It's that time of the week again, Wednesday, and time for more of my old postcards. Today we begin down in southwest Michigan, in St. Joseph, and will tour north along the Lake Michigan shore. Hey, you guys! Turn those cars around and head north!
Doesn't this simple trail of a road down by Douglas, Michigan, look inviting? The next two views are of long-ago Saugatuck:
Then it's on to Grand Haven, where I would swear there was an Atlantic City-style boardwalk and carnival rides in the Sixties, even saltwater taffy. Did I dream that visit to the shore with my sister and our respective boyfriends? This Grand Haven scene obviously predates whatever experience I had or didn't have there.
Ludington comes next. Doesn't this reminder make you want to jump in the car and drive to Ludington--or, if you're over in Wisconsin, drive your car onto the ferry to ride across the Lake?
And now we come to Sleeping Bear! The dune climb is still part of the National Lakeshore, but there are no more dunesmobiles, either the original or these later models.
(The ominous shadow over the dunes is not that of a UFO but only me with my camera, looming over the postcard.)
Between Glen Arbor and Leland, in the not-so-distant old days, at the intersection of M-22 and one of the roads back around Little Traverse Lake, you used to be able to take a stroll through Lund's Scenic Gardens, where scenes from the New Testament were displayed as life-size paintings. In the latter days of this attraction, when admission was free to any wanderer, coming upon one of these scenes in the tangled jungle of woods and weeds was particularly eerie.
Finally, here's Fishtown--
Fishtown in Leland. Who doesn't recognize Fishtown? Most of the shacks are still there, housing summer retail businesses. Carlson's Fisheries still sells fresh and smoked fish and smoked fish sausage. They go out themselves and catch the fish.
Where shall we go next week? To a big Michigan city? Which one? Detroit? Grand Rapids? Lansing? Or to the U.P.? Mackinac Island? The Keewanaw? Or to a few little inland towns here in the lower peninsula? I'm open to suggestions.
