2017 MICHIGAN Petoskey 3 - Last Day in Petoskey "Stone" Town

On the last day of our Petoskey meet-up, we opted to stay a little closer to town. We had not surveyed the stores yet. Nancy had a few things in mind to shop for--her "memory magnet" of the location, a piece of art and, in this case, a Petoskey stone.

This is Michigan's state stone. It is actually a rock and a fossil. Each is a fragment of a coral colony or reef originally created in the Devonian period (which means a REALLY loooong time ago). These stones are found in other areas of the world, but are most prevalent in Petoskey and nearby Charlevoix. Read more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petoskey_stone and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devonian.

As it is the state stone, each person is limited to taking 25 pounds of it home. Just before our trip I read in the paper that someone had found a 93-pound single stone. The article said as this was against state law, it was "recovered by the authorities." Here's the article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/12/state_confiscates_giant_petosk.html

One of the stores had an entry floor made of good examples of Petoskey stone.

Here is a polished stone, but they come in many variations.

We traveled up and down all the business streets hunting for our needed items The guys were going to wait for us in the city center park, but ended up in the Noggin Room Pub at the Perry Hotel. After a successful shopping spree, we met them there for a pre-lunch cocktail. We also discovered the "Wall of Foam," where MANY mugs were hung, all designating owner names. The bartenderess kindly to our photo.

While shopping, we spotted side-by-side restaurant possibilities for lunch--the Twisted Olive and the Palette Bistro. We entered to check their menus before deciding. Out both their back windows was a picture perfect view of the lake. For today we chose the Olive, but will try the other one next time.

Brunch was being served on the weekend, rather than lunch. If I remember, Tim and Mike ordered breakfasts options, Nancy had a grilled chicken sandwich, and I had soup and salad with candied pecans and goat cheese. No complaints here. We definitely recommend this place.

Next stop was a stroll to the lake. We walked through a tunnel under the highway to get to the beach and pier. Once on the other side, there is a lovely promenade to the end of the pier. Not much happening this time of year. Most of the boats are already hauled out and taken to their winter homes.

A couple asked us to take their photo, so we swapped pix.

T&N wanted to take a half bushel of apples home to share with their neighbors. We spotted Petoskey Farms Vineyard and Winery on the map and started that way. It was a short distance our of town. We hoped we could catch a tasting and a farm stand at one spot.

Alas we got just a tasting, a good one though. We sat on the patio under heat lamps and enjoyed a view of the vineyard.  I had a divine apricot fruit wine.

The trees look a little red in this photo, but truly were just brown.

We asked the server if she knew of a fruit farm where we could buy apples. She directed us to a nearby place that I think was called Bill's. In any case, it was one of the best we've been to in a while. There was a huge variety of pumpkins and squash and apples, as well as tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, crisp greens, etc. A nice selection for this time of year.

Our next stop was a jerky shop we had passed on our way to the Bill's. This was our only disappointment. Mike and Tim each bought over $15 worth of jerky and both agreed later it was the worst they ever had. Too tough to chew or even to take a bite off. Back home we tossed the whole batch!! Next time he will ask for a taste before buying. And P.S., their mascot was bit too phallic for me.

Our last stop of the day was an area called Bay Harbor. We had passed it numerous times in our Journeys up north in the past as well as this weekend, but we had not stopped. So today our curiosity got the best of us. Turns out it was a big condo complex with a few stores and a restaurant called the Knot Just a Bar. We had a quick cocktail, a cup of soup (clam chowder that was way too peppery for Deb ... what a wuss!), and finally a birthday cheesecake delight for Mike. Yum! We hit a lot of places today and most Mike and I had never been to in the past.  

Back at the hotel, we gathered in our modest non-presidential-but-quite-adequate room for a last chat and good-byes. We had had a long day and T&N were rising early to head back to Chicago (at least an 8 hour drive).

We so enjoy every minute we can squeeze in with these dear friends and can't wait til next year to visit again. We're talking European river cruise.