Petoskey and Michilimackinac

Today we left Traverse City and began making our way to Mackinaw City to catch a ferry that would take us to Mackinac Island!  The drive was beautiful!  We had scenes like the one whizzing past our windows.  We made a couple of stops along the way.  Our first stop was in the charming little town of Petoskey.  Petoskey is famous for the high concentration of Petoskey stones, which is the state stone of Michigan.  These stones are actually fossilized coral, and are fascinating to look at.  I included a picture of one later on in this post.

I loved all the fall decor that added to the quaint personality of this little town.   I loved the colors they combined in their window boxes and planters, they were such unique fall color combinations.

There was an art gallery inside this church that we went to check out.  The stained glass windows were so beautiful and the colors were so vibrant.

Here is an example of what a polished petoskey stone looks like.  You can barely see it in this picture but each of those dots is a center point from which tons of little tentacle like lines come, so they are all like tiny little sun bursts.  The word Petoskey is said to mean "where the light shines through the clouds" in the language of the Odawa Indians, maybe it's because their famous stones look like little sunshines ...  My dad picked out a gorgeous little polished Petoskey stone and ordered a bear sculpted out of it, such great keepsakes.

I, on the other hand, bought a chocolate bar that was filled with potato chips ... a delicious keepsake that didn't last long enough to actually become a keepsake haha.

After a little more driving it was time to stop for lunch.  We dined at the wonderful Stafford's hotel.  This cute little place is full of personality.  All the rooms are decorated differently, and are all done in bright colors with tons of patterns.

Mr. Stafford himself greeted us as we walked into his hotel.  He was the most delightful man!

We all began with an appetizer of chilled cherry soup, as you can imagine it was delicious!  So light and frothy.

I ordered a Monte cristo for my main course, it was so good.  It was so good because instead of being the deep fried kind, the bread was soft, light french toast. AND it was served with cherry jam which was amazing!  It was sweet and tart and just awesome all the way around

My dad ordered the chicken salad in a cantaloupe flower.  It was a pretty impressive presentation.  Good for him for being so healthy.

And we ended it all with a piece of apple pie

Then we had some time after lunch to walk around the hotel and enjoy all of it's fun personality.  They opened up a couple of rooms for us to go up and see to get a feel for what it would be like to stay in this cute little place.  Then we went out to enjoy the gardens behind the hotel, it is right on the waters edge so it was such a peaceful setting.

After lunch, we loaded up the bus again and drove onward to Mackinaw City.  Our first stop in this city was Fort Michilimackinac.  Built around 1715,  the primary purpose of this fort was not military, but rather as a link in the French trading post system that stretched from the Mississippi River through the Illinois Country to the St. Lawrence River. The fort served as a supply depot for traders in the western Great Lakes.

Our cute little trading post family

We were there just in time for their presentation on life in the fort and for a firing demonstration.   I love those kind of things, I am like a child.