Cops, Doughnuts, and Cadillacs

It's been a week since I posted, and while I can't remember what we've been doing, we have been busy! Sandy Oaks RV Resort is a quiet place with mostly retired residents. The weekends see a few grand kids arrive, with the expected golf cart, atv, and skateboard action. The park sits adjacent to a 50+ mile system of atv/snowmobile trails, and it seems that every resident has an off road vehicle of some sort. The alternate mode of transportation is via golf cart. At about 9 in the morning, the parade starts, with golf carts cruising slowly up and down the half-dozen streets at about 3 miles an hour. The expectation is to see a neighbor and spend some time solving a few of the world's problems! With all the carts on the road, there aren't a lot of people sitting on their patios, so most of the talking is done while parked in the street! Then, again in the late afternoon, between dog walking and sunset the carts come out again, and the ritual is repeated. Everyone is extremely friendly, and it seems to be a warm and considerate community.

Our friends Bill and Diane have entertained us lavishly for the two weeks we have been here. Bill is  great cook, and has been showing us his talents just about every night. He is a proponent of the Green Egg grill and has perfected it's use down to a fine art. He's done chicken wings, ribs, burgers, and steak on the Egg and has complemented the grilling with side dishes that are to die for. Diane is famous for her beans, which she doesn't fix very often due to the preparation time, but she did share some with us the other night. I had three helpings! I just couldn't stop!

Yesterday, the 23rd of July, we took a short day trip to Clare, MI, and to Cadillac, MI. Clare is a little burg of about 3500 residents located just of of highway 127 in central Michigan, and was founded in 1870 with the coming of the railroad. Ho-hum....but wait....

In 1896, a bakery opened near the intersection of US 127 and US 10 in downtown. It thrived for years, but fell on hard times in 2008. Nine officers of the Clare PD purchased the Clare City Bakery, gave it a makeover and a police theme, and now it's world famous.

We made the obligatory stop at the tourist board before heading inside. There was some confusion as to who was the perp, Donna or Diane!

A selection of delectable delights awaited us inside!

And, of course, a gift shop.

There were lots of cool souvenirs to look at!

Not all of the group wanted to do a test drive of the doughnuts, so Gawie had to volunteer! One jelly filled, glazed doughnut later, the caper was pronounced a success!

Clare is about an hour south of Houghton Lake. Another hour northwest is the town of Cadillac.

Cadillac is an old timber town of about 10,500 souls. It is beginning to fray a bit around the edges from its glory days a hundred  plus years ago. Located on and around Lake Cadillac. It has had a bit of a manufacturing history, having been the home of Ephraim Shay's locomotive company, the Michigan Iron Works, in the 1880's, and home to manufacturers of automotive parts. Today Cadillac Castings, Inc dominates the skyline of the town.

Sidebar: In October 1975, the rock group Kiss performed in the Cadillac High School gymnasium to honor the football team, which won the next seven consecutive games and the conference title. Kiss returned to play for the homecoming game later that year!

So after a 100 mile or so circle tour of the area, we returned home for a quiet evening watching the golf cart parade.