When a well planned road trip goes according to plan, that's good. When a couple of unexpected treats are added to the mix, that's truly excellent. A friend and I took off yesterday morning for a two day road trip in Michigan. He had planned everything and I was just along for the ride. We headed for Muskegon, on the west side of Michigan, on the lake. The drive took the anticipated less than three hours and, after lunch, we made our first stop, a visit to a WWII LST ship. If you aren't sure what an LST ship is, it's the kind of ship that pulled up almost on the sand at several locations like Omaha Beach and off loaded tanks. It was interesting to see with explanations by my companion, a former Navy officer. Next stop, the Muskegon Museum of Art, and here was our first surprise. In addition to their permanent collection which has some really nice pieces, they had a traveling exhibit of 35 costumes from the Downton Abbey series. I'm a big fan and it was really fun to get a close up look at some of the beautiful dresses worn by the stars of the show. After the museum, we walked down the street to tour two historic homes. I definitely got my steps and steps in yesterday. The Hackley and Hume homes, side by side, built at the turn of the last century, by partner lumber barons, were filled with amazing hand carved wooden details and a few 'modern' amenities like a rain shower in one house's bathroom. No matter how large and lavish, they each had only one bathroom. Coincidentally, it was a perfect day for all this site seeing, sunny and warm with a cool breeze. Then on to supper in an excellent local restaurant on the lake in Whitehall, just a few miles north of Muskegon. Whitehall was also the site of the B&B where we had reservations. If you ever want to stay anywhere near Muskegon, I highly recommend The Lewis House, a beautifully restored historic home with every amenity. My bed was comfy, the shower was great, the view of White Lake was beautiful and this morning's breakfast, with blueberry pancakes and three kinds of bacon, was excellent. But the most fun part of our stay in Whitehall was the play we attended at the theater just down the block from the B&B. The play was a very funny, and very well acted, political farce called "The Outsider."
That was day one, day two, the trip home, and pictures tomorrow.
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