Cigar Weekly

Several thoughts could come to mind when hearing the phrase, "Let’s take the twins for a ride." For instance, one might possibly ponder those lucky couples, twin children in tow, who decide to take the youngsters for a drive in the car in order to get them to fall asleep. In my case, however, it was all about taking a ride with my wife on our 'Twin' motorcycles, identical Honda GL1800 Goldwings. 

As the summer temperatures in the Houston area were reaching records and jumping above the 100 degree mark, we decided to embark on a trip to the north in search of cooler temperatures, awesome scenery and the enjoyment of fine cigars in unique locations.

The first two days were very hot. So we just rolled down the highway out of Texas, through western Arkansas, then north through eastern Missouri, eastern Illinois and into northern Indiana.  Even though the weather was steamy, our ride through farmlands filled with crops of corn, soybeans and onions, not to mention tidy farmhouses, proved very pleasant. The first few nights were true scorchers, and the heat indices of over 100 made it too hot to enjoy cigars outside. The next day, though, we crossed into Michigan, and the temperatures began to moderate a bit as we made our way toward Holland, our home for the next two days.

Windmill Gardens

Two cigar lovers

Holland, MI, 'The tulip capital of America', is one neat little town. The locals obviously play up their Dutch heritage, and my wife and I took advantage of the attractions. We toured Windmill Island Gardens, and took a guided tour of an original Dutch windmill where we had access to five of the twelve floors. This windmill, 'Zewaan', was brought from The Netherlands to Michigan back in the early 1960s by special arrangement with the Dutch officials. Afterwards, the Dutch government designated all windmills as National Monuments, and no more would be allowed to leave the country. There were dancers in wooden shoes as well as beautiful tulip gardens to enjoy. The last stop of the day was for some Dutch pastries. We enjoyed banket staven, an almond paste filled pastry roll, and krakelingen, delicious sweet bread cookies. After a nice dinner of fresh whitefish later in the evening, it was time to fire up a Winston Churchill Marrakesh. This cigar made for a nice full bodied yet smooth smoke with a little kick at the close - the perfect night capper to a fine day.

Winston Churchill Marrakesh

The next day was also spent in Holland.  After a delicious breakfast at the Wooden Shoe Restaurant, we visited Nelis’ Dutch Village and saw a demonstration of wooden shoe (klompen) carving from poplar and willow wood. Generations ago, shoemakers would travel from town to town, and they could actually make a pair of shoes by hand, with very basic tools, in just over two hours – amazing! There were authentic clog dancers, Delftware demonstrations, a replica of a historic Dutch farmhouse, cheese making demonstrations and many other displays. We were able to get a good feel of the history of the local area and some of the traditions from The Netherlands. The residents of Holland were extremely friendly and helpful, and seemed genuinely happy to have us visit their community. We had dinner at Goog’s. And then back at the hotel poolside, I lit a Partagas Classic Maduro #8 to finish the day. It was rich and mellow, and the excellent wrapper gave it a wonderful spiciness.

Big Red Lighthouse in Holland, MI

The next morning, after stopping for a picture of 'Big Red', the famous lighthouse in Holland on the shore of Lake Michigan, we headed farther north via Route B-15, a very small country road that passes alongside the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. This was a great road to ride, as it passed through farmlands, wineries and a wide variety of fruit orchards. In Manistee, MI, we picked up Scenic Hwy M-22, another fantastic motorcycle road. It circles Crystal Lake, Bear Lake and several others as it winds north alongside Lake Michigan to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore. From Empire, MI, it was just a short hop over to Traverse City. After checking into the hotel there, we decided to get in some more riding, and headed out around Mission Point Peninsula. This is a very scenic little trek to the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula, a 20-mile 'finger' overlooking the East and West Bays of Grand Traverse Bay. We rode up the east side and then back via the west shoreline. And as the temperatures had by then cooled considerably, it was a great afternoon.

Nolan’s Tobacco Shop

After returning to the city, we paid a visit to Nolan's Cigar and Tobacco Shop on Front Street. This enterprise is well known in the area, and has been in business for over 30 years. I looked over the decent selection of smokes and nice collection of pipes and tobacco blends. Nolan's has leased the space next door, and after some renovations, will soon be able to expand its cigar and pipe selections even further. Mike Nolan owns the store, and is a big contributor to the local community. He jointly sponsors an annual fundraiser for the Father Fred Foundation, and last year raised over $80,000 for the foundation, which assists needy families in the Traverse City area. I bought a few sticks to replenish my travel humidor, and also picked up an Eric Nording freehand signature pipe and a few of the store's most popular aromatic blends, Cherry Festival and Downtown Special. 

