Day 2
Acme to Petoskey
We were greeted the next morning by
beautiful weather, which turned out to be typical for the entire rally.
After breakfast, Dick held a meeting for drivers and gave suggestions
for places to stop along the route to Petoskey.
One of Dick's suggestions for a stopping
place was this particular farm market. It seemed that every Roadtrek in
the rally stopped there. I can imagine the puzzled looks on the faces
of the staff when all these "funny little white vans" filled up their
parking lot. We did, however, contribute to the local economy, so I
guess they were pleased with our presence.
Another stopping place was the picturesque
little village of Charlevoix on the shore of Lake Michigan. A narrow
channel with a drawbridge allows boats to pass into the inner harbor on
Lake Charlevoix. This is the ferry to Beaver Island heading towards
Lake Michigan.
Our destination for the day, Petoskey, is
at the end of Little Traverse Bay.
After getting our sites at the campground
we lined up to caravan to Bay View. This long line of Roadtreks driving
through town must have been quite a sight, since it turned a lot of
heads as we passed by.
A local history teacher served as our
guide for a walking tour of Bay View. We started our tour on the porch
of the Terrace Inn, where he gave a short history of the area. Bay View
was started in 1875 as a Methodist tent camp to hear "good preaching".
Inspired by the Methodist camp at Chautauqua, NY, Bay View organized an
extensive educational program (cooking, art, music, elocution, etc.).
By 1877 streets, parks, and public areas had been platted and summer
homes were being built. The homes are individually owned, but the land
is leased. By decision of the Bay View Association, all the homes are
summer homes, with the residency period running from May through
October.
After the talk on the porch, our guide, dressed in period costume, led us on a walking tour to see some of the homes. There are a total of 440 cottages in Bay View; the architecture is largely Victorian, with Queen Anne style homes built before the turn of the century, and homes with less decoration and simpler shapes being built after the turn of the century. Because of its architectural significance, Bay View has been declared a National Historic Landmark.