Lake Michigan Road Trip: Days 2 and 3

Day 2

Start: Valparaiso, IN
Finish: Manistee, MI
Miles: 252
States: IN, MI

The day started at 7a with my alarm clock and then hearing a woman yelling outside. The other person who stayed at the Airbnb I was at was unfortunate enough to have her dog lock her keys in her truck. I walked outside at 7:45 and a police officer was just picking her lock. "2020, right?" she says to me. The first stop of the day was Indiana Dunes State Park. I spend a good 2 hours here walking up and down the beach letting the dunes slip through my toes like sands through an hourglass. I also stopped at Mount Baldy Beach which was just down that road and had a fun 5 minute hike.From there it was an hour and a half drive to South Haven where I stopped to stretch my legs and check out a lighthouse from 1872. There were beaches on either side of the lighthouse and both were absolutely packed with people. We're never getting over Corona. I then made the drive to Muskegon with a short stop in Saugatuck to check out another beach that was a bust. The coolest thing in Muskegon and what I had been looking to most so far was taking a tour of the submarine USS Silversides. I remember touring the German submarine U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago when I was a kid but this one was in the water and still operational (they said not to touch any buttons or pull any levers lol). Also, funding must be low at the museum because tours were self guided so you bet I want through that sub twice. There was a 0% chance of it sinking but you bet your ass I was planning which way to run if it decided to go down. I can't imagine being in there for months with it only taking 1 depth charge within 25 feet for you to never come back up. Docked next to the sub was an old Coast Guard Cutter you could check out as well. Neither one will let you forget the smell of diesel fuel/oil/grease any time soon. Just down the street from the museum was a nice beach so you know I had to check it out and get my tan on for an hour.After that, I drove to Manistee where I spent the night. I spent some time watching the sunset from yet another beach. Lots of sand in this state.

The last thing of the day was getting a shot or 2 of the 1930 steam ship S.S. City of Milwaukee which was right across the street from my hotel. This ship is a ferry that carried rail cars across the great lake and was built to replace a previous steamer that sank in a gale and took all on board down with it. You can apparently book a room on this through Airbnb but it must have been shut down because of Rona otherwise I would have been there in a heartbeat.The weather overall was perfect. Off to the west over the lake, there wasn't a cloud in the sky until a few miles inland. I imagine science can explain the "lake effect" behind this but we live in America, science is dead to us.

Day 3

Start: Manistee, MI
Finish: Cadillac, MI
Miles: 79
States: Pure Michigan 

I was able to sleep in a bit today as the only thing I had planned was golfing Arcadia Bluffs. My tee time wasn't until 12:40 so I headed a few miles north to check out the scenic outlook called Inspiration Point. I then headed to the golf course around 11:30 to get a few shots in before the round. Shaun, you'll be happy to know that I spent $200 on this round!

I got lucky and played with a threesome that was on their annual golf trip and they were pretty laid back about everything. The course was in incredible shape and definitely penalized you for making shitty shots. Pictures do not do the course justice but below is hole 12 which plays along Lake Michigan and offered some pretty cool views. Left of the fence is not a cliff but damn near and it's 200 feet down to the water. The course used to actually encourage hitting a ball from the tee box into Lake Michigan but has since posted signs advising against it.Many holes had pretty extreme elevation changes and it seemed like they all had bunkers you could get lost in. The bunker guarding the green on hole 10 had to be 15 feet tall. Here is the green on hole 18 which is right in front of the clubhouse and a sizeable crowd sitting in lawn chairs. I managed to put my 45 yard bunker shot on the green and 2 putted my way to a double bogey and no fanfare (lost f'n ball).               After the round, we grabbed a drink and watched a few groups come up 18 judging them all the way as is custom after shooting a below average round. I ended the day by driving an hour out of the way because I didn't find a place to stay until everything was booked. I made up for it by getting a big, fat, greasy, buffalo chicken pizza.

Upcoming: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and I'm not sure what else.