Dinner that night was at the Cook’s House, a local favorite owned by two signature chefs. It only has five tables, so the service was very personal and the smoked rabbit appetizer, roasted chicken and duck entrees were exceptional. We concluded the evening again at poolside, where I enjoyed a RyJ Reserva Real Gran Toro. This stick produced a ton of rich, dense smoke, which, drifting up toward the darkening sky, seemed to enhance a great day of touring.

The Twins in Peterson Park

My wife and I dedicated the following day entirely to riding, taking off on Route 22 north along the west shore of Traverse Bay up the Leelanau Peninsula - great scenery, peaceful marinas and a really beautiful shoreline.  We breakfasted at the Village Inn in Suttons Bay, the oldest restaurant in the village.  After chatting with a few riders at another table, we got some good tips on places to stop at and roads to be sure we rode on. We continued on a series of back roads through Omena, up to the tip of the peninsula and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse at Cat’s Head Point. This site is located on the 45th Parallel, exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole – pretty cool! We rode back down the west side of the peninsula, and stopped in Peterson’s Park at an overlook, which gave us some great views of Lake Michigan from a high bluff. We then continued back through Glen Arbor and the dunes of Sleeping Bear Park. We took Route 616, a nice road wending through forests, farmlands and cherry orchards, back to Traverse City. There are an amazing number of cherry orchards and other fruit crops in the Michigan area. Traverse City itself is home to the National Cherry Festival each July, and the cherry theme is apparent everywhere. 

After a dinner of whitefish and lake perch at Schelde’s Restaurant, it was back to the pool. I celebrated the last day in the 'Cherry City' by trying out my new pipe with a bowl of 'Cherry Festival' blend from Nolan's, and then later in the evening fired up a nice, rich Bolivar Fuerte Delmonico. As with my previous smoke selections on this trip, the Bolivar yielded a lot of spice and flavor, which, after the bowl of pipe tobacco, almost put me in tobacco overload – it was great!

Legs Inn

Lake Michigan Overlook

The next morning, under crystal clear skies, we made our way north on Hwy 31. After coffee in a marina in Charlevoix, we took Route 119 through the 'Tunnel of Trees'. This road is not even wide enough for two cars to pass without one (or both) moving to the shoulder. A thick canopy of trees overhangs the road, and we felt as though we were riding on a long shaded driveway for approximately 30 miles. Our destination for this part of the ride was the famous Legs Inn in Cross Village, MI. This 80-year old restaurant is famous for its Polish food, and its name derives from the hundreds of stove legs bolted upright along the perimeter of the roof. The weather was perfect, and we ate lunch outside on the terrace overlooking Lake Michigan, feasting on golabki cabbage rolls, a selection of pierogis (sirloin & cheese, sauerkraut & mushroom and potato & mushroom), kielbasa, Polish rye bread and bigos, a hunter's stew.  Everything was delicious. But the crowning glory had to be the Polish Szarlotka dessert, a crumb cake pastry filled with apples, blueberries, strawberries and cherries. This must be a great season for sweet Michigan fruit!

The Mighty Mackinac Bridge

The next big event was crossing 'Big Mac', the massive Mackinac Bridge. It is always interesting to cross this bridge, especially on a motorcycle. When the wind really kicks up, the structure can sway as much as 35 feet from side to side, and it is sometimes closed to small vehicle (motorcycle) traffic. On this occasion, the lanes were open. But it was still a breezy ride across the Straits of Mackinac to the small town of St. Ignace on the 'U.P. Side'. Yes, we were officially in the U.P. of Michigan, home of the 'Yoopers'. Do yourself a favor and Google the term yooper, and you will no doubt be entertained with the information. Suffice it to say the U.P. is a unique region with a lot of interesting characters. We took the obligatory bridge pictures from Bridgeview Park, and then rode Route 22 west along the northern shore of Lake Michigan via the Lake Michigan Circle Tour Route. Foreboding skies enticed us to stop and don raingear - a good idea, as we soon enough ran into a steady shower while motoring to Munising, our destination for the evening.

