Thursday, June 28, 2012

Through the Heart of Michigan

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

A Day on Mackinac Island

First off, my apologies for the lack of updates. Yes, we are bit behind. I hope/plan to be up to date before we start riding here again on Saturday, June 30. We have taken a few weeks off in Ohio visiting Ryan'a parents.

Mackinac Island is a historic island only 8 miles in circumference, consists mostly of historic buildings starting from the early 1800's and most of the island is now a historic landmark. The streets were bustling with people on bicycles or foot, horse drawn buggies and work horses. Not a car or motorized vehicle in sight. The main street in town sits along the water close to the ferries lined with buildings selling taffy, homemade fudge, cheese, coffee shops, restaurants, souvenir shops, one grocery store, clothing stores, etc. Unfortunately there is one Starbucks in town, but we discovered that it is owned by a local, making it not quite as bad I guess. We still chose to support the truly independent barista.

The streets having parking spots designated for bikes, forbidding bicycles on the sidewalks. Barely anyone locks their bike although we did hear of some thefts that are often discovered because well, where can you hide on an island that is 4 square miles? The locals were all friendly and although we were slightly reprimanded for tucking our bikes and gear under an awning on the sidewalk to avoid the 20 minute rainfall, we gladly accepted an offer to start our morning off with a bloody mary. The manager of the restaurant Seabiscuit greeted us outside as we avoided the rain and we gladly took his offer to sit at a bar for a cocktail and conversation. What a way to start our day on Mackinac. John was the manager of the restaurant and could not have been nicer. He was definitely a highlight of our trip, someone we will continue to refer back to. Yes, he truly was that nice and that much fun.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Minneapolis to Buffalo - Pictures

Landing back in the USA late at night, Lisa and I "camp out" in the airport 
The riding was quite an improvement over Central America. 

Lisa enjoying the sunshine

Into the north woods
Late afternoon rest break

Yard art
Riding along the north shore of Lake Michigan.  Our first bike lane in months!
The five mile long Mackinac bridge

Commuting with new friends
Between the French, Native tribes, British and the Americans Mackinac Island has changed ownership 8 times.
Hundreds of miles of forest in the UP of Michigan
The east shore of Lake Michigan


Riding on a old railroad line paved into a bike route

What?
Great Lakes fishing boat unloading at Port Stanley
Bikes and hoverboards to the left
This is why we do this