An American Safari: Harbor Springs

On their final day in Michigan, we packed in a bunch of things. One thing we did was go to Harbor Springs, a small beach town about 10 miles from our campground, on the north shore of Little Traverse Bay, across the water from Petoskey. Harbor Springs is the summer retreat for families along the lines of the Wrigley's, Kellogg's and other wealthy old-money families. Probably some newer money families as well.

Downtown Harbor Springs

It's easy to fall in love with Harbor Springs, Michigan. As you enter the town, you see mostly white or light colored houses with colorful flowers and hostas in the gardens. Many have colorful flags or banners on porches. The town's name comes from the springs that are located through town. Some homes have springs in their yards, and you can see them in town too - they are water fountains that have delicious spring water coming out of them.

Ruth tasting the spring
water

The downtown area is full of art galleries, shops, fudge and ice cream stores, and restaurants. The side streets lead south to the marina and shoreline of Little Traverse Bay.

Home on Beach Drive

Based on Jenny's sister's recommendation, we drove along the coast to look at the homes there. The layout is really interesting. There are little rows of "cottages" in vertical lines facing each other across beautiful lawns, so each house has a view of the water. Along the shoreline a little farther down, there are bigger homes with expansive, well landscaped lawns. All of the homes have large porches so the residents can sit and enjoy the view. Some have enclosed their porches with glass and some have custom removable clear vinyl panels to shield the porch from the wind. I noticed that some homes had artwork hanging on the exterior walls of their home along their porches, which would make hanging out on the porch more visually enjoyable.

Because it was a perfect summer day in Michigan (about 78 degrees with a slight breeze), we found a restaurant with an outdoor patio for lunch. There are four Stafford's properties in the area, and this one is the Stafford's Pier. The restaurant is beautiful inside and out (and yes, I know I've overdone the word "beautiful" again, but I can't help it) and sits right by the pier and marina.

Sticking with a new trend on the trip, Ruth and I ordered club sandwiches, Henry ordered a Cobb salad, and Jeff went a little out of the box with clam chowder and sweet potato fries. Being near the water has triggered his craving for clam chowder, and even though there are no clams in Lake Michigan, he said the chowder was excellent. Once again, Ruth didn't finish her meal so she could save room for ice cream later.

One of the cute things about our lunch and time in Harbor Springs was seeing older folks out for lunch and walks through town dressed up, so to speak. Not in dresses and suits, but in upscale resort wear. Some men had short sleeve dress shirts with sweater vests and khakis, and many women were wearing nice sweaters with pearls and in full make-up.

View entering downtown
Harbor Springs

After lunch, we walked around downtown Harbor Springs. There are some really nice art galleries, and if I won the lottery, there were a few paintings I would buy. I spent some time in a store called American Spoon Foods that made jams, jellies and sauces. The design of the store is inviting and cozy, and in the center is a tasting bar where you can try the products. I behaved and didn't buy everything I liked, because after all, they have a catalog and online store and I can shop there later. Thanks to the sampling bar, I discovered a magically delicious concoction called Maple Cream. I like maple syrup on pancakes and french toast, but I'm not a fan of maple candy or maple fudge. I'm not sure why I even decided to try the maple cream. I am so glad I did, because it's one of the most delicious things I've eaten in a long time. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but in that moment, I just had to have it. It could be good over ice cream - but might be too rich and lost in the ice cream. I'll have to ponder uses when I get home.

I also bought a jar of apple cider grilling glaze that looked really interesting, and I bet it will be great on a pork tenderloin or grilled pork chops. A recipe in the catalog uses it in a cole slaw recipe to be put on top of barbecue pork sandwiches. I skipped the jams and jellies for now, because I bought some strawberry jam in Wisconsin, and the area is known for its cherries, but I'm not really a fan of cherry jam. I almost bought the cherry barbecue sauce, but changed my mind at the last minute. I might have to order it online later.

Ruth found the Yummies ice cream shop and found her favorite - mint chocolate chip. She's rarely strayed from mint chocolate chip during the trip, but she'll have to tell you about some of the other kinds she's tried in one of her upcoming ice cream review posts.

Henry skipped ice cream because he was craving Jesperson's apple crumb pie. I offered to drive him to Petoskey later in the day to get some. He couldn't decide if he wanted pie more than the orange cream ice cream Ruth had from Murdick's Fudge and ice cream shop - it was a tough call. Fortunately for him, the shops were across the street from one another.

On the way out of town, we drove by the high school football stadium, which we had been told is built into the bluff so that the Harbor Springs fans can watch the game with a view of Little Traverse Bay. The seats are stone with grass under them and rise up high on the bluff overlooking the field. It's a great way to watch a football game, I'm sure.

Before leaving, Jeff picked up a few real estate books to look at. This would be a nice place to spend vacations - both summer and winter, and even fall.