Petoskey, Michigan Weekend

A couple weeks ago Earl and I got away for the weekend to Petoskey Michigan.  In spite of being Michigan natives we weren't familiar with the area.  Most of the time we avoid tourist areas, and anyone who lives in Michigan knows "Up North" is THE place to go in the summer months. Sunday traffic going south on the highways is horrible so we usually avoid it.

This time, we decided it was off season and we would give it a try, so off we headed to Petoskey.  We stayed at the Terrace Inn, a very old inn that is situated in an old United Methodist summer camp right on Lake Michigan.  It has character galore.  Good and bad things about it, as most old Inns have, but we really enjoyed our stay.  Warning! My posts are not usually this long but there were so many beautiful old houses in this area I took a lot of photos!

The Inn's dining room is absolutely beautiful. Chandeliers, white cloths on the table and a real feeling of days gone by.  One of the things I wasn't crazy about was there was no central air in this building. Every room had it's own window air conditioner, and I am thankful for that because it was in the 80's and 90's while we were there. Definitely not typical for Northern Michigan in September!  Since there was no air in the dining room or foyer of this hotel, the dining room was not filled as you would expect.

 This is the foyer of the Inn

Instead, this is where we had breakfast and dinner, the back terrace with a view of Lake Michigan and the other glorious homes in this enclave.  It was still hot but there was a gentle breeze that made it bearable.  The first night we were there we decided to have dinner here and they had live acoustic guitar music. Very beautiful.

 After dinner we walked down through the surrounding Victorian houses to the beach of Lake Michigan just in time to see the sun setting over the water.

 I took pictures while my sweetheart skipped stones.

 Love that man :)   The next morning we walked through the old Methodist camp grounds.  When I say camp grounds I don't mean dingy tents and bunk houses.  These were summer mansions. That's my kind of camping!

 The camp ground is still in use to this day. It is called Bay View and they have summer programs for the residents.

 The old church. isn't it adorable?

 This was a porch on one of the homes.

 So many great details on these old places. They don't make them like this any more!

It was a great getaway. We came back relaxed and feeling like we had been residents of that little camp ourselves.   Have you gone on any weekend escapes lately? What's your favorite?