Oct 2013 MICHIGAN Up North 2 - Another Gray Hair

Today is Mike's birthday and his restaurant of choice this year is Legs Inn. It is located in the northwest lower peninsula of Michigan in the township of Cross Village (population 294). This is where his grandmother and grandfather lived and are buried. His grandfather was a lumber camp cook. His grandmother was reported to be at least part Chippewa Indian, but we have found no evidence of that so far in our ancestry searches. Not much in Cross Village except Legs and the cemetery.
Anyway we left Petoskey around 10am and leisurely made our way north along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. We stopped in Harbor Springs, a ritzy resort town and another favorite of ours to stroll and browse. We did a walk-about through the quaint downtown, the marina docks (most boats were in their land-side winter resting spots), and some of the back street residential areas.

We found a quaint house and surrounding wall built with all kinds of big rocks. Each one was unique and interesting. A geologist would go crazy here. We saw a pair of jet black ravens (Mike's fave bird) hunting for worms in the rain soaked ground. Then we came across a "many sided" house built by Ephraim Shay, inventor of the Shay locomotive.

From there we drove though the "Tunnel of Trees"--a curvy 20-mile stretch of two-lane road along Lake Mich. In October it is usually a very colorful area, but this time around it was mostly all yellows with just a hint red mixed in. Still pretty, but not knock-out gorgeous as we have seen in years past. There are lots of vantage points to see Lake Michigan and views of Beaver Island and others just off the coastline. It was quite slow driving because lots of folks were touring the area just like we were (and probably headed to Legs).

Finally we reached Cross Village. It is one of the oldest settlements in the state of Michigan. Here in the late 1600's old world Europe and local Native American Indians lived together in this fishing and lumber town. It is said that Father Jacques Marquette endeared himself to the Natives here and planted a huge white cross on the buff overlooking Lake Michigan. A replica of that cross stands here today.




The 80-year old restaurant is named Legs Inn because of the old-time white stove legs that decorate its roof-line. We've been here before and have enjoyed their specialized  Polish "cuisine." In summer the wait staff is made up of mostly Polish (from Poland) college students. They come to this back woods location to improve there English skills and "see America." Not really very representative of our nation, but certainly a unique experience for them.

Legs is a "monument to nature" because of its driftwood art and is designated a State of Michigan Historic Landmark. It has been written about by many travel magazines. It is a popular stop for motorcyclists, but anyone will enjoy this quirky and unique establishment. We found we had a little wait before being seated (no surprise there) and entertained ourselves by "critiquing" the multitude of driftwood carvings and "art" pieces. This place is jam packed with them, indoors and out.


We were soon seated and we had a nice view of the gardens and Lake Mich beyond. Mike ordered the combo platter (a little bit of everything Polish) and I ordered the veggie platter. It was a bit of a disappointing birthday lunch though. We found they were closing for the winter in just two days and were running out of some of our favorites. So we either got very small portions or none of what we really craved. 


After our meal we strolled the gardens. This is always a kick because they have some bizarre driftwood carvings scattered at every turn. The garden was still lush with colorful and interesting plants. There was a large plot of tall (6-7 feet maybe) sunflowers where birds were getting a last taste of seed before winter.

Notice the log slice door.

We weren't particularly satisfied with our meal today, but we still enjoyed our time here. It was a good visit to Legs. We'd be back, just not at the end of the season.

PS - Sunsets are spectacular here looking west out over Lake Michigan. The gift shop has handcrafted wooden Polish eggs, Lake Michigan shipwreck books and maps, and porcupine quill boxes, among other things. They also have little cottages you can rent by the week, but a bit too rustic for us.

For more info and photos, see: www.legsinn.com .