After a pretty decent night's sleep, Theresa and I got ourselves together (trying not to disturb our hosts) and headed out into a drizzly, mizzly day. Our first priority was picking up the pieces from ArtCenter Traverse City's "Art and the Garden" exhibit. Luckily, the ArtCenter wasn't far from Renate's home; unfortunately, Kathryn wasn't there as we hoped. Good thing the Bayview Inn was about a block back up Highway 31, well within walking distance. We got a good breakfast, discussing the next phase of our trip. By the time we finished eating, cashed out and made our way back to the ArtCenter, Kathryn had arrived and we were able to load in the artwork and drive on to Elk Rapids.
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| Blue Heron Gallery on a sunnier day |
Our next stop was the Blue Heron Gallery (131 Ames Street, Elk Rapids, MI 49629), where we rendezvoused with Pat Curran, dropping off all kinds of stuff - Hot Pepper Tiles, Sunflower Tiles and Wildflower Tiles, Embossed Leaf Bowls and Applied Leaf Bowls, a Large Bird Bowl, Green Man/Woman Masks, Heart-shaped Lace Bowls, various Leaves and a small selection of Deluxe Sunflowers. Even though we were a bit early, Pat was ready for us so we were able to quickly load in the bins of work, get the paperwork signed and head back out into the rain. We took a quick stop in town at Nature Connection and talked with the clerk there before heading on to Petoskey.
On our way into town, we stopped at Sturgeon River Pottery (3031 Charlevoix Ave., Petoskey, MI 49770) to take a quick look around, inside and out (the weather was still less than pristine). They've got a pretty varied inventory, including both functional and decorative pottery, other handcrafted items such as furniture, bird houses and weathervanes, as well as a comprehensive selection of wild bird supplies. They also have a very cool, highly-socialized pooch with whom I spent a fair bit of down-time before we headed onto town proper.
It was clearly time for lunch and we had hoped to stop in at the Twisted Olive (319 Bay Street), which Lucy at the Crooked Tree Art Center had recommended to us the last time we were on our way through Petoskey. We thought we might have a good chance of getting in, seeing as it was only Thursday, but the place had a line out the door - it was, after all, prime lunch hour. So, we opted, once again, for the Roast & Toast, where we got the soup/half sandwich. We had to park well out of the downtown area - no problem we could use the walk! - and decided to drop in at Crooked Tree to see Lucy before heading across the bridge and on up to Houghton for the night.
Luckily, we got an earlier start than last time and managed to make it to the motel before dark. We were even able to get into the Ambassador Restaurant before sundown after walking around town and checking out Suomi Home Bakery and Restaurant: peeking in the window, we could see folks making pasties for the next day's sales. After a great dinner of salad, pizza and beer at the Ambassador (this is fast becoming one of "our places"), it was back to the Travelodge for a good night's sleep.
