Wonderful weekend Up North. Great weather, great times. Too many Moscow Mules. Traffic was not really an issue either.
Apparently they're playing bumper cars on westbound 696. 5 car smashup near Orchard Lake Rd. Thanks a-holes, I was looking forward to doubling my commute time today. I wonder how many of them were texting at the exact second they slammed into another car.
I'm up in Elk Rapids for about another week. Any recommendations on things I should do? Restaurants, breweries, etc anything else nearby? I'm here until August 2nd. I used to come up here when I was younger, but obviously now there are probably more options since I'm 30.
Definitely doing a Crossroads night when I'm up there in a month. Had a few buddies go last weekend...said it was a better than average group of girls.
Short's Brewery in Bellaire might be the best micro in the state, and that's not too far away. There are a bunch in Traverse City, but people are always telling about the Jolly Pumpkin in particular as a really cool spot. That's also not very far.
Jolly Pumpkin was one that I definitely planned on checking out. Crossroads isn't open until Wednesday though
Googs has really good burgers. It is a little south of town and doesnt look particularly special but I have always had great food when I've been there. Another suggestion is the Itty Bitty. Similar bar/pub food but it is very tasty and is right in town:
went to michigan for the first time ever earlier this month went to a small town outside of sturgis, a small town. friend has a lakehouse out there. huge fan of MI, holy shit northern lakes just wreck lakes in florida. don't have to stress about gators or snakes. also your grocery stores sell booze and i'm a huge fan
damn. to be fair i spent most of my life in florida. i saw snow the first time at 22 years old, you could tell me anything
Heading up to Elk Rapids myself today, going to spend a few days on my Aunt and Uncle's cherry farm. Might have to head down the local basketball court and get worked by some local high school kids. Update: Just got here, my god the color of Elk Lake is unreal! Definitely a caribbean blue.
Vacation starts tomorrow. We're going to the Les Cheneaux Islands in the UP, Mackinac Island, Traverse City and Higgins Lake, with plans to visit the Soo, Tahquamenon Falls, Lake Charlevoix and Bellaire. Should be lots of fun. A co-worker told me about this Homeland Security report on the Soo Locks; apparently the Poe Lock there is the most important piece of infrastructure in the country for the economy. Interesting read:
You should skip Mackinac Island. Also, stop at Java Joes in St. Ignace after you cross the bridge. Especially if it's around breakfast time.
Will be spending the weekend in your fine state.. Headed up the god land, Beaver Island tomorrow until Monday. Looking like it should be a nice weather weekend.
Why would I skip Mackinac Island? If nothing else, my wife has never been and my kid is going to love the ferry, the horses and (maybe) the fort. Maybe we'll hit Java Joe's before we get on the boat.
I only went to Mackinac Island once and I was like 15 but I remember thinking it was over rated and not really liking it.
To be fair, everything that isn't a blow job or something blowing up is overrated to a 15 year old boy.
That is true, I spent the whole time trying to hit on my dad's co-workers daughter. It was at the Grand Hotel and I just remember it being hot with no AC, and that it smelled like horse shit
I got back a few days ago. I was able to check out Short's and Hop Lot. Hop Lot is over in Suttons Bay and I guess it is only about a year old. My brother in law heard good things about them so we made the drive over one day. I actually liked the beer at Hop Lot a little better even though they didn't have as many options. The food was good at both places, but it was definitely better at Short's. Hop Lot is a place worth checking out though for anyone ever in the area.
It's just a waste of money IMO. If your kid was old enough to ride around the island on a bike, it'd make things much better. But you know what you are getting yourself into.
Having just been up there over Memorial Day weekend, with a wife that's never been there, I can say that I would not bring my 3 y/o up there until he was like 7 at least. The shops aren't anything, the Grand is cool to take a few pictures of and walk around. While there are some very quite and pretty spots around the island, the carriage tour is rushed and over too quick to really see it all. Biking around the whole island? Hit up the Mystery Spot instead.
Oh well. We'll be hitting Mackinac Island after 2 days of family, driving and sight-seeing, so we'll probably just spend time at the pool at our resort. I forgot about how much horseshit there is everywhere. My wife won't complain about that at all.
Trip was awesome. The U.P. was amazing. It helps that my cousin lives on the water and her husband owns a marina, so we just boated through the Les Cheneaux Islands all weekend, but even my wife, from Santa Barnara, CA, was impressed by the natural beauty of the Les Cheneaux Islands and Mackinac Island. 85 and sunny during the day and 58 at night is pretty awesome weather. We spent a day and a half on Mackinac Island and had a nice time. Took the boy to the Butterfly House, rode some horse carriages, swam at the hotel pool, biked around the island and drank some beer at the hotel, had ice cream. I think it is a nice 1.5 day excusion and Mission Point Resort has a nice setup. Got drunk on Lake Charlevoix, stayed at Shanty Creek for a night and a day, went out to Lake Leelanau, jacked around in TC, etc. The second half of the week was on Higgins Lake and the weather didn't cooperate, but it was still fun. The first half of the week was top notch. We have a fantastic state. In the U.P. there were people staying at their cabin by my cousin's house and I was talking to them; they lived in Dublin, OH and took two flights to get to their cabin, while their kids drove 9 hours. Imagine having to drive 9 hours or take two flights to get to your summer happy place. Also, great call by nofatchix on breakfast at Java Joe's in St. Ignace. It was a fun little place, and the food was really, really good. The only shitty part was the Soo Locks. My wife and kid were not impressed with the Soo Locks and there obviously isn't much else going on up there, so it kinda sucked. Don't bother dragging your kids to the locks unless they're a little older and more manageable - waiting for the big boats is otherwise not that an amazing of a time. We should have gone straight to Tahquamenon Falls.
Frankfort for the week, nice to stay right on the beach and have downtown two blocks away. Did a half day charter fishing with my 5 yo son and brother in law and brought home 6 huge cohos - not bad taking home 30 lbs of salmon for the freezer. Half hour from sleeping bear dunes and even got in nine at Arcadia. Great week for this time of year. Would recommend to anyone.