Ride the Peninsula - Days 3 & 4

Ready to ride south on M-37.
9/20/2019 dwm photo

Day three was busy - I didn't take any pictures around the light house.  It was hot, and natty.  Actually, I mean Gnatty - as in filled with flying clouds of tiny insects.

When I swept the sidewalks Thursday morning, there were a few times I picked up a piece of trash.  (This is a good time to give all the guests to Mission Point a big shout out, because during the week there was very little litter.)

As I lifted the lid on the can to toss it in, a hundred gnats took flight as one.  It was icky.  Inside, they were such a nuisance at meal time we turned the fans on high to keep them moving.

Other than the bugs, it was a good day.  There were lots of visitors and we were comfortable in our jobs.

Friday morning, I took a ride.

When I decided the bike needed to make the trip, I expected to ride every day.  That was before discovering my exercise program involved sweeping sand and Light House work.

The stairs to the lantern
are a cross between a
ladder and stairs.
9/20/2019 (dwm)

The sand piled up on the steps and sidewalks while I was on the bike, so I cut the ride short to return in time to sweep things up before we opened for the day.

It was the day of our most memorable visitor encounter.

Through the store window we saw a young man wearing a t-shirt with the words, "Save Ferris," on the front.  My wife and I saw the shirt and thought the perfect greeting after, "welcome to the light house,"  is "are you the sausage king of Chicago?"

After greeting him, we asked him to sign the guest book.  That's when we asked if he was, indeed, the sausage king.  He looked at us with a blank face, despite wearing a shirt seen in the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day-Off."

He is from France, studying in the United States.  He wasn't familiar with Ferris Bueller or why he needed a vacation day.  The joke was lost on this 2019 version of Abe Froman (the sausage king in the movie).

Looking northeast from the lantern.  9/20/2019 (dwm)

The night before day 4, I tried to get a shot of the lantern at night.

I carried a tripod to the top of the house, then balanced a powerful flashlight on it.

When I went out to take pictures, the light was too weak for pictures.  The light was strong enough to attract a massive amount of gnats to the outside of the lantern window.

Day 3 we welcomed 237 guests to the lighthouse.

The Root Beer barrell and Ice Cream cooler at the Old
Mission General Store. 9/20/19 dwm photo

At the end of day 4, 245 visitors made the trek to Mission Point, and we made the trip to the Old Mission General Store.

The building looks like an old general store.  It sells alcohol, groceries, and tools.  It also has a restaurant.

The dining room sits 14.  A sign leans against the deli cooler announcing the wait for food can be 60 minutes.

When the chef asked what we wanted, I asked how long the wait was that evening.  She said she only had a pizza order before us.

M - 37 ends at the lighthouse
9/20/19 (dwm)

We ordered hamburgers and a chocolate malt.  The patties were made by hand, it was the most delicious burger I ever had.

As we loop back to where this started, my ride, I am impressed at the cultural significance achieved by Michigan State Highways.

M-22 runs along the west coast of the state and offers spectacular views of the lake.  There is a store called M-22 in Traverse City.

In the gift shop, we sold black hats and t-shirts with a white diamond and "M 37 Ends" embroidered above the name of the light house.

It's unlikely the State of Michigan thought to license their road signs for commercial purposes.  Which is too bad because the roads and their signage are a real gold mine.

Come back tomorrow for day 5.