Category Archives: Michigan

August 10, 2026 · 10:11 pm

Fulton Street Market/Grand Rapids and PennyRoyal cafe/Saugatuck, cannabis dispensaries/New Buffalo— Michigan

We have eaten very well this trip at sophisticated, veg-driven farm-to-table places with lovely gardens and garden ingredients. The “farmer’s Scramble” (eggs, cheese, sautéed onions, squash and tomatoes) at PennyRoyal Cafe on the outskirts of Saugatuck was wonderfully fresh and tasty, served with perfectly browned crispy potatoes and muesli bread.

The place looks humble from the two lane BluE Star Highway, outside downtown Saugatuck but chef Missy Corey is a James Beard award semi finalist producing interesting takes on classic fare, with a focus on quality ingredients. We waltzed in at 1:45 pm on a Saturday and ate in a lovely shaded courtyard with native plants but the small casual dining room is cool – with an open kitchen, copper bar for seating and landscapes by a local artist. Easy in and out, minus the tourist crush in downtown Saugatuck.

Esch beach, Honor, MI

We also made a quick stop at the Fulton Street Market in a transitional neighborhood of Grand Rapids. The open air market is one long corridor, with a roof, packed with Michigan produce. We arrived around 1, when some vendors were looking to unload their produce. We may be eating green beans and basil for days.

Last stop, two cannabis dispensaries (yes, you read that right) in New Buffalo. I’ve been trying CBD/CBN gummies as a sleep aid but both stores I visited (Mango and Bowdega) were sold out of the kind I’ve been using (Camino deep sleep) so I ended up with another brand and a bunch of free samples that I don’t know what I’ll do with!

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August 8, 2026 · 6:41 pm

Farm Club & Higher Art in TC; Ketch 22 and MT plate diner in Arcadia

On our one slightly rainy day (the weather has otherwise been perfect, sunny, in high 70s and low 80s), we took a,pretty 1/2 hour or so drive to Traverse City where we had a lovely meal at a farm to table place called Farm Club that is perched on the edge of a pretty swath of yes, farmland.

Arcadia,Mount Baldy

We shared a fresh vegetable plate with two refreshing dips and delicious onion rings that were surprisingly light, tempura style, crunchy with drizzled hot sauce.At Higher Art, a gallery on Front Street, I found a perfect housewarming gift for a friend who may be reading this.

Airbnb dining
Airbnb, Honor
Farm Club

The next day we went to Arcadia, a very pretty village south of here,where we took a short hike through the woods and around a sandy bluff to huge dune called Mount Baldy overlooking shimmering blue Lake Michigan,drove around the lovely old Watervale Inn and resort and had a good lunch at the food truck KEtch 22 and neighboring coffee truck.

Ketch 22

There’s another new restaurant, MT Plate Diner, across the street that looked promising. We also stopped at the famous Gwen Frostic studio outside Beulah.

Gwen Frostic

Although this Airbnb maybe too expensive to stay at again, we really liked it. Great location on Martin Road, a pretty dirt road technically in Honor, only a 3 mile drive to Esch Beach. Very ice rooms and porches.An old fixed up farmhouse in the woods.

Farm club
Pyramid Point (further north, Glen arbor)

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August 7, 2026 · 10:33 pm

Glen Lake Community Library, Joe’s Friendly Tavern, Vic Steimel Park, The Mill, Cottage Book Shop, Grocer’s Daughter — Empire & Glen Arbor, MI

Empire has a beautiful contemporary library (Glen Lake Community) on its main drag, where I had book event #16, which was fun, attended by old friends from high school and people I’d never met. Great combo. Dinner was at Joe’s Friendly Tavern, a local favorite with knotty pine walls, Detroit Tigers memorabilia and big round wood tables quickly filled with one group after another. Terrific burgers, and kid food including nothing fancy but serviceable Kraft Mac and cheese.

