Leland (Fishtown)Michigan

by Joni Lee
(Fort Wayne, IN)

We left Manistee, Michigan at 6 am for our "daytripper" vacation in Leland, Michigan. The drive along M22 is a scenic experience that should be on everyone's bucket list! We stumbled upon Pt Bessie Lighthouse along Sleepy Bear Dunes shoreline. The lighthouse was just beautiful and the shoreline picturesque!

We then ventured on to Leland through wooded scenery and little lake villages. Once in Leland, Michigan we stopped at The Bluebird Cafe for a little breakfast. The locals frequent this little cafe. My husband grabbed a newspaper while I entertained the conversations of the locals. The food and service were top notch!

We then explored the tiny town on bicycles that we had in tow. A gentleman in town that lived in a beautiful home there had a small used bookstore off the side of his home that we enjoyed while hearing his history of this quaint little fishtown village. After purchasing a couple of books we took our bikes down a hill and came upon little shoppes with unusual finds! There were small boutiques filled with fashion, a little pet shop, a children's toy store, a candle store, a art store with many beautiful pieces, a sports shop and many more little specialty shoppes!

Our need for something tasty to take to the beach lead us to The Pretzel Sandwich Shoppe! The Pretzel Sandwich Shoppe has every cheese known unto man along with premium meats and sauces all wrapped up in a large warm homemade pretzel! It was so huge we shared it! We hopped on our bikes and settled upon a private little spot on the soft white sand. After finding a nice piece of shoreline to enjoy we sat on a piece of driftwood and enjoyed our pretzel sandwich.

As the sun was setting we contemplated the very nice restaurant located behind the Bluebird Cafe that served a delicious white fish dinner (so we were told) but did not get a chance to enjoy as our drive back to Manistee would have gotten we "Daytrippers" back extremely exhausted! We will stay in Leland the next trip long enough to enjoy the beach some more and visit the Bluebird Restaurant with the delicious white fish!