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Here we go! I caught the first US-127 sign almost immediately after
exiting I-75 a few miles south og Grayling.
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Much of Michigan's share of US-127 is divided four-lane and much of that
is lined with trees some of which are beginning to show their autumn
colors. The trees combined with the north and south bound lanes often
being widely separated means that there are long stretches where traffic
going the other direction is simply not seen.
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I did get on some two-lane by driving business routes. The business routes
of most US Highways are often the highway's bypassed original routes. That
is technically not the case here since the bypasses likely already existed
when the road switched from US-27 to US-127. Something now signed BUSINESS
127 was probably never signed just 127.
I encountered this roadside park while driving the business route through
Harrison and onto Clare. The park has obviously been there a awhile but
I've since learned that the sign announcing it is only a couple of years
old. It was placed there by the Clare Historical Society as it begins to
draw attention to some of the local highway history. The Michigan
Historical Society sign in the park does not concern the highway or even
the park. It talks about logging and Shay locomotives. Read it
here.
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I recall hearing a story, possibly on NPR, about
Cops and
Doughnuts and decided it would be a good breakfast stop when I
realized it was nearby. It turned out to be right on the US-127 business
route. The cops part of the story begins in 2009 when all nine members of
the Clare Police Department went together to save a 113 year old bakery
that was about to close down.
It took me three tries to get inside. What look like a main entrance isn't
and the natural second choice isn't either. But they are cleverly marked
to direct customers to the proper door which opens on the gift shop.
Clearly these cops are selling more than baked goods and the baked goods
they are selling include a lot more than doughnuts. Those are sticky buns
in the top left of that cabinet, and that's what I had for
breakfast. Note that the area where old coots
gather is labeled. The section of sidewalk seen through the old coot's
window is also labeled to enhance the view.
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Some buildings had caught my eye as I entered town and after eating my
stick bun and licking my fingers, I walked back for a closer look.
The Ideal Theater
still shows first run movies and has apparently only been idle one year
(COVID-19) since opening in 1930.
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It is hard for me to contemplate reaching a place like the
Whitehouse Restaurant and not eating a cheeseburger --
so I didn't. Besides, I'd only had the one pastry for breakfast and I'd
walked nearly a hundred yards since then. The 'burger, with its toasted
bun, was great. It was more or less breakfast time when I was there so
omelets, bacon, toast, and the like were being served along with
hamburgers and such. One waitress and one cook, who often delivered what
she cooked, kept all six booths happy, and all six booths were kept full.
There is additional seating outside for warmer weather. Some online
sources describe this as an around-the-clock operation and I imagine it
once was. Right now, however, it operates from 8:00 to 8:00 but it does
that seven days a week.
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Rain began not long after I left Clare. It was never heavy but it never
really stopped. It took me a while after passing the
Sunset Acres
Motel for it to register then find a place to pull over. When I did,
a visit to the website made me instantly realize that this was exactly the
sort of place I was looking for. Check out my room
here. The rain kept me from better exterior
shots.
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When I asked, the couple at Sunset Acres suggested
Shea'Nanigans for dinner and it was a great
suggestion. Good food and friendly staff and extra friendly customers. I
sat at the bar and from the instant I sat down I was engaged in
conversation with a fellow near by and then with the group around him.
When it came time to pay for my perch, I was
told someone had already taken care of it. Although he refused to admit
it, I'm pretty sure I know whom my benefactor was and thanked him anyway.
Hudson, MI, has some really nice people.
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