This tiny town of 2,000 boasts the deepest freshwater harbor in the Great Lakes. We snagged dessert at Tom’s Mom’s Cookies, the cutest cookie emporium on the planet, and then went on a hunt for dinner finally settling on The Paper Station for more delicious Walleye.

We’re sleeping in Petoskey again tonight.