This is part two in a nine-part travelogue devoted to a recent two-day trip to Boyne City. I jest, it’s two parts, and you are under no obligation to read a word. Part I is HERE. — Management.
With no job, dogs, or kid to be up for, Wifey and I took our time getting out of bed the next morning. Then it was off to Lake Charlevoix Coffee for, well, coffee.
After some amazing coffee, it was back to the VRBO to dump out and get ready to head over to Fisherman’s Island State Park for some more hiking and relaxing beach time along Lake Michigan.
The trail we hiked ran along the shoreline and park access road through a thick forest. We anticipated a flat “out and back” hike, but we climbed over 750 feet over multiple sandy hills for over 3 miles. I know 750′ is not much, but considering most of our hikes around our home only offer about 300′ of total elevation gain over the same distance with less sand, this one hurt by the end, and we were ready for some swimming in the cool waters of Lake Michigan!
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Sadly, Lake Michigan was not ready for us. Or anyone else, the water was off limits due to posted Health Department warnings that the water’s E. coli levels were too high for skin contact. Of course, that didn’t stop one set of apparently illiterate parents from letting their small children frolic and play in the shit water. At one point, I saw one of the kids blowing up a float toy soaked with lake water, and I almost puked. The kid might as well have eaten a bowl of raw sewage! Then again, I don’t know what kids are into these days, nor do I know why there is so much fucking shit in our lakes.
The water closure was sad news, especially on the heels of the great Alewife Wave of Mutilation, in which thousands of dead Alewife fish have washed up on our shores. All this has me thinking that despite the beauty of our Great Lakes, maybe they aren’t so “great” anymore.
Luckily the visual beauty of the beach helped put aside the feeling that we humans are at the end of our days here on earth, as did my hunger after 3 miles of hilly hiking and promises of quinquagenarian sexy time upon our return to the condo.
We had planned to stop for lunch at the Horton Bay General Store on the way home because apparently, Hemingway did a bunch of Hemingway-type shit there, and it sounded cool, but it’s closed on Wednesdays. So, my plan to shirtlessly and drunkenly wrestle a bear and regale Wifey with tales of the Spanish Civil War over lunch will have to wait another day. Fun fact for you: I have never read anything by Hemingway. No use in starting now. Probably too manly for me anyway.
With swimming and lunch plans thwarted, we sat on the beach to dry our sweat-soaked selves in the sun and then headed back to Boyne City. We stopped to fuel up the car and grab some snacks at a gas station on the way. I enjoyed a fine turkey and cheese pretzel bun sub and a bottle of non-E. coli laced water. Yes, you read right. The same guy who seems to find even the finest of restaurant food “meh” these days had NO problem eating a pre-made turkey hoagie that had been sitting in the cooler of a coastal Michigan gas station for god knows how long, made by god knows who, with god knows what sort of quality ingredients. I’m not gonna lie to you; it really hit the spot!!
Random bedroom condo decor. I admit, despite my age, I can perform quite heroically at times. It’s a joke.
Once back in town, we cleaned up and rested a bit and then walked over to the Lake Street Pub for a beer on the deck before heading to dinner at Red Mesa Grill.
Wifey really enjoyed her vegetarian fajitas, and I tolerated my chicken fajitas as best I could (see the footnote in the last post to try to understand my “meh” problem with restaurants) and wondered why they gave us enough food to make 20 fajitas but only like 4 flour tortillas each.
With a belly full of food I sort of liked, we walked around town, chilled by the lake, and watched a bunch of minks play on the rocks near the shore. It was my first time seeing minks not dead on a coat, and they were a hoot to watch. And yes, I realize how old that last sentence made me sound. Goddamnit!!!!
Find the mink.
With our two-day practice empty-nest-cation coming to an end, we headed back to the condo and chilled out before heading to bed, with me waking up another year older the next day and ready for more amazing coffee from Lake Charlevoix Coffee.
After coffee we headed back to clean up the condo and pack for the easy two-hour trip home. It was a fun two-day trip and a great way to spend our 25th wedding anniversary and my 51st birthday. Thank you to Wifey for planning it all, and B, who voluntarily stayed home to care for Lola and Jake (The Dog).
I have to admit, after years spent dragging Wifey random places to fuel my past cycling and endurance racing habits, it’s nice to spend time traveling and just focus on enjoying time with her, hiking, taking photos, and having a few beers without destroying myself physically first. And sooner or later, we’ll find a Michigan beach that is void of dead fish and has swimmable water.
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The Chevy-Honda wagon “Shitbox” looks amazing! I want one!
Later.