Day 2 – 216 miles
In the morning it turned out, that a slightly flat tire we inflated the evening before, was – yet again – slightly flat. That indicated a more serious problem. A decision had to be made about how to proceed next – it was, after all, a holiday weekend and after calling a few tire repair places we realized we won’t be able to fix the tire quickly or easily. Since the air was escaping slowly and we were already hundreds of miles away from home, we decided to push forward and monitor the situation, stopping every 6 hours to inflate the tire. I tried not to let my anxiety take the best of me – situations like this usually really stress me out.
We arrived in South Haven, MI around noon. The crowds are my least favorite things in the world (again – holiday weekend), but the lighthouse did not disappoint. It was red, gorgeous and tall, a beautiful destination at the end of the pier.
The day was sunny and warm, almost too warm for this time of the year. I took off my beloved Nike’s and walked barefoot on the pier, unbothered by the waves crashing and splashing around me. My fiancé decided to keep his shoes on and soon he regretted – fortunately he had another dry pair in the car.
The pier was made of concrete crated by holes, allowing the water to escape. It was a lot of fun to watch the water circle down, creating picturesque vortexes. We walked around for some time enjoying each other and deep conversation we engaged in.
We stopped for dinner at Saugatuck Brewing Company (Douglas, Michigan), where we had a few local brews and an absolutely amazing Asian Cauliflower, tossed with spicy, salty, sweet ginger glaze and toasted sesame seeds. I have made a similar dish in my air fryer before, following the recipe I found in a book that came with the air fryer, and I am planning to experiment with more to match this masterpiece.
We swung by Pigeon Hill Brewing Company (Muskegon, Michigan) where we sampled local delicacies and then headed to see Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse (Manistee, Michigan). It was probably my favorite of all lighthouses we saw during our trip. What really made the view spectacular was the sunset, the light and the clouds covering the sky.
After yet another tire-pumping we headed towards the Microtel Inn & Suites in Manistee, Michigan. The rooms turned out to be – as the name suggested – really small. What a nice surprise and refreshing attitude – micro-rooms mean less space, but also less cleaning, which makes them more environment-friendly. We turned in early as we had to wake up at 6AM on the next day to take the ferry across the Lake Michigan.