The next day in Munising was also rainy, so we relaxed, caught up on some reading, did some laundry and reviewed our plans for the next few days. The good news is that the thermometer had plummeted.  Temperatures did not get out of the 50s all day, and the low the next morning was down in the 40s, definitely a change from the 100-degree records being set that week back home in Texas.

Marquette Station Lighthouse

After departing Munising, our next stop was the Marquette Station Lighthouse, where we toured the lighthouse and the museum. It is still an active Coast Guard Station facility, so only accompanied tours are allowed. We could not get up to the light, but it was still a good, very informative stop. We then proceeded north up the Keweenaw Peninsula via Highway 41, encountering light rain and drizzle as we rode through the small towns and villages along the route. With 46 degree temperatures and a brisk wind coming from Lake Superior, we were glad to have heated jackets, gloves, handgrips and seats.  We took a picture at a sign that showed the annual amount of snowfall on a huge gauge, and also the height of the record snowfall in the winter of 1978-79 when over 32 feet of snow was measured. After checking in to the King Copper Motel on the lake, we ate pan-fried walleye accompanied by mugs of Keweenaw Brewery Red Cap Amber Ale. The fish and beer definitely took the chill off the day, and both were delicious!  We sat outside our room in big chairs and leisurely took in the vista of the lake, which was no more than 20 feet from us. It finally grew dark after 10:00pm.

Snow 32 feet deep

The following day, we explored the peninsula in a light misty rain, which made for a chilly outing. We toured the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, visited the waterfall at Eagle River, and then rode over to Gay, MI, and along the east shoreline of the peninsula back to Copper Harbor. We walked around the small village, checked out the shops, bought some thistle berry fudge (these berries are only found in Michigan) and had dinner at the Tamarack Inn, where I had a classic Michigan pasty – very tasty.

Perfect name for a bar in Gay, MI

The next portion of the ride took us back south on the peninsula, then over into Wisconsin where we took Scenic Route 13 alongside the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. There were a lot of deer in the area, so we kept a cautious eye out. They may be pretty to look at, but we did not want to meet one with our cycles. We spent the night in Duluth, and as we sat outside in a huge swing at our motel, I treated myself to a La Gloria Cubana Corona Gorda #10. Several years ago, when I decided to get serious about cigars, this parejo, with its great Sumatran wrapper, was one was of my initial favorites. But I had not had one in some time. While loading up for the trip, I found an unopened LGC box in the back of my humidor and pulled a few sticks out for the ride. They proved to be an excellent choice.

La Gloria Cubana Corona Gorda #10

The next morning, we rode north from Duluth on Skyline Drive, a scenic road which rises 600 feet above the City of Duluth, providing good views of the harbor area and the Lake Superior Shoreline. We proceeded to Two Harbors, MN, and enjoyed lunch at the famous Betty’s Pies. We had eaten here several years ago, and word has obviously since spread. The place was packed! It took a long time to get in and out, but the pies were as awesome as we had remembered. For dessert, we split pieces of the 5-layer butterscotch and the banana cream. We took, 'To Go', a piece of raspberry crunch and a slice of bumble berry crunch, which we saved for later. We then rode up to Split Rock Lighthouse, where we toured the lighthouse and the grounds. One cannot help but wonder just how many ships have been saved from peril by all of the lighthouses and beacons along the lakeshore.

Two Harbors Lighthouse B&B

We retraced our way south to Two Harbors, and checked into the Two Harbors Lighthouse B&B, our lodging retreat for the evening. The innkeeper welcomed us with warm brownies right from the oven, and we checked into the Harbor Room. There are only three rooms in the lighthouse, each named for the view it offers. That afternoon, we toured the lighthouse and the grounds, visited the assistant light keeper's residence, the fog bell house and an actual pilot house from an ore tanker, which is located on the grounds. We decided to stay on site rather than search out a restaurant in town. So I picked up Subway sandwiches, which we ate while enjoying the Lake Superior view. The sunset was beautiful, and I fired up another of my favorites, a Perdomo Lot #23 Toro, which was absolutely excellent. This was my first visit to a B&B, and I was a bit apprehensive as I am not really a lace doily, claw foot bathtub and afternoon tea kind of guy. But this was truly a great experience, and I would do it again without hesitation.

