U.P. U.P. and Away!

This morning we reluctantly left Mackinac Island, caught the ferry back to the mainland, and took off across the Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula (or the U.P. as its known in these parts). It had been raining on the Island and was incredibly foggy this morning, which remained with us for quite a while.

Here we were, hugging the coastline and you could barely even see the lake. It was beginning to seem like it was going to be quite the inauspicious day. As Monica said, outside it looked like a November day. All that was missing was the damp cold and a bowl of hot soup. And then the miracle happened. The fog lifted, the sun came out, and we reached Escabana and a lovely little Unbelievably Pretty (U.P.) picnic spot right by the shore.

Per Richard Gold's suggestion, we had found some smoked whitefish pate (a local specialty and the best I've ever tasted), which we savored on good ol' Ritz crackers along with some cheddar cheese, fresh cherries, fresh blackberries, and peaches. Oh, and clever Monica had bought some mini bottles of Pinot Grigio so we were all set. You can see our spot, the picnic, and the view above.

We continued through the Unspoiled Prettiness of this area. It's much less developed than the lower lakeside. This area has cottages, cabins, and campsites and far fewer estates and astonishing spreads. It's rangier, less cultivated, and brimming with pine trees.

We met two intrepid bicyclists, lovely ladies who were biking from Minneapolis to I'm not sure where (but I know Mackinac Island was one of their destinations). They asked if we'd had pasties yet and when we confessed we hadn't they told us we couldn't leave the U.P. without trying them. So as we drove along, we looked for and finally found a pasty seller and sampled the local specialty.

Here it is, in all its doughy glory. It was exactly as the bicyclist had predicted -- crust filled with lots of potato, some vegetables, and theoretically some chicken that was completely tasteless. But now we can say we've had one.

With the top down and the sun beating down on us (it actually got up to 91 degrees), we headed into Wisconsin (where, amazingly, the vegetation virtually transformed at the border from heavily pine forest to deciduous clumps rising from fields) to Door County and made our way to Sister Bay and our hotel. This is a charming piece of land that juts into Lake Michigan, bigger and more sparsely populated than I had expected. There is a certain Cape Cod feel to its wildness dotted with little towns. The Cape, however, is far more built up. Nature is still the winner here.

We continued our local gastronomic foray at dinner, dining on fresh walleye fish deftly prepared at the Mission Grill. It was undoubtedly our best meal so far on this trip.

After dinner we strolled around the marina, watching the sun descend into Sister Bay. What a delightful day!