Finally the U.P.!

We are finally in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula! St Ignace to be exact.

The day we left Manistee we had a good tail wind. We rode 43 miles to Platte River state park. It was really hot and humid. As soon as our hammocks were hung up we walked down to the river to swim. To me,being from PA it wasn’t really a river. I think it was more of a crick. But it was beautiful, cold and very refreshing!

The other awesome thing about the Platte River Campground is that a local pizza place delivered to the campsites! That was too good to pass up. So a large pepperoni pizza was our dinner. It was delicious.

We stayed last night at Petoskey State Park. It was a long day getting there and we were worn out. After a great dinner of Pork chops cauliflower and macaroni and cheese we walked over the dunes to the beach for the sunset.

As we were preparing to go to bed our campsite neighbor, Daryle came over. We had had a great conversation with him earlier but this time he just handed me some money and said when we got to the U.P. we had to try pasties. They are similar to dumplings but a lot bigger. We are both excited to try new food so we are now on the hunt for pasties. It was so kind of him to buy us a meal and we appreciate it more than words can say. At the time he gave us the money it was too dark too see how much and I just put it away. I was amazed when I saw that it was $50 !! Thank you so much Daryle! We truly appreciate it.

When we got to Mackinaw City we had to get a ride. Interstate 75 has the only bridge and bicycles are not allowed on it. The Michigan Bridge Authority provides a shuttle for $15 a person. We gave them a call and within 20 minutes they had a truck there for us.

Our other option was a ferry to Mackinac Island then a ferry from Mackinac Island to St. Ignace. This was our first choice. Mackinac Island sounds like a really cool place. There are no vehicles on the island, just bikes and horses. But it also sounded very touristy and just the price of the ferry was enough to convince us to take the shuttle. The ferry was $30 a person, plus an additional $16 for our bikes. So crossing over on the bridge saved us $62 dollars and thats a lot of lattes! Haha. Everything went very smoothly with the shuttle and we were dropped off on the other side around 4:o’clock. We rode around St Ignace a bit and stopped at the craft and farmers market. The fruit and vegetables looked delicious.

We passed on all the vegtables but one booth was selling smoked white fish. That was another thing we were told to try. I purchased a pound of that and a sleeve of crackers. Snacks for tomorrow! There is a pebble or a small stone that is unique to this area of Michigan. It is named a Petoskey stone. I guess the majority are or were found in Petoskey. They are Michigan’s state stone. At one time they were used as buttons on clothing. Rose’s mother collects buttons and the main reason we stopped at the craft show was looking for them. There were lots of the Petoskey stones but no buttons.

I am realy glad to be in the Upper Peninsula. We have loved Michigan but it seems like we have been here a long time. I know the U.P. is still Michigan but it feels like someplace different. It is almost like when we crossed the Straits of Mackinac we crossed a state line.