Finally made it to southwest Michigan on a day when the Judith Racht gallery in Harbert was open. (i.e. long weekends) And so glad to finally visit! terrific collection of contemporary artwork, some from local artists, as well as grassroots/folk/outsider art, and eclectic antiques. Sorry to miss the gallery’s Outsiders Outside Art Fair over Labor Day weekend.
We also stopped at an old favorite a little north in Fennville at The Roots Cafe. Not sure the b&b burger (blue cheese and bacon) was best item to share. Delicious and a mess. The onion rings and fresh lemonade were less messy and also delicious.
The weather turned oddly cold and moody, but thankfully no rain. Still, not a beach day so we drive along scenic M22, stopping at a small gallery with ceramics, Good Harbor Gallery, at a rural intersection north of Maple City where I found a wedding gift! we drive through traffic and tourist clogged Leland and it’s famous fishtown to the pretty village of Northport, where a farmers market along the lake was concluding.
Back south, we met up with the grandsons and parents for the annual port Oneida fair at six historic farms, offering lots of old timey kid friendly farm and craft activities, although the kids favorite was an earlier outing to feed alpacas in Frankfurt. In one farmhouse, the 70s cult novel Jonathan Livingston seagull was allegedly written. (I thought it was an east coast ocean seagull.)
Also happened to learn from an old friend about my family’s rabbinical and yenta roots in Traverse City!
We finally made an effort to find the Elberta Beach, which is a keeper…a perfect stretch of sand that you reach by walking along a path in the dune grass. nice view of the Frankfort light house and dock innthe distance.
Elberta Beach
In Arcadia, we hiked through the woods a half mile to yet another gorgeous dune bluff view. After visiting the local old-fashioned ice cream shoppe, we drove into the town which turned out to be lovely with a pristine 19th century Lutheran church and several lovely white wood frame 19th century houses with tidy gardens and, I was pleased to see, pro-choice signs. No Trump signs like elsewhere up here, especially around Maple city. We saw two Robert F. Kennedy Jr, signs on the bike trail leading into Frankfort. go figure. Near Arcadia, we checked out the Watervale Inn, an old fashioned resort with summer cottages and a little beach. Unfortunately no dogs allowed, last I checked.
Arcadia house
Dinner into evening was at the perfect beach house of my friend from age 13, PJWK, in Glen Arbor, with a gorgeous view of a Manitou island in the distance and another mainland point. The old tiny Glen Haven. The night sky was full of stars.
When the young baker at the farmer’s market in the tiny village of Honor told me she was returning to school soon, I almost asked which college. Turns out she’s a first grade teacher…who makes a mean cinnamon roll. She was one of the few food vendors at the Tuesday market. The rest were selling low key crafts. We did buy some red haven peaches and tomatoes from what appeared to be native Americans.
Henna vendor at Honor farmers market
We rode our bikes twice on the Betsie River trail along Crystal Lake, which was a different series of colors each day, ranging from coral blue to navy blue.
The trail is about 18 miles round trip and very pleasant, mostly flat with a variety of surfaces and terrains, starting with crunchy crushed gravel as we peddled past waterfront cottages with pretty gardens and the lake, then pavement through the woods, dotted with the occasional white birch (my favorite), then through a marsh wetlands/Betsey Lake past Elberta into the tourist town of Frankfort, with its restaurants, T-shirt shops, and occasional classy decor/gift shops. There is also a L’chaim sandwich shop in Frankfort, where we shared a hearty Ruben sandwich.
Frankfort
In Empire, we made an obligatory stop at the Grocers Daughter for gelato. Esch beach was calm and packed, with warm water and sunshine on our first outing, then windy and less packed, with frigid water and white caps after a stormy night.
Cottage view, Crystal LakeThe sleeping porch in the afternoonCottage at night
We’ve been here enough that we know the lay of the land, and have our old favorites. While the younger gens did the dune climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, we did a short, more sedate hike north of the village of Empire that landed us at Pyramid Point dune with yet another dazzling view of the lake and manitou island in the distance. We drove a little further on M-22 to near Maple City, which was a reminder of how pretty that area is and might be worth planting ourselves during future visits. Bucolic farmland, historic farmsteads and pretty old country homes.
Glen Arbor was packed with tourists, as was Cherry Republic but it’s got good food (cherry chicken) and good service so worth the one hour wait? The kids played cornhole and other games available on sight while the adults shopped for cherry everything and anything in the shop.
Pyramid Point
We are near the Benzie County Democrats so Noah and I dropped by to see where volunteers are most needed in this battleground state during the upcoming presidential race. The office had just closed but we met a funny and engaging democrat (the lone one on the county commission, she told us). Benzie has a surprisingly robust democratic presence she told us, and is purple. So help is needed. Grand Rapids also needs help from democrat volunteers. She wasn’t sure about the New Buffalo area, which is most convenient to Chicago.
On to Port City Smokehouse for some fresh whitefish and smoked whitefish spread. Nice helpful staff.