Book event pals

This morning we got goodies at the weekly Tuesday farmers market in bustling Glen Arbor, then hit the bike trail (sleeping Bear heritage trail) cycling north past lake houses, the Homestead Resort and pretty preserved farmsteads that are part of the national park shoreline. We got as far as Point Oneida, then turned around. Pyramid point was too far for the ride which began on paved trail but soon became gravel and crushed stone and sand. Not my favorite surface but a gorgeous ride through bucolic farmland and woods. Another day we rode from port Oneida to good Harbor beach, an easy 10 mile ride, primarily paved but with about a mile of gravel.

We had a late lunch at the cafe at The Mill, a hip new place in a restored grain mill bordering a gentle stream. We sat outside on a small deck overlooking the stream and enjoyed a delicious pesto chicken sandwich and inventive watermelon salad with tomatoes, dill, feta, and pistachios. (trust me, it worked!) we liked the place enough to go again for lunch, having a banh Minh sandwich with pork belly and a chilled spicey corn soup.There’s also an outpost called Up River in town near the bike store

The Mill
Lunch at The Mill cafe

Supper (the name of the evening meal) is pricey and reservations can be hard to get but I’d like to try some time time. Emma and rocket enjoyed their meal there. We also brought home an excellent walnut cranberry bread. The place also has three rooms for lodgers. The decor in the dining areas is rustic chic.

Cottage Book shop

Somehow we had never been to the Cottage Book Shop, which turned out to be totally charming, inside a rustic wood cabin and has a fantastic selection of books (including mine, aka Our Diaries, Ourselves)

We discovered there is a Vic Steimel Park in the area. Word has it he was a Leelanau county lifer who owned property on Suttons Bay’s Stony Point, died in 1984, and was the son of George Steimel. Dirck says he had an uncle George Steimel who lived Baltimore but we doubt it’s the same guy.

Inside the cottage book shop

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August 3, 2026 · 2:05 am

Mi casa, The Bakers Burrow, the eatery at Up North Fields, Esch Beach – Honor, Beulah, Benzonia, and Empire,Mi

Empire Bluff trail

Back to glorious northern Michigan where we are staying this time in a lovely mi casa, su casa, a farmhouse in the woods (Airbnb) outside the village of Honor, close to our favorite Beach (Esch), two towns we’ve stayed in before, Beulah and Empire. The Airbnb is shockingly expensive (I’m embarrassed to say how much) especially since one room is unexpectedly uninhabited (sadly because our son and daughter in law had to cancel). But it is nice to have such a great place after some dodgy ones in the past.

The Bakers Burrow

We visited some golden oldies: the empire bluff trail (always spectacular views from on high of the dunes and the varegated blue/green water of Lake Michigan and Esch Beach, which had fun waves. Lunch was at a new place my brother and family discovered in Benzonia- the eatery at up north fields, a cute little food hut with open air dining my area in a flower garden. The brisket Mediterranean bowl was pricey but good. Didn’t like the chicken one as much.

The eatery

Near us, we chanced upon an adorable bakery in a tiny cupboard outside the Honor village center at the edge of Indian Hill road, off Highway 31. It’s called the baker’s burrow, run by mother daughter bakers. We got a delicious looking blueberry muffin.

Inside the Baker’s burrow

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April 10, 2026 · 5:56 pm

Literati bookstore and cafe Zola in Ann Arbor; Perch and Toadvine in Berkley; Cafe Nini and central public library in Grosse Pointe – book events in Michigan

We still need to explore Ann Arbor more, beyond Zingerman’s deli and its neighbors, but I did get a peek at the terrific Literati Bookstore, inside a century-old brick building downtown during an event there for my diary book.

Also had an excellent dinner with family and friends at nearby Cafe Zola (skirt steak, bolognese pasta).

At literati with high school pals

After excellent lunch (goat cheese, bacon, fig jam grilled sandwich, muffuletta, cheese board with Pleasant Ridge and St.Germain) at The Rind (part of the cheesemongers) in Berkley (the new Royal Oak/Ferndale with interesting affordable restaurants and independent shops), we quick perused Perch, a vintage/contemporary home goods store and Toadvine, jam-packed with quality used books.

