Michigan's 'Thumb'

A map of Michigan looks like a baseball glove, doesn't it? My wife and I just returned from several great Autumn days in what Michiganders call the 'The Thumb' of that glove, a beautiful area set off by Detroit at its southeastern base, Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron on its east, and Saginaw Bay on the northwest. Our few days coursing along its back roads allow us to give the area a very high 'thumbs up'!

We began our trek in a rental car from Detroit's airport north along Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River with their bridges to the Canadian province of Ontario at several well marked points along the way. We chose to defer a dip into Canada to another trip, though, but we enjoyed a French language radio station as we drove parallel to the international border. Michigan Highway 25 between Lexington and Port Sanilac passes the wooded, sandy beaches of Lake Huron which must be very busy on summer weekends. Lots of B&Bs, small cottages, RV camps, and marinas along that stretch! Lexington's harbor docks were built in 1870 to ship local agricultural products into the Great Lakes and to the world. Scuba divers can explore four shipwrecks in the nearby Underwater Diving Preserve. Port Sanilac's Historic Village allows a look at Michigan of the 19th and early 20th centuries in a tour of the Victorian mansion and other historic buildings moved to the 1853 estate of Dr. Joseph Loop, a 'country' doctor in that era.

We turned 'inland' from Port Sanilac for a look at the small towns and farms inside the 'thumb' and were not disappointed as we passed beautiful farms, many with scores of pumpkins lined up in front yards with 'Pumpkins for Sale' signs beside the roadway. Every farmhouse seemed to have fall decorations, pumpkins, bales of hay, and a scarecrow leaning on a tree in the front yard! We stopped at several small .... and not so small ... farm markets, knowing we couldn't buy a pumpkin, but enjoying them anyway. Watching parents help their children choose the perfect pumpkin was great fun, though! We didn't get away, of course, without trying the free samples of fruit and vegetables, baked goods, candies, and wine and a few items naturally found their way into a shopping basket! We also noticed many local merchants recognized the business benefits of signs which made 'Hunters Welcome'.

A stroll in small town Bad Axe near the top of the 'thumb' was followed by lunch in the Coffee Plus Café. It was noisy and busy with locals enjoying homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches. We enjoyed our meal in a small side room filled with antiques and old books as we tried to overhear the cheerful banter of others around us.

We drove north back to the shoreline at Port Austin at the very top of the thumb. From there southwestern to Bay City the lake and Saginaw Bay looked almost like an ocean, small whitecaps rolling into the beach on a suddenly blustery, rainy day. Bay City sits at the mouth of the Saginaw River as it enters Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron beyond. The town was a major shipbuilding and shipping point in the 19th and 20th Centuries for Michigan timber and agricultural products to reach the rest of the world. We entered the town on Center Street which was lined by fantastic and well maintained old Victorian homes. Bay City's old downtown today is home to several antique shops and arts and crafts boutiques. The St. Laurent chocolate shop in the old port area naturally pulled us in and it was very difficult to choose from the wonderful fudges ... but we did! The old port area is also the site of many events throughout the year, including a motorcycle rally and beer and music fest in the summer and harvest celebrations throughout the fall.

My wife is crazy about Christmas shops so our next day began with a 20 miles drive southeast to Frankenmuth, home to the Bronner's CHRISTmas WONDERLAND store (www.bronners.com). Frankemuth was founded in 1845 by German settlers and it maintains its German character in architecture, restaurants, and arts and crafts. Brunner's is a family-run business established in 1945 and claims to be the 'world's largest Christmas store'. Nothing about it seems to dispel that claim! The store is 2 ½ acres .... 1 ½ football fields - under roof of every type of Christmas decoration imaginable, domestic and foreign! There is also a full size replica of the chapel in Oberndorf/Salzburg, Austria in which 'Silent Night' was first sung in 1818. The chapel is available for meditation year round.

Finally pulling my wife from the store, we moved to the center of town for a lunch and stroll. We had an excellent lunch in the Bavarian Inn, Cordon Bleu for me and pork schnitzel with sauerkraut for her. The Castle Shops in the Bavarian Inn's basement included a wonderful chocolate shop whose aromas drew us in to watch a young woman prepare a sheet of chocolate 'turtles'. It was tough to walk from that store but we found four other chocolate shops in the town, too, each more difficult to pass by than the last. We did try the many cheese and cheese spread samples in the Cheese Haus. I can recommend the horseradish and garlic spreads .... if you can survive the bite! We stopped in the St. Julian wine tasting room for a rest and a bit of tasting, leaving with a bottle of the local red. A block away, the Star of the West Milling Company proves Frankenmuth is still a working town with the smell of grain in the air.

Anyone looking for the wonders of fall and a look at how America used to be should look to the 'thumb' of Michigan!