2018: The 50 States Quest CONTINUES — Day 1: Michigan!

Well, hello!!

Actually …. Lulu & I (and our companion Gerry) have been BACK from our mini vacation for over 2 weeks now, but it’s time that I write the blog!!

This was a relatively SHORT trip … and we flew in & out of Midway Airport, just south of Chicago. We rented our car (… and … side note: Are we the only people who think the Chicago / Illinois airport rental tax rate of 46% is ridiculously excessive???) and sprung for the express toll pass (EZ pass/transponder).

Our legal department suggests that we should NOT divulge the details of the “slight mishap” that occurred at one of the toll gates, but I can tell you this:

There was absolutely no damage done to the rental car, nor to the people/dolls inside the car.
This definitely did NOT happen: https://imgur.com/gallery/6cXaKzz
Neither did this: https://imgur.com/gallery/BAW9NHU
Somewhere in Indiana, there **MAY HAVE BEEN** a toll bar that needed to be reattached that day.

We discovered at a subsequent toll that our fabulous transponder was NOT VALID/ACTIVATED. Ugh. (More to this story later.)

By 10:30 AM, we arrived at our first destination, and my 38th state visited!

The New Buffalo (Michigan) Railroad Museum!!!! ……….::crickets:: Yup. Closed. Open on Saturdays & Sundays only (it was Thursday). Way to do your research, Lolo! All was well … our concensus was, none of us would want to pay admission for this (One of the TOP TEN THINGS TO DO!!!) attraction in New Buffalo, Michigan (!!)

Since it was still too early to check in to our hotel, we decided to visit the lovely New Buffalo marina and surrounding area. That’s Lake Michigan at the end of the road.

Such a cute little town!! (ps~it is the FIRST town one comes to when traveling from Indiana to Michigan!) Which reminds me … Lulu was where she oughta be when crossed into Michigan (#38)!

Lulu! You travelin’ FOOL, you!! (LOL)

We went down to the marina, and to the beach. So pretty! We had lunch at a funky (and VERY POPULAR!!) place called Stray Dog Grill — I love going to NON chain restaurants at every opportunity!

That’s the Stray Dog on the left. And, although we did NOT indulge in any ice cream, we HAD to take advantage of the photo op at a food truck down by the waterfront:

Lulu: Wow! Who knew??

Later in the day, we traveled to the opposite end of New Buffalo … (about 2.5 miles away LOL), and visited the (quite lovely) Four Winds Casino & Resort. We didn’t strike it rich, but enjoyed ourselves for a few hours!

We ended the day at an Italian restaurant (which shall remain nameless at this juncture due to the 90 minute wait), and walking back to the car, we saw this: