If you have been following my posts from our trip around the state of Michigan, you know I ended my last post in Traverse City where we saw the most beautiful sunset I think I have ever seen.
Our first stop of the day was Clinch Park. It is right on Lake Michigan, where they have a beach, and a lot of things for kids to do.
Right next to the park is the Clinch Park Marina. It is a beautiful sight to see all the boats sailing out on the lake.
After a couple of hours, we left Traverse City and head north about an hour to the town of Charlevoix. One thing very unique to Charlevoix are the mushroom houses. They do have tours where you can learn about all the houses. Since we missed the last tour, I did my research on google. :) This is Boulder Manor, one of the biggest mushroom houses. Back in 1924, a man named Earl Young purchased several acres of land. That land was full of boulders left from the glaciers many, many years ago. He started this house in 1928, but could not finish it until after the depression in the late 1930s. I do not have a picture of the entryway, but there are large boulders built into the house.
The Thatch House is a big reason why these unusual houses are called mushroom houses. This house probably looks the most like an actual mushroom. It was built in 1918, and its thatch roof was made in Europe and shipped to the US. It took two years to built because of the extra timberwork needed to make it is unusual shape. According to the site I found on google, you can rent this house for a vacation.
Another one of the more famous mushroom houses is the Half House. It is called that because it is the smallest of the mushroom houses. It was built in Storybook style. (as were many in this neighborhood) Storybook is a type of architecture popular around the time these houses were built, and as you can see they look like they are straight from a storybook. You can almost image Snow White and the Seven Drawfs living there.
Our last stop in Charlevoix was the South Pierhead Light Station. It was not as crowded as some of the lighthouses we visited, but it was still fun to see. At this point we decided to travel just a little bit farther, and have dinner in Petoskey.
Petoskey is known for Petoskey stones. There are a large number of rocks along the shoreline. We loved the quaint downtown, and gaslight shopping district. We decided to eat dinner at the Noggin Inn at the Perry Hotel. Reading up on the Perry Hotel, Ernest Hemmingway stayed there during his time in Petoskey.
This was our view at dinner. We ate outside in a garden overlooking the lake. It was such a nice place that had reasonable prices. We really enjoyed our dinner there.
Since it was getting close to the time the sun was going to set, we went down to the lakeshore. This is what I was talking about earlier about all the rocks, they were everywhere.
We found a comfortable place to sit, and watched another beautiful sunset.
Afterwards we got back in the car, and decided to head to Mackinaw City for the night. The next day we had an exciting day planned, we were heading to the Upper Peninsula and going to Mackinaw Island.
That first mushroom house looks so neat with all the roof lines.
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