Petoskey, Michigan

September 4-8, 2008

We spent several days in Petoskey last year bicycling, watching the weather, watching the salmon run, documenting the results of weather, and waiting for a weather break. Even though it was a bit stressful last year, we really enjoyed Petoskey and had to visit it again.

Now, on our way over we heard a little one-sided radio chatter. Specifically, a boater was calling into the Petoskey Marina requesting a slip but wondering about the "fire truck spraying water". We couldn't hear the response and didn't think much of it until we pulled into the Petoskey Marina and saw a fire engine shooting water into the lake. Well. Guess that explains why the lake levels are higher now. Darn nice of Petoskey to make that contribution to the lake. Of course, curiosity did get the better of us when we saw a different truck later in the day also spraying water. We had to ask. Turns out, they were testing the volume and pressure performance of the equipment for their annual certification.


We got the chance to go to the Petoskey Farmers Market. A few of Bernie's favorite vendors are there: Pond Hill Farms and Friske's Orchards.

We also visited some of our favorite retailers in Petoskey: Roast and Toast (while they don't have a Lake Effect, they do have Autumn Sunset and an Accidental Tourist coffee drinks that could give a Lake Effect a run for its money) and McLean & Eakin Booksellers. Petoskey now has a Life is Good store. We really didn't know how much Life is Good merchandise was out there. Until now.

Add to that, the Little Traverse Wheelway, a great bike path that links Petoskey with Charlevoix and Harbor Springs (both Woolly Bugger towns) and really, what more do you need?

Nice restaurants and friendly people, you say?

Well they have that, too. In fact, our waiter at Chandler's took time out of his busy night to talk to us about life in Petoskey. By the end of the evening, we were convinced that we should consider moving here.

So the next day, we got a list of properties for sale and wandered the neighborhoods.

So we talked to a real estate agent.

And, while it would have made for a great blog about us buying a house in Petoskey while on this cruise, we didn't find the right house.

Yet.

But we'll be back.