Photos.
We had planned to stay longer in Traverse City but the promise of the guidebooks wasn't fulfilled as we drove on the town's downtown, a typical unplanned and overcrowded area full of cheap stores. Eating lunch at McDonald's, we pretty much decided to move on.
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| Old Mission Lighthouse |
Stopping at the visitor center changed our minds a little. The office is staffed by helpful volunteers, one of whom convinced Bob to visit the area's wine country. We drove north on Hwy 37, surrounded by prosperous vineyards and beautiful views of Lake Michigan. We stopped at the
Old Mission lighthouse, very windy on this late summer afternoon. Time enough for a few photos, but the little lighthouse was full of tourists so I didn't even go in.
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| Wine tasting at the Château Chantal |
On the way back, we turned into the
Chateau Chantal Winery. The location overlooking the valley reminded us a of the Napa Valley, where we visited several wineries many years ago. I was a little surprised to see a charge for tasting, but that really is the way to go. No slurpers at the bar, testing every damn wine in the place. Instead, we paid $5 for a taste of three wines (in our case, a pinot noir, a Riesling and a rosé), which we drank on the patio. We were given one of the three glasses to keep as a souvenir. Other tasting options provided the opportunity for full glasses of wine, but we preferred a taste, especially knowing we had an afternoon's drive ahead of us.
Onward, on 2-way Hwy 37, then Hwy 31, to Ludington. Our decision to cross Lake Michigan on the
Lake Express at Muskegon was thwarted when I couldn't get a reservation on the 10:15 a.m. crossing. We abruptly turned off Hwy 31 (a nice 4-lane between Ludington and Muskegon) and called the S.S. Badger, where we got a reservation for Thursday morning. My disappointment lifted when we checked into a new Comfort Inn less than ten minutes from the Ludington dock.
We were dead tired by this time and happy to stop for the day.
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