The main Grosse Pointe library, where I had another book event, turned out to be impressive in many ways including architectural/artistic. It’s a striking contemporary 1953 building designed by famous modernist architect Marcel Breuer with a large (and real) Calder mobile and mosaic piece by famed Detroit artist/family friend Glenn Michaels. Dinner (lasagna with spinach noodles in an orange bolognese sauce) was very good at nearby Cafe Nini.

AI report:

Grosse Pointe Public Library Central Branch, designed by renowned Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer in 1953, is a landmark of modernist architecture located in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. As one of his first major U.S. public commissions, the two-story brick building features distinctive floor-to-ceiling windows, open spaces, and integrated art, including a Calder mobile. World Monuments FundWorld Monuments Fund +3

Key Details of the Breuer Library:

  • Design & Structure: The building is noted for its unadorned, rectangular design, characterized as a “timeless” modern structure by Michigan Modern.
  • Art Integration: The interior was designed to showcase art, including a large Alexander Calder mobile, a Kandinsky-inspired tapestry, and a 22-foot steel sculpture by Lymon Kipp.
  • Significance: It is the only building designed by Breuer in the Detroit area, and it was commissioned by philanthropist Dexter M. Ferry.
  • Current Status: The Central Branch is recognized for its architectural significance. The Grosse Pointe Library Foundation supports the site through the Breuer Preservation Fund.

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August 13, 2025 · 10:51 pm

Miner’s Beach swim & hike, Pictured Rocks sunset cruise, the duck pond/Christmas, Mi – U.P. and food empire in Sheybogan WI.

Yesterday we swam in Lake Superior, something I didn’t expectto do (or write about doing). But the water was warm enough to go beyond ankle height, which maybe is a bad sign. One local attributed the warmth to an “awful” June that was unseasonably warm.

Rothko or Pictured Rock?

The water wasn’t warm or cold, more brisk (high 60s?) Miner’s Beach is on the Painted Rocks National Lakeshore, it’s a long crescent of perfect sand with the shore’s famous dramatic sandstone cliffs rising at either end. Perfect sandy bottom in the water, unlike the rocky bottom at more isolated Twelvemile Beach to the east (which has more rocks to sort through)!

During a two-hour hike, we trekked along the shoreline trail from the beach east into the woods and up a relatively steep muddy rocky bit to a tranquil forest of white birch and other trees. We were on top of one of the cliffs and had a great view from several clearings in the woods.

As we’d been told, the best way to see the dramatic colored cliffs along the coast is by boat and miraculously, the sky cleared shortly before out “sunset” cruise. We snagged seats on the upper outdoor deck (next time, wear long pants; it got chilly) and spent about two hours admiring nature’s offerings. The huge cliffs looked like a contemporary art exhibit (Mark Rothko?) with huge abstract canvases, some with large horizontal swaths of deep red and purple, others with horizontal brush strokes of black, brown white, plus dabs of green and blue. Stunning.

On the way home, we stopped at Field to Fork, a good casual cafe with breakfast and lunch options in Sheybogan where we learned that the same chef has opened two other restaurants nearby (Trattoria Stefano, Il Retrovo Pizzeria, both Italian) and an excellent gourmet market, Stefano’s Slo Food (the multi-grain sourdough bread is dense, chewy, delicious! Good to know for future trips to Door County!

View from on high, during hike.

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August 13, 2025 · 12:03 am

Miner’s Castle (Pictured Rocks), Black Rocks (Presque Isle), Saturday Farmers Market/Babycakes bakery/Snowbound books/zero degrees Gallery, Vierling restaurant/brewery – Marquette in U.P.

Miners castle overlook

If we had to have rain, Marquette was the place to have it. The small city, the U.P.’s largest city, is full of great shops, cool old buildings, beautiful views of the water.

