Day 24: Big Bay, MI: Anatomy of a Murder...

Ever hear of Big Bay, MI?? I had not until this day! We wanted to try to stop at some different ports on our way back home so here we are! Our run to Big Bay was about four hours. We had beautiful weather with sunny skies, the captain is feeling good and life it great.

Sawyer is making sure he gets his nap in while we are underway

We docked on a wall with several other boats. There was a nice grass area for Sawyer to run and play, a small office with bathrooms and a couple living in a motorhome who checked us in. It was quaint and provided us a wonderful spot to explore another new town.

Marina house, restrooms on the backside

They were dredging just inside the entrance to the marina and in the bay

Big Bay is a small town with about 250 residents (2000 census). The walk from the marina was about one mile mostly uphill. We put on our shoes, grabbed potty bags for Sawyer and hit the road. We navigated through a neighborhood that happened to have more rabbits than I have ever seen in one place. Almost every yard had a rabbit or two just hanging out. We saw homes with lettuce sitting out, dogs mingling with the rabbits and people going about their lives while numerous rabbits just hopped about. We both kept pointing out rabbits that we forgot to take pictures.

Anyway, what is cool about Big Bay is that it was the home of the Brunswick company, which made bowling pins and wood floors. They had a bowling alley in the basement of the local general store for their employees to use. This very building was then bought by Henry Ford and turned into a lavish hotel, which he stayed in when visiting and entertaining his guests. The hotel is called Thunder Bay Inn and is one of a few sites where parts of the 1959 movie, