Vickie's Ramblings: Biking with Nancy and Gerry

Notice the end of the point that seems to be floating in the air? This is looking across Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan

Notice the point seemingly floating in air, to the left.

This boardwalk was 2/3 mile long!

This boardwalk near Charlevoix is 2/3 of a mile long!

Nancy, Gerry and I have had a wonderful time biking and visiting for the past three days. They got in late Monday night but were up and ready for action the next morning. After a nice walk in the woods around my dads place and the adjacent Chippewa Nature Center, we were off to get Gerry's rental bike and take a short ride around midland. It's nice to be a tourist in my home town. I saw stuff I've never seen before! I am going to refer you to Nancy's blog for pictures:
www.adventureswithnancy.blogspot.com

Wednesday, a woman nancy had corresponded with but never actually met drove up from Lansing to ride with us. We did a 35 mile loop from my dads house, which included riding the length of the chippewa trail, a stop at the Chippewa Nature Center visitors center, where we saw wild turkeys; the Tridge; the midland farmers market to score home grown tomatoes and cukes; a pleasant picnic lunch followed by a latte and tea stop; a dozen or so miles on the beautiful Pere Marquette rail trail, and then another dozen miles on flat, scenic, low traffic back roads. Finally home to where a crock pot dinner of chicken curry was waiting for us, followed by both cake AND pie my dad had made. With ice cream of course.

The three of us in Charlevoix
We are now in Petoskey, MI. We drove up here yesterday to do a 40 mile ride on the Little Traverse Wheelway , from Petoskey to Charlevoix and back. There are lake views (Lake Michigan) along about half the trail, and some of it is right along the lake shore. Charlevoix is an upscale tourist town and there are a lot of rich people houses, and sadly, access to the lake itself is limited. But it's a very pretty town, sandwiched between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. And a very good latte place selling Wooly Bugger coffee.