Campanula rotundifolia (Harebell)

After two months in Baltimore, we packed our bags and headed north to Presque Isle, Michigan. Wait, don’t click to Google Maps, just hold up your right hand, palm facing toward you. Presque Isle is at the tip of your index finger approximately 750 miles north of Baltimore.

We spent two weeks nestled among the trees visiting friends who live on the shore of Lake Esau, a small beautiful lake in the heart of Presque Isle. The setting provided a stark contrast to the urban landscape in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, where we had spent the previous two months.

Our friends left us alone for a week (not exactly, they left their cat) as they traveled to Vancouver, Canada. We enjoyed their amazing self-designed and built lakeside house and caught exceptional sunny days with highs in the 70’s. Did I mention the jacuzzi in the sun room?

This area is a stone’s throw from Lake Huron, a historical cargo passageway among the Great Lakes. Lighthouses are common on the Great Lakes, in fact there are 149 of them in Michigan, more than any other state. Here there are two exceptional examples. The lighthouse below was build in 1840.

And then this one replaced it in 1870…

While we occupied most of our time with a contagious mixture of basking in the sun, working, biking, walking and relaxing, we did make it to the local farmers market in Alpena, about 20 miles south, had breakfast at a local hangout, and toured the city a bit.

Luckily, our visit coincided with one of the biggest cultural events in the area. The 60th Annual Posen Potato Festival was taking  place in Posen (pop. 292) about 15 miles west of Lake Esau. We marked that on our calendar with a big “must do!”

We started our Potato Feast with breakfast at the local VFW hall.

You guessed it, eggs, polish sausage and potatoes. There was a big turnout and some huge appetites. After that feast, we moseyed over to the flea market and caught another glimpse of Americana…

We decided it was time to get back to the lake on this beautiful September day and as we walked back to the car, Potato Festival enthusiasts were already setting up chairs to get ringside for the main event, the Sunday Potato Festival Parade. I know, you’re thinking how could we leave now, and it was a close call but the sun and lake were too big of a pull and besides, we had a lot of city life in Baltimore. The tranquility of the wilderness called.

We leave you with one more glimpse of Northern Michigan lakeside living at its finest…

From the beauty of Northern Michigan, the next road leads to our nation’s capital Washington, D.C.