Michigan Vacation Day 8: Road Trip

Today was our last full day in Lower Michigan.  We had considered staying at Grandma's cottage for the day to enjoy the beach and lake, but decided that we wanted to explore more of the area instead.  So, we headed West to Torch Lake.  Eric had been there once when he was a kid and remembered that it was a beautiful lake, so he wanted to take Asher & I there.  He was right, it was gorgeous!  The water was crystal clear with a perfect sandy bottom.  It looked more like the Caribbean, than it did an inland Midwestern, lake.

We found a little beach area that some people had congregated and decided to join them.  Asher & Eric had some fun playing in the water, while I stayed on shore and watched.

This little girl was very interested in Asher.

Asher is adding some extra liquid to the lake.

keeping the tradition alive...

After we left Torch lake, we headed up to Charlevoix.  Along the way, we saw a field of round bales so we had to stop and take some pictures.  Once in Charlevoix we enjoyed the afternoon browsing in their shops, walking around the Marina and sharing in a family bowl of ice cream.

Asher enjoying the fish pond.

Eric & Asher enjoying the fountains.

Asher decided he wanted to push the stroller rather than be pushed in it.

This was in front of a shop that sold all sorts of products made with Michigan cherries.  Inside, they had samples of all of their foods out, so we enjoyed some cherry salsa, dried cherries, candied cherries, chocolate covered cherries and more (YUM!!)  I could have eaten the entire bowl of the dark chocolate covered cherries, but I thought that might be a little rude and restrained myself.  I will admit to having a couple more than one though! :)

Since we wanted to go up to Petoskey before dinner, we decided to enjoy a family treat beforehand.  We got a waffle cone bowl of ice cream to share, and this time Asher did a MUCH better job sharing.  He definitely wanted us to keep it coming, but did not throw a fit when it was not his turn to get some ice cream.

Lake Charlevoix

I am not really sure of the importance of this house.  Apparently this area is known for its mushroom houses?  I don't know, but Eric wanted me to get a picture of it.

After leaving Charleviox, we went North to Petoskey.  We had planned to tour the shops there as well, but they were closing when we got there, so we just found a nice place to have dinner.  We ended up going to a place called Papa Lou's Pizza Pub & Grill.  They had a big menu, but since pizza was in the name, we decided to give that a shot.  Eric ordered a small Pepperoni and Sausage pizza, and I ordered the Big Kahuna Pizza (which had ham, chicken, green pepper, pineapple and onion on it).  Both of them were delicious!  To top it off, we were able to sit outdoors on the third floor with a great view of the lake!

The Papa Lou's Menu said, "(FKC)=FAT KID CERTIFIED, Not that it'll make you Fat!  It's just that GOOD!"  Eric thought that was pretty funny and wanted a picture of it.

Asher & Eric enjoying the view.

My pizza and my little guy...who also enjoyed the pizza

Nothing says I LOVE YOU like a good head-butt!  :) <3

When we were full up on pizza, we headed back to the cottage for our last night there.  Our vacation was drawing to a close, but we still had one more destination to enjoy.