Up North: Above the Rest
Jane Hardin and Bob Dikman, of Tampa, traveled to Northern Michigan in the summer of 2009 with reservations to stay for one month.
The couple stayed for more than three.
“We arrived June 1, and we were having so much fun that we stayed until Sept. 13,” said Jane. “And the only reason we left was because our family was getting worried about us! There was not a single day that we didn’t have something wonderful to do.”
Jane’s words of praise about Northern Michigan come with weight; the well-traveled couple with five children is hard to reach during their many travels through the year. But once Jane starts talking about the Petoskey region, it’s hard to get her to stop.
Not that we wanted her to.
“We are huge hikers, huge. The first thing we did was join the Audubon Society the week we got there. We hiked with the local people, and that was a hoot,” she says with a thick Southern drawl, the product of her South Carolina roots. “Then we joined the Little Traverse Conservancy and we did a bunch of field trips with them to all the preserves. But if I think we went to all of them, there are probably 10 more. Michigan knows about parks and recreation and conservancy — you should get the award for that.”
The self-described Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce’s “dream come true,” Hardin continued: “We did everything in the brochure. And if you don’t see the Young Americans once a year, you’re crazy,” she added, about the high-energy performances of youthful singers and dancers at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs throughout the summer.
Performances, concerts and lectures at Bay View, one of the nation’s most historic communities filled with Victorian homes and generations of summer families, were other regular draws for the couple. So was the Little Traverse Civic Theatre downtown Petoskey, and the Roast and Toast Café.
She expects she’s up a pant size because of their regular stops at the Bob-In Again for frozen custard, but worked some of it off along the Little Traverse Wheelway and other local rails-to-trails corridors that criss-cross the north.
The two even spent a weekend at the University of Michigan Biological Station in Pellston, rubbing elbows with professors offering extension classes the likes of archaeology and entomology.
Hardin’s exuberance keeps the conversation rolling, and it’s particularly amusing considering she said at one point in her life she told her husband she’d rather spend a week in jail than a week in an RV.
“Now, I want to live in an RV forever,” she said, noting the couple rolls in a 43-foot Monaco Signature coach decked with amenities.
With no Michigan ties, Jane and Bob first connected with the Rose family, Hearthside’s developers, in Tampa. “I told Bob that Wayne Rose reminded me of Andy Griffith — and the way he described Petoskey, it sounded just like Mayberry.”
They took Wayne’s word for it and booked a reservation for June. Lots at Hearthside can be rented on a nightly, weekly or seasonal basis, or they may be purchased outright. Aside from the innumerable activities they took part in around the region, they also particularly enjoyed the breakfasts poolside at Hearthside and the game nights when they “laughed ‘til we cried” with the other travelers, who quickly became fast friends.
“At the end of our stay, we had the most magical, spiritual experience,” Jane recalled. “There was a big group of us, about 10 or 12, sitting around with some property owners and we were christening their new fireplace. We were all sitting around the fire at night, and it was the perfect September night. We saw the biggest, most fiery meteor you have ever seen in your whole life. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
The same could be said after talking with Hardin about Northern Michigan, too.
Jane’s Top 10
While you’re in Northern Michigan, Jane Hardin’s must-do list includes:
1. Hiking the local rails-to-trails routes, and the preserve lands under the guardianship of the Little Traverse Conservancy. www.landtrust.org
2. Traveling the Little Traverse Wheelway, a paved trail that rings Little Traverse Bay for more than 20 miles from Charlevoix to Harbor Springs. www.trailscouncil.org
3. Bay View: Lectures during the day, concerts, operas, theatrical performances at night at this historic landmark summer community. www.bayviewassociation.org
4. Visiting Lavender Hill Farms in Boyne City. With 4,000 plants and 15 varieties, visitors can experience the beauty of locally derived lavender products. www.lavendarhillmichigan.com
5. Stocking up on fresh produce at Bill’s Farm Market in Petoskey. www.billsfarmmarket.com
6. Taking a ride to the Upper Peninsula and exploring, kayaking and absorbing all the pristine environment has to offer.
7. Walking the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day. www.mackinacbridge.org
8. Buying tickets for the performances at the Little Traverse Civic Theatre downtown Petoskey. www.ltct.org
9. Grabbing coffee and lunch at Petoskey’s Roast and Toast Café, and frozen custard at the Bob-In Again (again, and again). www.roastandtoast.com, www.bobinagain.com
10. Seeing the Young Americans perform during regular dinner shows at Boyne Highlands, where they are on stage all summer long except Sundays. www.boyne.com
Motorcoach Living » Up North: Above The Rest