Fortunately the rain held off until after we visited the famous Miners Castle, a tall tower of water sculpted rock that’s a highlight of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The easy to access overlook also offers a sunning view of the high wall of orange-pink stone rising above the dazzling green and blue water of Lake Superior.

Black Rocks

Rain halted our plan to hang out at Miners Beach although we did manage to picnic near the beach before the downpour. The storm made the scenery even more dramatic (that’s the bright way of seeing things) with the sky its own drama of clouds, mist, from dark grey to light grey to bright white.

Vierling restaurant

I’d been told I’d like Marquette and I do! It’s an interesting and attractive place with college kids (this is the home of Northern Michigan University), artists, makers and, I’ve been told, Democrats! (Amen.) the city reminds us a bit of Duluth, with lots of grand old buildings in town and industrial fishery/mining buildings on the water. It also has a gorgeous park with jagged black rocks north of town on Presque Isle, where daredevil kids jump off high black rocks into the cold water.

Wedding photo on black rocks

Favorite shops/restaurants: baby cakes muffins (also excellent takeaway sandwiches, lemonade), zero degrees gallery (in the cool third Street corridor), the thoughtfully curated Snowbound books, Marquette co-op (which reminded me of the coop in Iowa City). We also enjoyed the Saturday farmers market (lots of flowers and tomatoes but no fruit, which I’ve been craving). We had a great dinner at Vierling brewery, a famous old place in a brick building by the waterfront, it was packed at 6:39 on. A Saturday but we found two seats at the bar and I had absolutely delicious whitefish piccata with wild rice.

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August 11, 2025 · 1:56 pm

Tahquamenon Falls, grand Marais, Pictured Rocks, Sable Falls, Log Slide (dunes Overlook) , Twelvemile Beach, Lumberjack Tavern/Big Bay — Michigan’s U.P. at last

Dunes from Log Slide overlook

It’s taken 66 years for this native Michigander to make it to the Upper Peninsula. Quite the culture shock going from the upper-lower Peninsula (around Traverse City, Charlevoix, Harbor Springs). No more fruit stands, picture perfect farmsteads, manicured villages. As we’d been told, the UP, at least where we’ve been, along the Lake Superior coast, is much wilder, densely wooded, sparsely populated, with the occasional rough looking trailer or house, ammo stores, and way too many Trump signs. But once we got to the shoreline, I understood what the fuss is about. The landscape is spectacular, especially along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Tahquamenon falls

Grand Marais, a windswept outpost, is the gateway to the eastern entice to the shoreline. There wasn’t much to the town, beyond the exquisite scenery. We drove west to sable falls, a pretty waterfall in the woods, one of many up here but the real stunner was the view of the dunes from Log Slide overlook. From on high we looked out at a crescent shaped ball of dazzling green and blue water with steep dunes rising up from the shore line. (We also stopped at Tahquamenon Falls en route to Grand Marais, which rootbeer-colored water that reminded us of falls in northern Minnesota.)

Next stop, nearby twelvemile beach, where the water was surprisingly warm and the flies surprisingly undeterred by bug spray, alas. We stayed long enough to collect some rocks in so many astonishing color combinations (this is agate country, although I don’t know how to spot one.)

We are staying in a sweet little cottage Airbnb outside Marquette, In a rural county road. Dinner was a long haul to the very atmospheric Lumberjack Tavern, north of Marquette in Bay City which has an interesting claim to fame. Not only was it the scene of a murder in 1952 and a subsequent 1959 Otto Preminger movie about that murder, filmed onsite, starring Jimmy Stewart, George c. Scott, Lee Remnick, Ben gazzara and even Duke Ellington called Anatomy of a Murder. It’s very much a local hangout. We sat at high top shellacked rough edged wood tables and had a good bacon cheeseburger and watched the Lions on TV. When in Rome, err, the UP.

Lumberjack wannabe?

