Perhaps a friend of yours from Michigan has encouraged you to visit its “Upper Peninsula” before. There are countless reasons to do it! Abandoned mines, trees as far as you can see, rocky Lake Superior shores, watching the Michigan Tech Huskies playing hockey or collecting thimbleberries and eating them (they are SO good – they are like if raspberries and some kind of magical “fairy fruit” had a baby). And of course, you get a chance to hear folks talking in the absolutely adorable “Yooper” accent! You’ll feel like you walked onto the set of Fargo!
Grand Island, near Munising, MI.
Maybe scenery isn’t enough to make you drive hours on end. Seriously, driving from the southern part of Michigan to the upper reaches in the U.P. (the Keweenaw Peninsula, or Michigan’s “pinkie”) is not much different from driving into another state! Just thinking about it might almost be enough to make you want to reach for a glass of scotch – which just might make the “Seney Stretch” more interesting!
Well, the U.P. has you covered! Specifically, a bar called Fitzgerald’s in the tiny town of Eagle River (population 71). There are about 100 “reasons” for you to visit this place – and all of those reasons are encased in glass bottles containing delicious brown liquor… Well, delicious if you’re into this kind of booze, anyway. Oh…Fitzgerald’s is also a hotel – so you don’t have to drive – or call for a driver – after drinking enough scotch to intoxicate Winston Churchill!
Here’s a quote from that article that just might get you to start planning that Sideways-inspired “Scotchcation” now!
“I remember crushing Yamazaki 18 out on the deck and thinking that it didn’t get much better,” said co-owner Mike LaMotte. It’s difficult to disagree. The back patio affords an unobstructed panorama of Lake Superior. When the sun dips beyond the horizon line, the sky glows pink, purple and orange, reflecting off the surface of the world’s largest freshwater lake.
To close out this blog, here’s a pic that just might cool you off on a hot summer’s day…
hebspeaks 