Day 49: Cruising-Harbor Springs

If Kennebunkport, ME and Nantucket, MA had a baby, it would be Harbor Springs, MI.

Ok. This is hands down one of the most idyllically beautiful waterfront towns I have ever visited (and I have seen a lot over the last six weeks).

The waterfront is its dominant asset, but the visual appeal of the downtown commercial district is one-of-a-kind. Today my photo journal will be focused on my stroll through downtown.

Harbor Springs, founded in 1829, is a prosperous, attractive, and interesting village of over 2000 inhabitants located on one of the finest harbors in the Great Lakes region formed by the projection of Harbor Point across the Northern part of Little Traverse Bay.

Nine miles north, across the Bay, from Petoskey is Harbor Springs, and beyond it are Wildmere Springs, Emmet Beach, and Idylwild, completing a continuous stretch of picturesque and homelike cottages, park-like grounds, and splendid homes.

Harbor Springs was permanently christened with its present name when it was incorporated in 1881. During the earlier periods of its history, it was known as Little Traverse.

Harbor Springs takes its name from its Harbor, one of the finest on the Great Lakes, and from its beautiful springs bubbling up in every part of the village. The water analysis from these springs has shown it to be of the purest quality. Pipes are driven to a depth of 175 to 200 feet, and the water rises from 15 to 20 feet above the surface, where it is piped into the houses and cottages, thus giving a never-ending supply of purest water. The municipal water supply is obtained from these flowing wells and is likewise of the same quality.

SPOILER ALERT: you have to wait until tomorrow to see examples of the actual springs and how the town ‘taps’ it.

The water is pure; the town is also pure. Pure delight! Scroll below, and you will see what I mean.

Huh?

Why are these legs here? Good question; it was a whimsical moment.

It all started because one guy wouldn’t get out of the way of a picture I was trying to take. “Excuse me, sir, can you please move? I am trying to take a picture, and you are ruining it.” He obligingly and slowly moved, frowned, and walked toward his friends. I said, “look, I know you are in the witness protection program, and I know you didn’t want me to capture your face because I am uploading these images to the internet in the morning.” I then found out his name was Paul (probably not his real name); he was traveling with Mike, Christine, Rose, Rosita, and Mr. X (still don’t know his name).

So.

They agreed to a group picture. That is why you only see their legs. I wanted to protect anonymity.

It was a fun conversation; we laughed a lot and continued to run into each other throughout the afternoon. By the way, I later learned that three of them are ‘allegedly’ new subscribers of Cruising and Musing (with blocked email addresses)😎.

Back to the tour of the town.

I thought I would close out the day with the perfect moonrise over the marina. Yup, it was THAT perfect of a day. Whadayathink?