After another sumptuous breakfast in the dining room, we packed up and headed south to check out two stops that came highly recommended by family and friends (thank you Jen, Leni, and Cleone), both in Glen Arbor.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a national park since 1970, covers a 35-mile-long stretch of Lake Michigan’s eastern coastline as well as two islands. It’s known for its diversity of plants and animals, miles of sand beach, and bluffs that tower 450 feet above Lake Michigan. Getting to the famous bluffs with their even more famous views below involves a three and a half mile round trip hike in the sand. Up one dune and down the backside. Up the next dune and down the backside. And repeat and repeat until you are awed by the view. Dan and I climb a third of the way to where we could see Lake Michigan in the distance and called it a morning.

After the hike we visited Sleeping Bear Point Coast Guard Station Maritime Museum, a Life-Saving Service station in use until the 1940s. It is typical of the 60 stations that were once along the Great Lakes. The outdoor museum includes the home where the number one guy, the captain, and his family lived with the seven-man crew and a boat house where rescue equipment was stored. An enthusiastic guide walked us through the fine points of a) getting the surfboats to the water and b) the use of a Lyle gun, a line (rope) thrower powered by a short-barreled cannon.

So, how did the heavy, super sturdy surfboats get to the water’s edge? The crew pushed them on rails laid in a track on top of the sand as far as the track allowed and then horses, borrowed from locals, pulled them the rest of the way. And the Lyle gun? Once in place on the beach this gun shot a 19 pound steel projectile with a light line tied to it over the distressed ship. As the line fell across the ship, the crew could grab it and pull out heavier lines to rig a breeches buoy that could be pulled back and forth between the ship and shore. None of us knew anything about a breeches buoy, so she next explained that it was a life ring with a pair of canvas breeches (pants) sewn into it. The person being rescued would sit in the breeches buoy and be pulled to shore. Live and learn.

On our way out of the park we drove through tiny Glen Haven, a company town from 1865 to 1931 that is being revived, repaired, and rebuilt. Originally a dock for Glen Arbor, the site soon became a fuel supply point for ships traveling up and down the lake. Enterprising folks saw profits in adding a lumber business, an inn, a general store, and a blacksmith shop. Slowly a company town was born and is now being reborn.

Our reward for all that climbing and learning was as good a fish (lake perch) and chips lunch as we’ve ever had. Dan and I each got SIX filets lightly dusted in cornmeal and fried to perfection. After complaining about the easily-enough-for-two portion of fish we both devoured it all. Then it was time to shop. First for a Hemingway book in honor of the trip to Michigan, then a new sweater in honor of it catching my eye, and finally everything we could dream of with even a hint of cherry. Liqueurs, soft drinks, dried fruit, chocolate covered fruit, scones, jams, jellies, sauces, and more are available at Cherry Republic. Add a tasting room, restaurant, and a pit spitting alley and you have yourself a one-stop enterprise honoring the fact that Michigan’s Northwest Lower Peninsula is the largest producer of tart cherries in the country.

We knew we’d have a short night, so we headed the two and a half hour drive north back to Pellston, home of the cute airport. We dropped our bags at the hotel, returned the car, had a drink at the airport bar, and walked the quarter mile back to the hotel.

If all goes according to plan we’ll get up at 4:00, transfer a quarter of a mile to the airport at 5:15, take off at 6:30, land in Detroit at 7:30, layover for seven hours, and take off for home at 2:30. With good luck we should walk in the door by 5:00.

Bottom line: Michigan did not disappoint. We now see what all the fuss is about.

PS: Thank you Deb and Tom.