A trip a few miles east to the town of West Branch saw us take care of some shopping errands and stop for lunch at LumberJacks. The lumbering industry of the upper midwest provided a theme for the decorations in the restaurant, but I was taken by a photo on a wall.
The largest load of logs ever loaded and hauled on sleighs was loaded near Ewen, Michigan, on Sunday, February 26, 1893, by Malcolm McEachin. The sleighs on which the load was hauled were built by William Elder out of bird's-eye maple and are 18 x 20 inches in size! The load was composed of fifty logs of white pine which scaled 36,055 board feet of lumber. 2,000 pounds of chain secured the load, which measured 30 feet 3" high by 18 feet long and weighed 140 tons. The load was hauled by a team weighing about 3,500 pounds! The load was shipped to Chicago, where it was part of the Michigan exhibit at the World's Fair.
Another day we ventured with Bill and Diane about 2 1/2 hours south to Dianes sisters house just south of Flint, Mi. Of course we had to have lunch, so we stopped at the Starlite Diner for a "Coney" and to enjoy an old-fashioned diner!
Those Coneys were delicious!
A few days later, on a trip north, we stopped for a view of Traverse Bay.
Our destination was the little tourist town of Leland, Michigan. Once known as Fishtown, this area was, and still is, a widely known fishing port, as well as being a quaint little town.
Out in front of The Cove, a well kept Amphicar beckoned us to a closer look!
The Girls checked out the historical marker.
A small Visitor's Center had a map of the peninsula and the adjacent fishing grounds. From "South of South" to "Peshawbestown", the best fishing spots are clearly marked. By the way, that last area is pronounced "Pe-shappy's-town". Go figure.
The Carp river out of Lake Leelanau supplied water around which the "shanties" were gathered. It's a lot different now, but boat building, ice houses, and fishing supply businesses were cheek-by-jowl.
Even today, charter boats are lined up to take enthusiastic fisher-people out to the best spots. These guys know how to fish!
We stepped into Rick's for lunch on the patio. The weather was wonderful and the food good.
The specialty beverage of the restaurant involves a smoked Chubb. OK, we tried it.....enough of that!
Yesterday, August 2nd, Diane had Cheesecake with Chocolate sauce on her mind! Later in the afternoon we took another journey to the town of Clare, where the world-famous Cops and Doughnuts is located. This time we visited the The Whitehouse. Established in 1935, this burger joint has been doing their "cookin' on the flat top" thing for more years than I can imagine. The building sorta supports that....
They have become known for their breakfast menu, but the burger list wasn't lacking in anything either! Four hamburgers later, complete with onion rings (but no malts or shakes....they don't do that foo-foo stuff. It's coke, iced tea, or water. Your choice.) This is a joint the way it used to be!
I don't know what's in store for the next few days here in Houghton Lake, but I'm sure we'll come up with something!
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