From our base at Leelanau Sands Casino, we set out to explore more of the peninsula and the small Michigan towns scattered along the shoreline. Our route was a loop mostly along Michigan's M 22. It was clear cherry trees and vineyards were area favorites.
Joani Googled best places to hunt for Petoskey stones which resulted in our trip out to Lane Road Beach in Port Oneida. A short graveled road and a long stairway took us to a very secluded shoreline. We saw one guy packing his kayak for a camping trip out to South Manitou Island. I don't know how many trips he made up and down those stairs, but I'm sure he got a pretty good workout before he even started paddling.
There was one family fleeing from the onslaught of midges who said they had no luck stone hunting. We probably only spent a few minutes searching before we decided to leave as well, but it seemed like a lot longer with the flying pests hounding us with every step. We left empty handed but determined to continue our rock hunt later.
Glen Arbor, another nice little tourist town, was next along our M 22 tour. The original Cherry Republic was located in Glen Arbor. Sure, I already sampled everything they have in Traverse City, but I had to make sure it was all good here too - right? Joani went in first and brought me a sample of cherry pie and some chocolate covered cherries, yum!
I also purchased a t-shirt to help assuage the oversampling guilt.
From Glen Arbor, we followed M 109 out to Sleeping Bear Point. The National Park Volunteers were out in force with demonstrations at the Life Saving Station and the blacksmith shop, but Sam was not allowed, so we decided to return another day to thoroughly explore everything.
In another small berg named Empire, we made our way to the shore again. This was a happening place, comparatively speaking, with lots of folks along the beach. In the picture below you can see the Robert H. Manning Memorial Lighthouse. It seemed like a good target for a beach walk.
As we neared the lighthouse we realized it wasn't quite what we were used to. I suspect inside the door there's nothing but a spiral staircase
We were ready to call it a day, so we took M 72 back to Traverse City, picked up a few supplies and then returned to the casino for the evening. We love that there was so much to explore in such close proximity. If it were not for the 6 months of the year with arctic conditions this might be a great place to settle.
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