Traverse City, Michigan

Our departure from Chicago was a little delayed by the crash of the computers at the Alamo car hire office. Fortunately the staff were very efficient at processing the queue that had formed ahead of us and we were only about 15 minutes behind our anticipated departure time. We  had a smooth trip up to Traverse City and arrived at 5-30pm  which gave us time to unwind before we went out with Andy and Kathryn. This was good timing considering that we had realised as we sat eating our lunch that we had crossed an invisible line and lost an hour.
That evening we went to a Cider and Sausage event which was designed to promote the local cideries. Our entry price entitled us to 5 pints of cider and as many brats as we could eat. There was a wide range of both cider and brats and Bob and Andy did their best to sample quite a few of the ciders. Kathryn and I were a bit more circumspect but I probably ate more of the different varieties of brats than was good for my waistline. They were delicious.
The next morning we took in the Michigan equivalent of Walmart known as Meijer while Kathryn put in a few hours at work.
When Kathryn was free we went up to the old asylum site which is being redeveloped since our last visit. Part of it has been bought by a develper and is being converted into retirement units. It is lovely to see the old buildings being revitalized. The other part of the land was a farm which operated to provide voluntary employment for the 3000 inmates for 50 years providing complete self sufficiency in terms of food for inmates and staff. Then along came electro convulsive therapy and the idea that inmates should not work but be "theraped". This land and several huge barns are being gradually developed as entertainment venues, a community garden and Botanical Gardens. We went on tour with a very knowledgable local and thoroughtly enjoyed it. That evening we had a delicious dinner at Andy's parents home.
Friday morning we went walking around Cedar Lake which was very relaxing. After lunch when Kathryn was home from her student orientation day we went out to the famous local ice creamery where I unashamedly had a huge black cherry and chocolate fudge ice cream. It was delicious.
We then went to "Friday Night Live" Downtown. We had dinner from a mobile food hall set up in the car park of a local tavern. This comprised a number of food caravans serving the local version of fast foods. People in Michigan eat more vegetables than their Southern Cousins so there was even a wide selection of vegetarian offerings. Afterwards we walked the main street watching the street performers and checking out the street vendors.
This morning we were up early to go to the producers market and sample some of the offerings for breakfast. This is Kathryn and Andy's vegetable shopping venue and we stocked up on fresh  vegetables and sweet corn which is straight from the paddocks around here and absolutely delicious. We then met with Andy's mother who was kindly providing child care so we could go bike  riding. Believe it or not we rode 14 miles( 24 kms) along a cycle path which is an old railway line. It was easy enough on everything except my butt because it is level gradient and concrete surface but quite an achievement never the less. The end of the cycle path is a small community called Suttons Bay which is a popular destination for riders and drivers like. After lunch we caught a retired school bus which has been modified to carry 8 bikes in very neat racks inside the back and 3 on the front. We were dropped off close to Andy and Kathryn's and even managed to ride the slightly up hill route to their house. 
Tonight we are having a leisurely dinner at home and hoping we won't have too many aching muscles tomorrow.
More later.