07/11/08

We departed Roscommon for a Harley Dealer about 40 minutes away. Well, as you can imagine, the problem was of the most serious kind, a stator failure, which must be common to these bikes as this dealer installed thirty of them so far this year. Uncle Eddie's travails did not dull Gene and PJ's appetites so we headed to Gobblers of Gaylord, a name that really doesn't do the place justice. It's theme was some kind of potpourri of human interest from the fifties and sixties. The food was good, the service was excellent, a model of customer service. In fact the people are really friendly and helpful no matter we we have been in Michigan. Well, we ended up leaving Uncle Eddie at the Harley dealer because it was going to be a long job, and Gene and I struck out for the west coast of Michigan. At Charlevoix we found Ed Fralick a guy who manufactures wrought iron and steel sculptures. We stopped to take a picture and struck up a conversation with him. He ships all over the world, but you would never know it from the look of his establishment. It is a throwback to the sixties.
After leaving Ed, we went through Petosky, a touristy town, and headed for the coastline and Lake Michigan along the Cherry Orchards Drive. Along this route we found Legs, a restaurant/gift shop sort of place along the lake. Ed told us about it. All of the furnishings were made out of driftwood, a pretty cool place. Dessert was the order of the day in this place so we got the special. Apparently the waiter didn't think we could handle our own, so he brought one for us to split. It made for good conversation around the other tables. Continuing on we headed for the Mackinaw bridge, a thrilling ride under the best of conditions. The wind was so strong that if our helmets weren't strapped to our heads, I'm sure they would have come off. Our evening meal was partaken at Java Joe's, a tip we obtained from someone at Gloria's restaurant in Witmore Lake, MI, and obviously another local establishment not frequented by tourists. This was definitely family owned and operated. So here we are at another KOA in St Ignace and tomorrow we are planning to tour Mackinac Island for a day out of the saddle. Well, most of the day. When we get back from there we are heading for the Soo Locks. It is pretty obvious that the price of fuel has taken a toll on travel. This campground is not even ten percent full and it is a Friday night. So far we have had no trouble getting these camping cabins when calling a couple of hours ahead. Will try to get you some pictures tonight. Not able to upload at this time.