Adventures in Fishtown

Northport Harbor  On our way to the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula at Cat Head Bay Needed flashing lights on as we travelled in dense fog for the first 12 miles

watching the storm come in Leland

favorite place to get beer

my rock collection from Van's Beach in Leland. I sat in the shallow water and picked up handfuls of rocks. Have jasper, agates. Leland blues and coralite. Also a small piece of Petoskey stone

close-up of coralite

I'm half way up the dune climb. I did it barefoot. The sand felt good on my feet

lunch stop in Glen Haven at The Cherry Republic with plenty of things to taste, all things cherry. Tried cherry ginger beer. Friends are locking their bikes adjacent to the cherry pit spitting field. I liked this bike rack

new friend Jane on right. One of the Chosen Sisters next to her

Little Traverse lake. Steve and I stayed on the opposite shore twice many years ago in a cute b&b when I was able to convince him to bike with me.

Fishtown is the fishing shack area of Leland where there are lots of cutesy shops. Aside from the lake fish, Leland is known as a good hunting ground for Petoskey stones and Leland Blues (see left jewelry) These are Petoskey shoes

lots of flowers everywhere They get more rain and less heat resulting in bigger blooms

In 2014, we travelled from Frankfort to Leland in a horrible storm. I was so cold.
All I could think of is putting on my furry pants after a hot shower. We would find
places to get out of the rain but the air conditioning would make us colder. Plus the
main road was very bumpy and traffic infested. No stopping in Sleeping Bear. But
Tuesday it was beautiful with a wind from the south (we were headed north) plus
the road was all fixed up and the trail extended so less time was on the horrible
road. Our mileage was the longest this day but tail winds and me being in much
better shape made the ride easy. Downside, I wasn't as diligent re-applying
sunscreen so I got most of my burns on that day. We stopped at several beach
areas and of course the dune climb . Then an extended lunch in the arty community
of Glen Arbor (or Haven, they are right next to each other).

Of all the cities we stopped in, I liked Leland the best, We had drinks overlooking the
waterfall that drops into Lake Michigan under a palapala. .Our friend Craig treated
us to fish sausage, which sounded gross but was quite tasty. A mixture of spices,
smoked whitefish and trout. Dinner then more drinks at the same place. They
have a public belvedere overlooking the harbor with Adirondack chairs. We could see
dark clouds quickly approaching from across the lake. We arrived at our tent in time
to batten down the hatches. Very strong winds and it poured. Everyone was excited.
But all our stuff survived and I fell asleep to the rain.