Traveling-with-TLC

May 17-20, 2022: Airbnb and A bucket list day

I know that I keep using superlatives to describe the places we are seeing, but each place seems to be getting better and better. Way back in February, we booked a three day visit to Fred and Carol’s Riverside Retreat on Airbnb. It’s a good thing we booked so early because it is booked out now until September, and with good reason! Fred and Carol are superb hosts and the space they rent is beyond wonderful!! The room is a lovely guest room in the backyard. Oh what a backyard!! The Intermediate River is literally right there. They have a couple of decks over the water where you can sit, and two fire pits, and green grass, and bird feeders, and…Lovely:

Our second day here, we decided to get up early and drive to Mackinac. For some unknown reason Mackinac and Mackinaw are pronounced Mackinaw, but one refers to the island and the other to the bridge. However, they shorten the bridge to “The Mighty Mac”. Hmm

Anyway, we got up and were on the road before 7AM which is very early for me. We made it in time to catch a ferry right away. The water was beautiful – clear and fresh, no salt. I like inland oceans!!

The trip was only 20 minutes. I was pretty excited, since sitting on the Grand Hotel porch is a bucket-list goal!!

The Grand Hotel has been a summer playground for the rich and famous for well over 100 years. The porch is 660 feet long. During the day, normal tourists can spend $10 to hang out all day. If you want to stay past 5, women must wear dresses and men must be attired in suit jackets. It’s quite dreamy.

Is it weird I took pictures of the carpet?

Now for the completion of a life goal!

It’s a little funny what will make a person insanely happy! Here are a few pictures of other places on the island:

We had lunch and ice cream (of course), bought a bunch of souvenirs, and headed back across Lake Huron to the mainland. Since there was time left in the day, we started driving. Ted picked a random town near the water and we set the GPS to head there. Not much in the town, but there was a sign to the Tunnel of Trees. We didn’t know anything about it or even where it went, but it sounded like our kind of place. Oh my, was it!!

Turns out it was about 25 miles of absolutely gorgeous forest and trillium and peekaboo views of Lake Michigan. It ends in a lovely town called Harbor Springs.

Since it still wasn’t dark, we headed towards Traverse City to look for Cherry blossoms. They weren’t that impressive as we probably missed the peak if the bloom. We needed dinner, so Ted found a fancy Italian restaurant with white table cloths. If you know Ted at all, you know he has a thing about restaurants with table cloths. He thinks they are all too expensive for too little food. The food was wonderful and we really enjoyed the setting which is a converted 19th century insane asylum.

All in all, a very full and romantic day!