Paradise is Hell
Alex here. Nick and I started the day off with a 3 mile run around Sault Ste. Marie. It was a decent run down by the locks and through town. Mom and Dad meanwhile went out and watched a ship come through the locks. We
returned home and showered then headed out to breakfast at Goetz's Family Restaurant. Nick enjoyed his blueberry pancakes, while Mom, Dad and I were not crazy about our "longboat specials". After breakfast we went out in search of more souvineres and to get a better feel for the town.
Sault Ste. Marie is one of the oldest settlements in the United States, but the town does not have a very "historic" feel. It is a bit dated and beat up. The main street is a mix of motels, gift shops and bars. The locks run at one edge of edge and the rest of town has an old industrial type feel to it. One major highlight was the courthouse. It was a beautiful old building with a statue of a crane and two children in front. The statue was in honor of an old Ojibwe tale of how fish came to the area. We rounded out our time in the Soo with another round of Mini-golf won again by Dad and Nick.
After golf we headed out towards Paradise, our stop for the night. We stopped along the way at Point Iroquois Lighthouse to stretch our legs and get some pictures. Mom and D
ad chatted up the lighthouse attendant Hannah for a while about things to do along the way to Paradise. She came up with the Dancing Crane Coffee Shop, which ended up being our next stop.
A quaint little shop built by the owners, the Dancing Crane Coffee Shop is a great
little spot along M-28. The shop has a small stage for performances and nice gifts throughout. They serve a variety of beverages as well as ice cream. The 20 below iced hot chocolate is a great pick along with the strawberry banana smoothie. They do have low carb items, but the trade off of flavor may not be worth the points towards your Weight Watchers.
Shortly after leaving the Dancing Crane we arrived in Paradise, MI. Paradise is a tiny town if you can even call it that. Not much to see and no reason to be there besides its location near Tequamenon Falls. Our lodging was the Paradise Inn, and it was far from Paradise. Creaky floors, not the cleanest rooms and an angry sounding air conditioner left much to be wanted. However, it was a bed and it gave us a place to rest up after day two.
Day Two- By Denise
Our choice of restaurant for breakfast had charm, but not great food. After breakfast I purchased a pair of moccasins, which I have not owned since I was a teenager and my feet spent the rest of the day in nostalgic heaven. A quick walk around town did not spark much interest so we headed for a couple of lighthouses that were beautifully restored and started our drive toward Paradise. On the way to Paradise we stopped at the Dancing Crane a local coffee spot. The shop was very cute and some of the drinks were really good, mine unfortunately was not (last time I go for the low carb version.)
We reached Paradise around 4 in the afternoon, checked into the Paradise Motel, which definitely was misnamed and drove around checking out the town. The thing you must know about Paradise is that not only is it not, but there is really nothing there. We headed towards Tahquamenon Falls to have dinner at the Tahquamenon Brewery. This was a newer, rustic restaurant with more stuffed animals, real and fake. The atmosphere was pleasant and we ordered a sampler of their beers. The raspberry ale was my favorite. After an okay dinner, we headed back to the motel for a few games of Skipbo and some sleep.
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