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August 10, 2025 · 12:12 am

Ray & Al’s in Galien and, now in Three Oaks (Allen Ray’s coffee place @ Commune+Market), Judy Ferrara Gallery, 3 Arbors Gallery, Viola’s Cafe, Home Camp flower Farm – southwest Michigan

Glad to be back here in the summer although the lake was tempestuous yesterday with 5-7 foot waves and frigid temp (58 degrees).plus Canadian smoke that dulled the fiery red sunset. The major evening activity here in Bridgman on Weko beach is watching the sunset and listening to someone play taps on the bugle. gotta love that.

We finally got around to eating lunch at Ray and Al’s, a charming little “lunch room” in an old building on the small main drag of the rural village of Galien, about 11 miles east of Three Oaks. It’s got that nice mix of nothing fancy but well done food (excellent tuna melt, hero sandwich) with dabs of antique decor and appealing (and remarkably reasonably priced) contemporary art.

The same people have opened a coffee place inside Commune+Market, a new community gathering spot in Three oaks with individual vendors inside a contemporary building. A few more spaces need filling but there’s a sweet stationary, small press shop there now. Viola’s cafe has opened under new management and is supposed to be good Cajun. We also visited two excellent galleries – Judy Ferrara and 3 arbors art (which represents the stunning art photography of Chicago artist Jessica Tampas, who took the author photo for my book. See bottom right of photo montage above.)

Next stop, Homecamp flower farm where we walked up and down the rows of the small farm clipping zinnias, wildflowers, ornamental thistles for a huge bouquet. Good value at $20. Tonight, we watched taps on the beach. Perfect.

Next visit to try: Out there and Farmette

Note to self: skip getting gas’s off interstate in Michigan city on an August Saturday. A zoo.

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August 9, 2025 · 3:04 am

Smoked whitefish, flying pig, Ruthann’s bakery in Bellaire, Chippewa trails camp/rapid city – up north (Michigan)

Chippewa trail camp for girls (remains)

We found even more to like in the village of Bellaire, which we appreciated for its unassuming charm and mellowness especially after visiting too-bustling-and-touristy Charlevoix and Harbor springs. No Hamptons-like fancy lifestyle stores or sports cars, here. Instead just the right amount of stuff catering in a low-key way to tourists. At The Flying Pig, we found reasonably priced repurposed furniture and handmade clothing. At Clayton’s, local crafts and candles; excellent ice tea at the local tea and spice store; plausible bagels and delicious chocolate chip cookies at Ruthann’s Bakery.

Bellaire shopping

(We were less impressed with the prepared food we found at Royal Farms, on the highway north of Bellaire.) Behind a Victorian house in the residential main drag we found the unlikely location of a smokehouse with smoked and fresh fish and meats, including pricey waygu beef and wine. I got my smoked whitefish fix.

Grass river nature are (and classic stone construction)

At Grass River Nature Area, we took an easy walk along boardwalks in a wooded swamp area, over quiet fast running streams to an overlook along the grassy shores of the river, envious of the occasional pontoon boat gliding by on this untouristed stretch of water.

Outside Rapid City on Elk Lake near Torch Lake, I managed to find my old summer camp (thanks to two street names of the nap: Chippewa Trail Rd and Chippewa Camp Road. They led to a restored sign for the defunct camp which is now a private residential neighborhood/community with some remnants of the camp! Several of the old brown wood cabins remain. Some were moved and combined to make a holiday home. A very nice guy invited us into his home – made of two joined cabins. Above his couch in the living room is a wall hanging made of pieces of the old cabin wall autographed by campers long ago. He invited me to look for my name or any others I might know. Surreal.

He also took me to another cojoined cabins concoction where we also looked at the names of the wall, dating back to 1969 (when I might have been a camper for two months.) Another cabin had the original sign from one of the cabins I bunked in. (Duayma!). The dining hall/lodge is still there (now a residence or communal space I think) as is the old stone Dutch oven and surrounding wood benches where we had pancake breakfasts. I knocked on one of the handful of new vacation homes on the lakefront because the owner is apparently a former camper but she wasn’t home.

Harbor springs (we stayed at the cove long ago).

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