We took a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  Planning out the trip so we could hit Ludington and Manistee, then travel north along the shoreline of Lake Michigan to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  We stayed in a cabin on Lime Lake.  What a great place to stay.  Hiked many trails and did the big Dune climb.  Found some Petoskey stones along Lake Michigan.  We even had time to do some fishing on Lime Lake, but we didn’t catch any fish.  (Click here to see picture page)

Jamesport Brewing Company, Ludington

Our first stop on our way to Sleeping Bear Dunes is Ludington.  We knew they had growlers and could not wait to check it out.  We sat at the bar and got there close to opening time and only a few people were there. It's nice to be able to chat with the bartenderess.  The brews were pretty tasty and we did try out an appetizer.  If you every stop here, be sure to order the crabby onion.  This is awesome.  We drove down to the water and checked out the Ludington Lighthouse.  Couldn't stay too long, we had to get going to Manistee.

(click here to go to recent trip)

Lighthouse Brewing Co, Manistee

Very nice place, right on the river.  We sat at the bar and had the seafood pizza.  This is very good.  We liked their dark brews better than the lighter ones. 

We have stopped  here a few more times and able to get growler refills, since we also salmon fish here.  Now they are a restaurant only, no more brewpub.  That was disappointing to us.

A whole day was dedicated to the dunes, hiking, scenic drives, and collecting Petosky stones.  What beautiful country this is.  Staying in the cabin on Lime Lake was a lot of fun and we hope to stay there again sometime.

We went into Traverse City the next day and stopped at the Mackinaw Brewing Co., tasted all the brews and got ourselves a growler.  Next stop was North Peak Brewing and another growler for the collection.  We ate at one of the breweries, having stuffed mushrooms.  Since the loss of notes can’t remember which one we ate at. Now we can't wait to get back to the cabin so we drink the brew. 

(click here for recent trip to Mackinaw) and (click here for North Peak)

After drinking 2 growlers it was pretty interesting star gazing with so many stars you can barely find the satellites.

The Brew Zone   Traverse City

On the way home we stopped at the Brew Zone (now closed) they were still open at this time but told us they would be closing soon.  No growlers available and they weren't sure if the order was still coming.  We gave our email addy anyway just in case they were to get some more.  This was also a brew your own facility.  The brews were tasty and we really wished we could have brought some home.

Boyne River Brewing Co.  Boyne City

We also went to Boyne River Brewing Co.  Can’t be sure of the exact date.  Tried all the brews.  They only had basic bar food.  Hamburgers and hot dogs – we had a hamburger and it was a good bar type burger.  The brews were average, but at least we had another growler. 

The next time we were in the area we discovered they were closed.  We found out in Aug. 2004 they have opened again and look forward to a do-over and a real rating.

(click here for recent trip)

  Home  

  Sanford Lake & Mountain Town (June, 2001)  

  Big Buck & Alcatraz (Aug, 2001)  

  Jamesport, Lighthouse, Mackinaw, Northpeak, Brewzone, Boyne River (Sep, 2001)  

  Wiltse's (Nov, 2001) & Tawas Point (May, 2004)  

  King, Big Rock, & WAB (July, 2001)  

  Hereford and Hops (starting Dec, 2001, several trips)  

  Harpers, Tuba, & MBC (Mar, 2002)  

  Tahquamenon, Lake Superior, Jasper Ridge, Library brewpub (Aug, 2002)  

  Quay Street, Dragonmead, Great Baraboo (Apr, 2003)  

  Hair of the Frog, Robert Thomas, Grand Rapids, B.O.B.'S, Founders (July, 2003)  

  Grizzly, Arbor, Leopolds (Aug 6, 2004)  

  Sports, Traffic, Stoney, Kuhnhenn (Aug 7, 2004)  

  Thunder Bay, Belle Isle (Aug 8, 2004)  

  Jamesport, Salmon fishing (Aug 29, 2004)  

  Rochester, Big Rock, King, Bo's, WAB, Bastone, Copper (Sep 11, 2004)  

  Black Forest, Frankenmuth (Oct 1, 2004)  

  Old Hat, Bilbos, Olde Peninsula, Bells, Kraftbrau (Oct 8, 2004)  

  Arcadia, Dark Horse, Harpers (Oct 9, 2004)  

  Midland St. Ale Tour, Bay City, 2004  

  Old Boys, New Holland, Via Maria, Grand Rapids Brewing (Nov 12, 2004)  

  The B.O.B., Founders (Nov 13, 2004)  

  Thunder Bay, Kings, Bo's, CJ's (Feb 5, 2005)  

  Great Baraboo, Dragonmead, Belle River (Feb 26, 2005)  

  Boyne River, Shorts (Apr 30, 2005)  

  2nd U.P. Trip - Part 1, Tahquamenon, Lake Superior, Vierling, Jasper (Aug 24,25, 2005)  

  2nd U.P. Trip - Part 2, Red Jacket, Keweenaw, Library, Hereford & Hops (Aug 26,27, 2005)  

  Mountain Town, Sanford - 2nd Trip (Sept 10, 2005)  

  Michigan Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, Redwood Lodge, (Sept 24, 2005)  

  Livery, Saugatuck, New Holland, Via Maria (Sept 30, 2005)  

  Middle Villa, Schmohz, Hideout (Oct 1, 2005)  

  Redwood Lodge (Sep, 2004), Redwood Lodge (Oct 8, 2005)  

  Kuhnhenn, Bastone, Lilys (Oct. 21, 2005)  

  Bonfire, Etouffee (Oct. 22, 2005)  

  Cork 'N' Ale 11th Annual Fall Beer Tasting (Nov. 3, 2005)  

  Traverse City, North Peak (Dec. 2, 2005)  

  Mackinaw, Shorts (Dec. 3, 2005)  

  Lumber Barons' Charcoal Grill & Brewpub (Dec. 9 & 10, 2005)