Perdomo Lot #23 at the lighthouse

Sunset in Two Harbors

 
After a breakfast of blueberry-yogurt muffins, egg strata, sausage, ham and Scandinavian fruit soup (a mixture of raisins, prunes, plums and sour cream), we headed north to the Canadian border at Thunder Bay, Ontario. The border crossing was uneventful (the best kind) and fairly quick, and we made our way on to Atikokan under clear blue skies. This area is extremely remote and there were very few cars after we cleared the border. A lack of traffic perhaps, but an abundance of secluded lakes, pristine rivers and lush, green landscapes. There were also plenty of 'Moose Warning' signs, but we made it safely to our motel without incident. After dinner at the White Otter Restaurant, we put our in-room microwave to work, and warmed up the leftover slices of Betty’s Pies for a wonderful dessert treat.

Neil & Gail by Lake Superior

The sense of remoteness continued the next day as we proceeded along Route 17 West. We saw foxes, deer, a bear cub, beaver dams. Cars only passed by every 20 to 30 minutes. After breakfast at The Harbourage in Fort Francis (try the 'Destroyer' omelet: 3 eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, hamburger, Swiss and cheddar cheese), we rode Route 71, the 'Kings Highway', north. This road took us through the Lake of the Woods region, and we saw hundreds of totally unspoiled, picture-perfect lakes along the way.

The Destroyer omelet

We entered Manitoba on Trans-Canada Route 1, which we followed into Winnipeg, where we spent the night. The next day, we rode on even more isolated roads (if you can believe that) all the way north to The Pas (pronounced 'The Paw'). This, the most northern paved road in Manitoba, is called the Northern Woods and Waters Route. It offers almost 200 miles of great scenery. We pased Riding Mountain National Forest, Duck Mountain Provincial Park, the Porcupine Provincial Forest and the Cree Indian Reservation and Territory. When we finally checked into the Kikiwac Lodge, roaring flames in the lobby fireplace warmly welcomed us. Certainly didn't feel like July. After a good steak and a bottle of wine in the lodge dining room, we walked next door to a Tim Horton’s doughnut shop for coffee, which provided a fine accompaniment to the Hoya de Monterrey Dark Sumatra I enjoyed on the outside patio of the hotel. A good cigar and a good cup of coffee – always a nice combination!

The morning greeted us with cool, crisp skies and some wonderful secondary roads. We headed back south and saw eagle nests, farmlands and even more lakes. Our destination was Regina, Saskatchewan, and the R.C.M.P. Heritage Center and Museum. This is the main training facility of the elite Canadian force, and the Center details the storied history and accomplishments of the R.C.M.P. We spent the evening in Moose Jaw, SK, and were looking forward to our dinner at the Hopkins Dining Parlour. The restaurant is located in a 1905-era Victorian house. After a superb dinner, we enjoyed a slice of Saskatoon pie. The Saskatoon berries are similar to a blueberries, only purple in color and with a more 'meaty' consistency. They certainly make for a delicious dessert!

Back in the USA

Crossing back into the U.S. in Montana at Regway, SK, we rode in and out of rain and thunderstorms for most of the day. After waiting out the most severe storm by spending two hours in a truck stop café in Plentywood, we made our way further south and then east into North Dakota, and finally called it a day in Dickinson, ND. We were allowed to pull our bikes under the motel canopy, and later that night were treated to a real hail and lightning show, complete with golf ball sized hail. Wow – have to love that interesting weather in the Midwest. The next morning, we found that two tornadoes had touched down in the area. Several mobile homes were damaged and two cars 'flipped'. Fortunately, no one was injured. We rode east to Fargo, and then headed south along I-39, which took us into South Dakota where we spent the night in Brookings. The next day, we scooted through Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. The farther south we got, the hotter it got. And so we decided to really make tracks for home. After a night in Burlington, KS, we hit the road early the next day, and clocked over 700 miles all the way back to our home north of Houston.

As always, it was good to be home with time to look back on the journey. We saw some fantastic scenery, ate a lot of creative and unique foods, and met a ton of nice people along the way. 

Funny thing about the cigars, too. They were all great, each one managing in its own way to complement the trip. I enjoyed lighting them up while making preparations for the ride, enjoyed the way they enhanced the ride, and have enjoyed them while reflecting on this trek. No doubt, I will also get a lot of pleasure from them as I plan for the next road adventure!