Empire, MI - Day 1

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Our day began at Wild Cherry RV Resort in Suttons Bay, MI. Andi was the first one out of bed this morning. He made himself a cup of coffee, then pulled out the adjustable weights we brought along and did his workout on the concrete patio beside our RV. When he finished, Andi went for a walk around the campground while I did my workout outside using the dumbbells.

We had full hook-ups at this site, so I showered quickly when I finished. Andi and Aden worked together to unplug the power, water, and drain the black & gray tanks. Aden has been very helpful when it comes to RV set up & take down.

By 10:15am, the four of us were on our way to RIDE Leelanau in Suttons Bay. Andi reserved four electric bikes for us to use this afternoon. The Velotric bikes Andi and I rode were high-tich, equipped with power assist, throttle, blinkers and cruise control. Tory and Aden rode RADRunner e-bikes which were perfectly sized for them. They didn’t have all the bells and whistles like ours did, but the kids didn’t need them. Each of their bikes had a throttle and pedal assist, a phone holder, a cargo carrier, and a place to put their water bottles.

It’s no secret that Tory dislikes biking, but Andi thought getting her on an electric bike might change her mind about it. I’m not sure that it did, but she was a good sport about participating nonetheless. Most of our riding was on the Leelanau Bike Trail, and likely less stressful for her than riding along with traffic.

Today was another beautiful fall day in Northern Michigan with temperatures in the mid-70s. The trail led us beside picturesque rural farms and forest landscapes, and by several wineries and farm stands. Andi stopped at one of the farm stands to purchase a peach and a few cold drinks. Tory said the scene looked straight out of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” How smart of the homeowner to set up a little stand with an honor system pay box and their Venmo account listed on a sign! We only saw a few other bikers during our ride, but I’m guessing this trail gets pretty busy in the summertime — great infrastructure and such a peaceful ride.

After 10 miles of biking, we stopped for a bite to eat at Black Star Farms. This property was stunning with immaculately grounds and vineyards, an inn for guests to stay, a tasting room, and a bistro. Andi and I both agreed, this property rivaled the beautiful vineyards we experienced in Argentina. Though I’m not sure Michigan wines are as famous as Argentine Malbecs…?

Andi ordered the artisanal cheese board and Polpette al Sugo beef & pork meatballs for our table to share. The local honey served on the cheese board was so flavorful that I asked our waitress if we could buy some to take home. I’ve never tasted honey so delicious! The bistro didn’t sell the product individually, but she said she could put some honey in a to-go container for us. I didn’t catch the name of the farm, but she said the honey comes from a 150-year-old apiary in the area.

After lunch, Andi, Tory, Aden, and I made our way back to Ride Leelanau Ebikes shop in Suttons Bay. At the very end of our ride, a bug flew in between my neck and the helmet chin strap, and it stung me! I didn’t want to make a big deal about it because I didn’t want to give Tory another reason to dislike biking. But, by the time we got back to our camper, my head was really hurting. I pulled Andi aside to tell him what happened, and he said the stinger was still hanging out of my neck. He used a tweezers to remove it, and then applied some topical Benadryl to help with the reaction.

After that happened, I didn’t feel very well. I developed a pounding headache, and felt really lethargic. It didn’t affect my breathing, but I definitely didn’t feel like myself.

We left Suttons Bay, and headed north on the Leelanau Peninsula to the small village of Leland. This coastal fishing village sits on a sliver of land between Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau. The passage between the town of Leland and North & South Manitou Islands has been frequented by many for generations.

After biking, Tory and Aden weren’t interested in walking around another town so Andi and I decided to check out Leland by ourselves. We parked the RV on a side-street, and wandered along the fishing pier of the small village.

The water clarity of Lake Michigan is unreal! Andi and I continue to comment about this over and again; In Leland, looking down from the marina boat docks, we could see the bottom of the lake clear as day.

If this was your town, all these tourists would be a blessing and a curse, wouldn’t they? The charming, coastal villages of Northern Michigan are a dime a dozen it seems, and each one is bustling with people walking their sidewalks, shopping, dining, and recreating. Seems like this Leland homeowner has had enough of it.

Back in the RV, Andi drove from Leland to our next campsite in nearby Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Camping inside national park service campgrounds is always difficult to come by, but somehow Andi managed to snag a last-minute reservation at Platte River Campground. Although, as soon as we pulled into the campground, we understood why someone may have canceled their reservation and why we were able to scoop it up.

