(Photo of Lake Charlevoix in Michigan)Nothing personal against Green Lake, Wisconsin, it was just the easiest lake town to find outside of Michigan doing a quick Google search. Yesterday, a much appreciated idea contributor named Alex pointed me to this article in Yahoo! Travel naming Charlevoix, Michigan one of the best lake towns in the entire country. They only name 7 towns on the list and Charlevoix made the cut. That is what I am talking about.
Offhand, I don't have the slightest idea how many "lake towns" there are in the US. My best guess is probably about 10, which means that we are in the top 70%! The article also does not do much to specifically quantify how they developed the list or what sort of comparison and contrast they performed among the contenders. It was probably one guy going around saying "I like this place more than that other place," which is exactly the reason that on the Ken! Travel website (not yet existent) the name 'Ken' is listed a top 5 sexy name.
I have not spent significant time in Charlevoix, but I have eaten at that one Mexican restaurant on their main street that I will never forget (old whats-its-name) and every summer I drive through Charlevoix on my way to Michigania in Boyne. I can definitely tell you this about the city - the people there drive incredibly slowly. The speed limit is 25 about everywhere and it is the one place in the US that people consistently drive 5 under the speed limit. It is just about enough to make you crazy. Beautiful city, though.
Regardless, Michigan's abundant lakes, lake towns, rivers, brooks, fjords, puddles, aquifers, water holes, bird baths, sprinkler systems, Slip-N-Slides, Crocodile Miles, and resultant natural beauty are quite possibly THE THINGS that set Michigan apart and above most of the other places that you could choose to live in the United States. Scottsdale, Arizona for example has newly developed "riverfront property" which is actually a bunch of condos built next to a drainage ditch. I am not kidding. I have not visited even a small percentage of most of Michigan's lakes and lake properties, and would love to hear from others highlighting the lake towns and houses in which they have vacationed in Michigan. If you wouldn't mind, I could even post some thoughts of yours on this website. I know that is wishful thinking because a) no one reads this blog and b) no one wants to write an article no one would read, but maybe I will be surprised. Maybe not. Either way, try to make it to beautiful Lake Charlevoix and eat at that one Mexican place. It's only about 3.5 hours north on I-75.
3 comments:
I lived in Green Lake for more than 4 decades. Are you gay..??
For some reason or another I decided to let the above comment go through. If this comment is true, it means a couple of important things. 1) Someone is reading this who is over the age of 40 and not my parents 2) Living in Green Lake makes you not gay. 3) Not-Living in Green Lake makes you gay.
I had no idea one small city could have that profound an effect on one's orientation. That is fantastic.
Green Lake is just jealous of Michigan, as many other states should be.
Since we are on the topic of lakes, I have to mention Houghton Lake: the largest freshwater lake in Michigan, second largest in the country. I love the area, especially Prudenville, which I have mentioned before.
Houghton Lake is probably just one more reason Green Lake is jealous of us.
(Congrats on the extra readers, Ken!)
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