Petoskey, Michigan and the Upper Mitt

My friend Cindy has been summering in Petoskey for more than 20 years. Until I drove here I didn’t understand what made it so special. This place is beautiful, as are the surrounding towns of Harbor Springs and Charlevoix that I also visited. In fact, My personal dream for where I’ll get a ‘sticks and bricks’ home again is a small town with beautiful homes lining the area around downtown plus a waterfront… and here it is.  So, while i really can’t afford the homes lining the areas around downtown, Petoskey is the first town to make my list of places to live. Of course I’d probably have to become a snowbird because I’m not sure i want to live here all winter long.

We went hiking in Bear River Valley Recreation Area. The river is often used by kayakers, although we didn’t see any.  It dumps right out in Lake Michigan at the Petoskey Bayfront.

We also got to spend time with my friend and former co-worker Julie, who I had just seen a few weeks earlier in Phoenix, but didn’t realize she was coming back to her former area. Speaking of small towns, someone came up to her where we went to dinner and greeted her, having heard she’d come back. This is the type of area where everyone knows everyone else and you get away with nothing!

Also, I coincidentally parked in front of Temple B’nai Israel – the only synagogue in all of Northern Michigan.

Fred did lots of swimming up here. He swam by Cindy’s summer home (Pat’s house), at the Petoskey Bayfront and at Zoll Street Beach in Harbor Springs.

Everyone we encountered in Petoskey and Harbor Springs was dog friendly. Fred was the star of his own show, getting petted all over town

We did a quick drive through Charlevoix and stopped at Big Rock Point on the way back.  I don’t quite understand the mushroom house? 

Kilwins corporate office is in Petoskey! Lots of chocolate all around!! 

And most spectacularly was of course the sunset over Lake Michigan.  There was a huge cloud which interrupted the beauty of it, but towards the end, the cloud was passed and we had beautiful glowing pink, orange, red skies.

We’re leaving Petoskey tomorrow but I am quite confident that we will be back next year!