After leaving Mackinac Island, I don't travel far. I stay in the Northwind Motel, a motor hotel (motel) that looks like it was built in the 1920s. It probably was. It is the cheapest place I have paid to stay so far. It's small, made entirely of wood, but it is right on the lake. When I wake up I check the weather map and realize heading to Traverse City is not going to work.
I do not want to drive right into the heart of that storm, so I decided to change plans and drive east and south. I'll tour the edge of the state in the other direction.
When I reach Cheboygan, MI I discover a Big Boy Restaurant. These things were everywhere when I was a kid, like Denny's. But they have all but vanished now. Sadly the place is old and decrepit. The food is good, but like the Northwind Motel, it belongs to another era. In fact, most of Northern Michigan feels like a time capsule.
After putting on my rain gear, I keep driving. I didn't miss all of the storm, but I did miss the worst of it. By lunch time, I'm clear of the rain clouds. However, I discover that on paper tracing the "mitten" that is the state of Michigan sounds great, in practice the road is straight, flat, and mostly cutting through very dense pine forrest. Lots, and lots of it. Its seems the novelty of riding along side a Great Lake passing craftsman cabins wears off after six hundred miles or so.
I decide to cut the thumb when I realize I can reach Oxford Michigan and the home of my cousin by dinner time. Well close to dinner time. She's still working however, and I do have some work calls to make. Arizona is three hours behind me. I get to Flint, and locate a Leo's Coney Island. Perfect. Time for my favorite Hot Dog.
The Coney Dog
Trust me, they taste way better than they look. The magic is
- The hotdog itself. A natural skin casing gives the hot dog a "snap" when you bite into it. ("If it doesn't snap, send it back" as the saying goes.)
- The beanless chili. (seriously, you can buy hotdog chili in Michigan. It's a thing)
- The onions and mustard (never ketchup)
- And the steamed potato bun
Although these are not as famous as Chicago dogs, and the reference to "Coney Island" makes people think of New York where supposedly the hot dog was invented, this is a genuine south eastern Michigan staple. This is my comfort food. I grew up on these things.
Cousin Judy
After dinner, I head over to Judy's place. While she is near Oxford, she is not technically in the city proper. She's in some unincorporated place between Lake Orion (pronounced Or-ee-on, not Or-eye-ahn - don't ask me why). She and her husband of 40 years Gary bought a cabin on Indian Lake about 15 years ago to be closer to their grand children. This place is like paradise. At night the fire flies come out, bats dart in and out of the trees and you can hear the birds in the Trees. There's hardly any traffic back here. Probably because of the harrowing dirt road that will never be paved due to its protected status, that leads to their property.
We spend the rest of the evening just sitting on their back porch staring at the lake as the sun goes down. They generously emptied out their garage to make room for my bike and I pull in just before the rain starts again for the night.
This was a GREAT day.
