Harbor Springs and Petoskey Stones

We needed to do a little laundry and find a Trek shop for some bike repairs so we ended up spending our one rainy morning in the towns of Harbor Springs and Petoskey when we were in the U.P. last week.

Harbor Springs Marina

Sculpture near bike shop

The Harbor Springs bike shop did not have a rear derailer in stock so we parked the truck at the edge of downtown and strolled past the shops.  It reminded me a lot of Lake Geneva except nicer and less crowded.


Residential stone wall

One of many colorful residential gardens

Trisha Witty Gallery display

The rain drizzled off and on as we walked around, but we braved the drizzle in order to check out the farmer's market.

It didn't take long for me to taste that cherry pie, the cookie didn't even make it back home!  The Grand Haven peaches and gold tomatoes were out of this world and the big yellow tomato made my grilled cheddar sandwich gourmet.  I also bought two jars of jam at American Spoon where most of their jams are made from Michigan fruit.  A bit pricey at almost $9 jar, but very delicious.  This is how I shop local!

Since Harbor Springs bike shop couldn't help us we drove to Petoskey's North Country Cycle Sport.  The gal on duty was very helpful and even gave us a recommendation for lunch.  We ate at Julienne Tomatoes and even Wayne raved about their soup and sandwiches, not usually his favorite fare.

After our bikes were tuned up we headed over to Petoskey State Park.  We wanted to look over the campground situation for future reference, but I was also hoping to find a famous Petoskey stone.  It is basically fossilized coral, and supposedly plentiful in the area. 

Where are the fossils??

NOT Petoskey Stones

 We scoured the shoreline but all I found was a message in the sand.  It was from Wayne, and it shows an insane level of devotion to the crazy girl staring at the ground with the camera in her hands.

When I gave up on the stones I enjoyed watching the kids jumping over the waves as they came in.  Who says kids don't know how to enjoy the simple pleasures in life anymore?

The gulls were weirdly comfortable with my presence up and down the beach.  It must get really crowded here in the summer for them to be so tolerant.

While driving through the campground we saw a picnic table piled with canteloupe sized rocks.  It wasn't until later that I realized I should have stopped to have a look and chat up the owners.  They knew a secret we didn't know, obviously!  Further research turns up the fact that while you can find them onshore you'll have more luck if you hit cut roadbeds and farmer's fields.  Next time!