Tomorrow, the Ironman Michigan Triathlon is set to take place on famed MI Highway 22, and will have significant impacts on travel in the area. The road to the campground will be closed between 8:30am-2:30pm, meaning we will have to get up and leave our site early tomorrow morning, or be stuck at the campground until mid-afternoon.

Well, that wasn’t in our plans. (That’s a jab, really, because we aren’t traveling with any sort of concrete plan in place.) “Well, now that you mentioned it, Laura did say something about the Ironman taking place around this time…” Andi commented.

We decided to drive into the campground to see what our site looked like. The sky view above our site was completely covered by trees which meant that our Starlink satellite wasn’t going to work in this campground. Andi was frustrated because he spend a good chunk of time last night watching YouTube videos about the Platte River Campground to make sure it would work for us.

I hated to be a high-maintenance wife, but all I wanted to do was lay down and watch college football. I had a terrible headache, and I just felt “off” after being stung by that bug. Andi was frustrated, too. He’d wanted to kayak the Platte River tomorrow, but since the Ironman was taking place here tomorrow, we wouldn’t be able to do that.

Andi suggested we abandon this campsite altogether, and find a different place to stay tonight. He called Indigo Bluffs RV Resort in nearby Empire, MI to see if they had any availability. As luck would have it, the RV Resort had one cancellation. There were a few trees around the site, the campground manager told us, but she thought our Starlink satellite would work there. So, we booked it.

Before we left, Andi suggested we check out the Platte River. All the campground reviews he read talked about how wonderful this river was, and we wouldn’t be able to get back to this area tomorrow with the road being closed.

Andi drove us to Platte River Beach. We parked at Lake Township Park, and walked down to the water. The beach was packed with people on this warm, sunny afternoon — families played together on the sandy beaches, kayakers exited the water from their river float trips, and fisherman were busy launching their boats for the greater Lake Michigan waters.

I’d never seen a beach quite like this one. The Platte River meets Lake Michigan here in a narrow channel of shallow, rapidly flowing water. Kids and adults alike were having a blast swimming and floating in the shallow current of waves where the waters merge together. In the distance, we could see Empire Bluffs and Sleeping Bear Dunes along the shoreline.

We found a spot to sit in the sand, and watch all the action happening around us. Andi and Aden immediately headed for the water, and said later that the water temperature was drastically different between the shallow mouth of the river and the deeper Lake Michigan. “It’s at least 20 degrees colder out there,” Andi reported.

An active sand dune at the mouth of the river must continually take on different formations with the movement of the wind and water because all the fishermen heading out to Lake Michigan were concerned about getting their boats over the berm. “This didn’t look like this last week,” I heard one man call to his friend.

The sand is so plentiful in the area of Sleeping Bear Dunes, and it’s amazing to think about the waters of Lake Michigan and nearby Platte River molding and shaping the shoreline during different seasons of the year.

After an hour or so, we packed up and headed back to the RV. Andi drove 20 minutes north to our campsite at Indigo Bluffs RV Resort. As we pulled into our site, we noticed a food truck set up near the campground’s community room. What a smart idea! I was really struggling by this point, and had zero energy for cooking dinner tonight. “Let’s just eat at the food truck tonight,” I suggested to Andi. He agreed.

We placed our orders for two burgers and bbq chicken wings. Tory said she wanted to make gnocchi to eat instead of having a burger. Food continually gets stuck in her braces, so she’s pretty picky about what she eats these days.

While our dinners were being prepared, Andi, Aden, and I set up our campsite. Andi and Aden plugged in the power, water, and sewer hoses (full hook-ups two nights in a row — who are we?!), while I vacuumed up all the sand we’d tracked into the camper from our time at the beach. Andi and Aden had to readjust the Starlink satellite positioning to get it to work in this campsite, but it was definitely better than it would have been at the Platte River campsite.

When our food was ready, Andi, Aden, and I sat outside at the picnic table to eat. What a full day we’d had! We biked in Suttons Bay, visited “Fishtown” in Leland, and went to the beach in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It felt good to relax for the night at camp.

I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed. We were all tired after our busy day. We spent the rest of the evening lounging around inside the camper, watching college football and vegging out on our phones. Tomorrow, we’re planning to spend another day at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.