Burt Lake, mid-August

Linda and I love Indian River, Burt and the Chain O' Lakes, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Mac City (sorta)... in short, the Tip of the Mitt. We try to make it yearly. We did this year.

First up, our original cabin. Two queen beds, sofa... nice.




We had Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights there, but had to swap out as another guest had booked it for the weekend.

So... we moved here: 


One queen bed, barely enough space to walk around the bed. Would've been much better to do this in reverse! Also, the neighbors were having a family reunion and were super, super loud. Paper walls. Every word, we could hear...

Luckily, one could escape... Little Traverse Bay from Sunset Park in Petoskey, looking east to Petoskey State Park:


And, a panoramic shot of the park (works best on a mobile device)...


Then we went from the bluff to the marina as the storm moved in... and this was the view across the Bay northward to Harbor Springs:


During the ensuing monsoon, we had the hard luck to have to dine at the Douglas Lake Bar with longtime friends Jim and Sheryl. Buy one get one if your order is in before 6. Magnifique!!!

We ate three times at Hoppies on Burt Lake, twice by land, once by sea:


The "by sea" was with Paul and Karen, Bruce's sister and husband, and his dad, who were in visiting Bruce and Trish at Central Lake but did the Crooked Lake, Crooked River, and Burt Lake with us and Trish:


And it wouldn't be Indian River unless you visit, well, the Indian River. The Inn Between has the only open wifi on the main drag, so guess where I went...


And then Linda and I did our solo exploration,  first to the rustic campground at Brutus on Burt Lake (dang, had to suffer with that weather):


And then, to our all-time favorite anchor-and-chill site. We call it "U of M Bay" because that university owns a lot of property nearby. Can't tell you where it is exactly because if you started frequenting it, well, there goes the neighborhood:


And what's a trip near Petoskey without a stop at Villa Ristorante Italiano? Happy wife...

Yesh that's a Bourbon drink, Mile High Manhattan... recipe on request.

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite dish at my favorite place, Paula's. Grits. O.M.G.


A ring of butter surrounding the melting shredded cheddar. M-m-m.













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