Minnwichigan; Day 8; July 12, 2014

Our intentions for today were to ride to Traverse City and spend a couple nights there while we explored the area. The night before, when searching for lodging, we discovered that the National Cherry Festival was going on there. Rooms were hard to come by and those available were outrageously expensive. So we changed our plans.

We left St. Ignace at 9:00. It was cloudy and 70 degrees. It rained very lightly in the morning, just enough to make the streets wet, which was just enough to soil our cleaned bikes.

Today was a good day of riding. We started out by riding over the Mackinac Bridge (http://www.mackinacbridge.org/)Carl & Marge on the Mackinac BridgeThis was followed by highway M-119, the Tunnel of Trees, from Cross Village to Harbor Springs. Mother nature tinkled on us along this stretch of highway.DSCN4979In Harbor Springs we noticed a farmer’s market on their main street so we stopped to score on some goodies. Chris was happy to find some kohlrabi, which she got hooked on as a child. Her maternal grandparents grew them in their garden.Chris with her purchase from the farmer's market We looked for a museum in Petoskey but couldn’t find it. Instead, we had a picnic lunch in a park with a view of Little Traverse Bay.lunch by Little Traverse Bay; Petoskey, MIRiding through Charlevoix we noticed both sides of the street were lined with flowers – very pretty. On the south side of Charlevoix we found the worlds largest cherry pie.Charlevoix, MIRiding south on Hwy 31 we noticed numerous roadside stands selling fresh cherries. We also saw many cherry orchards with trees full of cherries. South of Torch Lake we stopped at a fruit stand for some fresh picked cherries and other goodies.on Hwy 31 south of Torch Lake, MI

At the junction of Hwy’s 31 and 72 we split company. Carl and Marge rode west to see the Old Mission Lighthouse north of Traverse City (http://www.missionpointlighthouse.com/) while Chris and I rode east and north to Gaylord. Our lodging for the night was at the Quality Inn in Gaylord.

Carl and Marge arrived later and we went to dinner at the Sugar Bowl Restaurant in downtown Gaylord. It has been in business since 1919. We had an excellent dinner there.

Chris and I rode 181 miles today with a high temperature of 79. Other than a little rain it was fantastic!

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6035296231693970849?authkey=CI2E8urNlffnfw

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