Today’s itinerary was pretty simple. By the end of the riding day we needed to find Paradise. After about 180 miles we found Paradise, Michigan just where it was supposed to be. Here’s a picture of the view from the spot I picked to create today’s blog entry. It’s a pretty nice view.

The day started with fingers crossed. My rain gear was packed away in hopes that it would stay there the entire day. The temperature was in the upper 50’s but the radar looked clear for a long way out so we started rolling around 8:30 (which is later than usual on this trip). I’m not sure if they call it mist or fog or lake effect lack of visibility but the moisture in the air was so thick you could cut it with the windshield of my motorcycle. It was thick enough that water was running down the sides of the gas tank but I wasn’t about to put on the rainsuit unless it was really necessary.

We decided to roll on down the road before stopping for breakfast. We both like that approach. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is not exactly overpopulated. That means that we rode for about 50 miles before we happened on The 3 Seasons Cafe in Manistique, MI. It turned out to be a great choice. Robin our server was friendly and even gave us some tips for some great motorcycle rides in the area. I really try to refrain from taking food pictures but I made an exception for today.

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I was reluctant to leave the warmth and good coffee of The 3 Seasons. Our next point of interest was only 40 miles down the road. I was surprised when Spencer had pinned the Snowmobile Museum on our map. It turned out to be an interesting diversion. There were 185 snowmobiles on display including some rare treasures. They also had a penny smashing machine and hat pins. This was a score all the way around.

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You can only look at snowmobiles for so long so we walked back to the bikes. Hiawatha Pasties happened to be adjacent to the snowmobile museum.

Spencer has been looking for an opportunity to enjoy a pasty (or pastie – not sure of the correct spelling here). These are not the glue-on decorations that certain dancers wear to provide some semblance of modesty. These are pronounced like past – ee. I told Spencer they are the marriage of Dinty Moore Beef Stew and a hot pocket. They were developed to give the working class miners a hearty meal that was filling and portable. It is potatoes, carrots, and some kind of meat stuffed into a pie crust and folded over then sealed by pinching the edges together. Each one weighs about 3 pounds. Spencer dove right into one. I enjoyed another cup of coffee.

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I’m going to interject an editorial opinion here so if you’re not interested you can skip this next paragraph:

I ride a Harley Davidson motorcycle with somewhat louder than normal mufflers. I try to be considerate of others around me by not revving the engine just so people know I’m in the area. While we were at the museum, a group of 5 bikers came in. All of them were running unbaffled mufflers and were so loud it hurt my ears. The lead bike had about 2000 watts of music blasting through 8 speakers (which I assume he needed to hear the music over the ear splitting sound of the bike). I had a chance to stand back and observe non-bikers as they reacted to this cacophony. Most just shook their heads and turned away. One little girl covered her ears. Everyone of those people now look at me like I am in the same genre as that group. I found this noise to be offensive and lacking consideration for anyone else in the surrounding 3 counties. Rant over.

Our hotel for the night is the Magnesson Grande at Paradise, Michigan. It is located directly on the shores of Lake Superior. It is truly a beautiful setting.

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Dinner was across the parking lot at The Inn Restaurant. The food was really good plus we are now the proud owners of enough carrot cake to feed 4 people. Unfortunately, we are out of room on our bikes so we’ll have to find something to do with it before we leave. I have a strong hunch that it will be gone by morning.

The wheels are turning due south tomorrow as we draw a bead on the ranch. As we roll the miles toward home, we’ll be lost in the memories of this shared trip.