Beaver Island, Michigan: Makes Me Want to Upgrade To SmallIslandScoop.com

When I say “home” in conversation, I am no longer referring to New York or New Jersey, I mean Belize.   A country I love and have lived in, full time, for 8 years.   A place I have no intention of leaving…

But I still love traveling.  And though I have been to over 40 countries – there are 196 in all – I’m realizing how much I still need to do and see in my homeland.   Sitting here on Beaver Island, in the upper part of Lake Michigan, eating cherry pie and watching a little Donald Trump on TV – perhaps our next president – I remember that I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!

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Anyway…here are a whole bunch of pictures of gorgeous Beaver Island.  A remote, ridiculously beautiful and fascinating small island – that had a Mormon King, a place that produced the most fish in the world at some point in the 1800s and is absolutely drop-dead all-American gorgeous.

Last night’s sunset – no filtering or touch-ups.

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So it was last Monday and we were landing on the “Emerald Isle”…

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The air strip…

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Good news.

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And then right across the street, next to a field full of wild turkeys, a breakfast spot.

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We got to the house on the west shore, here is a photo from the lake at sunset…

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This sunset.  There have been more beauties…

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Simple but gorgeous over the deck.

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And last night as a flock of merganser ducks floated by…

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IMG_4075Thru the woods and along the shore…

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Either sandy bottomed or lined with gorgeous rocks – many pushed down from Canada and rolled smooth by the ice ages.  They are my new obsession and my luggage should contain about 5lbs of them.

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And we visited the tiny town of St. James.  The only one on the island.  Totally oozing small town charm.

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The kinda spot where you could give a child $2 and they could spend hours picking out a bag full of things.   From stickers to wax lips…

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An ice cream shop for the whole family.

IMG_4207A gorgeous GORGEOUS spot where they hand make boats and canoes from cherry and cedar.  The St. James Boat Shop.

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We are in a part of the country where soda is called “pop”.

IMG_4142The United States truly is a melting pot for people and useless statistics.  Though Beaver Island is not labelled (I circled it in orange), we are clearly in pop-country.

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There is DELICIOUS smoked white fish.  On some home made toast, a schmear of cream cheese and a thick slice of August tomato?  You’d swear you were in NYC.

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With some handy signs inside…

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And an interesting and delicious Michigan delicacy – pickled bologna.

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And the harbor with a view of one of the island’s two lighthouses.

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Some fun cars…

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I’ll wrap this up…I promise!  But one quick(ish) look at the lighthouse on the other side of the island.  This one is just a museum now…

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The stairs to the top.

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So there it is.  Beaver Island.  One gorgeous spot that may be a bit tricky to get to…but is totally worth it.IMG_4141

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