We are back in Beulah after a three year hiatus and fortunately our Airbnb (Fred’s view on Crystal drive) is better than the last one. It’s farther from downtown Beulah, high on a ridge overlooking Crystal Lake, but a much less creepy and decrepit cottage. We claimed the sleeping porch, which has a lovely view of the lake in the distance, although we hear the cars from nearby highway 31. So not as serene as the sleeping porch from our early Ithaca stays on Cayuga Lake. But atmospheric with scuffed white wood siding and planked ceiling, a mishmash of wicker furniture and lake kitsch.
Farmhouse
Lunch en route was in Douglas at the farmhouse bakery, which contrary to its websitedoesn’t let you order online or by phone. We waited a half hour for very good sandwiches (mufaletta, tuna,), excellent carrot cake and perfect sourdough bread. Good dog-friendly sitting at wood tables outside in the back.
Empire bluffs
Today we did the easy hike on Empire bluffs Trail for spectacular views of the lake and sleeping Bear dunes, then onto L’chaim deli In beaulah – excellent Rubens, roast beef with Stilton, loaded bagels.
In the later afternoon we went to our favorite dog-friendly, townie beach, Esch Beach, which has soft sandy bottom with a few patches of rocks. Dinner was takeout pizza from very nearby Papano’s. Not bad.
Overcast morning at the beach which proved to be perfect, especially with our sweet lab Millie in tow. We walked just past Weko Beach (no dogs allowed) to the edge of Warren Dunes Park (dogs welcome) and set up our chairs, with few neighbors due to early hour (10-ish) and cloudy sky. Millie loved the water and sand, rolling around in ecstasy, soon a wet sandy mess but so happy!
A woman who seemed like a serious stone collector (stoner!) filled me in on the tiny “Indian Beads” she was looking for, which look like a tiny button with a hole in the center. Good for jewelry and other crafts. I later found one (or near) and even more thrilling, a petosky stone!! Didn’t think they were down here!
Swedish bakery
The water temp was perfect, much warmer than our last chilly swim 🏊♀️ on july 4 when the water temp was 59.
Froelichs
We got some pastries at the popular Swedish Bakery where a small crowd patiently waited. Good cinnamon rolls, scones (soft not hard), blueberry muffins, crustless quiche. At Froelichsin Three oaks we ate a late lunch at the bar (corn elote salads; pickled chicken sandwich) and bought flatbread to take home. We loaded up on red haven peaches, sweet corn, first tomatoes of the season at the MichiganProduce stand, near Bridgman. Last stop: Oinks for ice cream in New Buffalo – half scoops were plenty. Michigan pothole, fresh peach, mint cookie. Excellent.
Such a treat to visit this lovely corner of southwest Michigan that I didn’t know about when I was growing up in southeast Michigan.
Thanks to my sister for sharing it with us. On weko beach at 9 pm, people dot the soft sand, two paddlers drift in Lake Michigan, everyone is looking west at the setting sun (shockingly red last night, perhaps due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires) as a bugler plays taps.
We have become periodic regulars at phearth in Bridgman, with great pizza and carefully selected gourmet market fare including Cottonwood Cheddar (from Kansas!) and at Haymaket, easy going outdoor dining with 🐕 in a clearing in the woods, with kids rushing over to greet our dog Millie, tables of friends, an older couple playing cards between bites of pizza. The Mason Jar perks up Benton Harbor (Cobb salad, lemonade, spotty service).
I can perhaps be forgiven for humming the theme from Gilligan’s Island as we walked along the dock, returning safely to our sweet Branford abode. The old friends from Iowa set off on a one-two hour tour around the scenic Thimble Islands in the Long Island Sound, when the weather did not start getting rough but our small motor boat hit a hidden rock way out in the water. We kept going without incident, enjoying the scenery, the houses improbably perched on narrow slabs of rock and forest, until we got near the shore and our dock.
The motor crapped out.
We started drifting until it was wisely decided to drop anchor. Then we had about an hour to figure out a rescue plan before I needed to drive to Tweed airport in New Haven to catch my flight back to Chicago. A Sea Tow service couldn’t get there fast enough.
The rescue
Just when I began seriously contemplating swimming sans proper swimsuit to shore (about a 15 minute swim…), neighbors Max Roberts and Jeff Hoyt came to the rescue, towing our boat with their’s. We quickly made it to shore, I did final packing, Nell made me a delicious sandwich, and we added another tale to tell about our storied friendship. And here I am blogging on the planehome, thankful for good friends and good neighbors too.
We had a classic Connecticut gals day, driving around the winding backroads of Yankee shore towns north of New Haven, past historic homes and graveyards, pretty village greens and toney shops. In Madison, we duly visited the fantastic independent bookstore RJ Julia’s , with other stops at clothing/home decor/gift shops and a good Mexican meal atComomango., which has a beach/surfer vibe and good bowls no small tacos.
Dinner was at The Place (since 1971), which reminded me of a fish boil in Door County, Wisconsin except this was a seafood grill in Branford, Connecticut, with guys tending fires and cooking lobster, clams, mussels, salmon, and corn on the cob. We sat under a big red and white circus tent at round tables with tree stumps for chairs (we went with the green plastic chairs with backs). Nell wisely thought to bring basics like a table cloth and less flimsy paper plates. I had clams with bbq sauce, corn, and a hot fudge sundae.
TakeBetsywithyou 