Following Lake Michigan with the strong winds in our faces, our day was slow and did not cover as many miles as intended. It happens. The sun was shining and the skies were clear as we rode along Lake Michigan into the town of Harbor Springs, a beautiful town that sits along the water. The streets felt deserted as it is obviously a tourists town and only few shops were open as we pulled up hungry as always. Opting for pizza before finding a place to stash our tent for the night, we were approached by a retiree asking if we would like to join him and his wife for dinner. We gladly obliged and joined them in their booth to swap stories over pizza and soda. He too invited us to their "cottage" for ice cream, shower, laundry and a bed. How do we get so lucky? I use quotations around cottage because it is not your typical small cottage image that comes to mind. The old Victorian style house built by his grandfather sleeps 21 people. So much history sits in this house and it was shown through photos and artifacts displayed in every room.
The people in northern Michigan may take the cake for the nicest people we have come across in all of our travels. We are constantly approached with curiosities about our travels or to simply help us along our way. These moments are always thankful and we embrace each encounter. Here is an instance of extreme generosity, another tick on our giving back board: On the other side of the lake from Harbor Springs sits the quiant town of Petosky, a place we would consider living. A stop at the local cafe Roast and Toast for some delicious coffee and people watching, we made our way to the organic food store for a complete re-stock as we were down to a few granola bars and oatmeal. A man and his daughter approached us inside curious about our travels. He too was a traveler prior to having his daughter and because he could not travel at the moment, he wanted to donate to us to help extend our trip. As nice as that would be, and we have had a few people ask such a question, we decided that if we were riding for a purpose or charity and not pure selfishness, we would maybe take these offers. "Thank you kind stranger, but we simply cannot accept any money." A quizzical look and he pulls out his credit card in the check out line and pays for all of our resupplies. What?!? People are amazing and such a breath of fresh air. We joined him and his daughter at a table for lunch, asking about the area and his previous travels. I love meeting people
The people in northern Michigan may take the cake for the nicest people we have come across in all of our travels. We are constantly approached with curiosities about our travels or to simply help us along our way. These moments are always thankful and we embrace each encounter. Here is an instance of extreme generosity, another tick on our giving back board: On the other side of the lake from Harbor Springs sits the quiant town of Petosky, a place we would consider living. A stop at the local cafe Roast and Toast for some delicious coffee and people watching, we made our way to the organic food store for a complete re-stock as we were down to a few granola bars and oatmeal. A man and his daughter approached us inside curious about our travels. He too was a traveler prior to having his daughter and because he could not travel at the moment, he wanted to donate to us to help extend our trip. As nice as that would be, and we have had a few people ask such a question, we decided that if we were riding for a purpose or charity and not pure selfishness, we would maybe take these offers. "Thank you kind stranger, but we simply cannot accept any money." A quizzical look and he pulls out his credit card in the check out line and pays for all of our resupplies. What?!? People are amazing and such a breath of fresh air. We joined him and his daughter at a table for lunch, asking about the area and his previous travels. I love meeting people
