2017 MICHIGAN Petoskey 2 - A Place to Party

A casual get-up and a brief breakfast at the hotel. Free, so we went for it. Typical breakfast bar with scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pancakes from the do-it-yourself machine, etc. The coffee was real good though.

Mike's birthday lunch was to be at Legs Inn in Cross Village via Harbor Springs. We took US-31 along the Lake Michigan shore to Harbor Springs. There we wandered around town by foot to see the harbor, tiny downtown area, and gorgeous homes.

We stopped at a coffee house for a warmer-upper. It was quite tiny, but cute. I loved the intricate burned wood carving in the table. I think it depicted a downtown Harbor Springs street fair. I ordered a cappuccino. It hit the spot for warmth, but did not bring back memories of Italy.

We also saw a Little Free Library here and another in Good Hart, our next stop. Love these LFL's, especially now that I have one (#54899).

In Harbor Springs we turned north onto MI-119. This route runs 20 miles along Lake Michigan bluffs through an area called "Tunnel of the Trees." It is barely a two-lane paved road weaving right and left to avoid the age old tree trunks lining the way. The trees on each side grow their branches over the road to criss-cross in the middle fabricating a canopy or "tunnel" of sorts. Thus the name.

It is usually bumper to bumper this time of year because of the gorgeous tree colors in fall. Motorcyclists especially like it for its windiness. But alas we sailed on by with little back-up through the mostly green trees. We made a pit stop in tiny Good Hart to browse the shops and check out their LFL.

There is not much to this village. A couple of shops for the tourists, a wee post office located inside one of them, and fruit stands with apples, pumpkins, and squash. Nancy and I bought a few trinkets.

We arrived at Legs Inn in Cross Village at 12:10p. Doors open at noon and we still waited in line for about 10 minutes for a table. Read the historical marker below to learn the long history of this place.

And see the stove legs along the roof top. I often wondered where in this remote corner of the world did Mr. Smolak get all those legs, and there are plenty.

The food here is mainly traditional Polish. I got the veggie mushroom-saukraut pirogies. The other three got the Taste of Poland combo plate with a little bit of everything from stuffed cabbage to meat pirogies, Kielbasa sausage, and sides.

In summer, the staff is mostly university students from Krakow, Poland, trying to learn English and a little of the U.S. culture. They even dress in traditional Polish attire. But today we were served by locals.

The restaurant was closing for the winter on October 22, so we were lucky to have the full menu still available. In the past we found when menu items run out, they just run out, and you get what is available at that point. 

The wood carvings inside and out are magical. Most are made from driftwood gathered on the Lake Michigan shore just down the bluff from the restaurant. Many are huge in size. Here is one. Not sure if it is a fish or a serpent or what. 

After a casual lunch we surveyed the back area. There is a fabulous view of Lake Michigan (and usually colorful trees). A few light houses can be seen as well, if the weather is right.

 

After wandering the grounds and gift shops we headed back south on a less circuitous route. We stopped at the Kilwin's factory for dessert, or should I say desserts. Mike was almost running to their door!! We got caramel-peanut apples, salted caramels, fudge, and chocolates in various forms. Mike didn't have a BD cake, but he sure got a fabulous helping of sugar treats.

Back at the hotel, we continued our chit-chat near the Presidential Suite fireplace. Gorging on our Kilwin's haul, we peaked over the top of our sugar high capacity and were heading "back down into the valley." Dragged ourselves back to our room for a restless night of un-sleep.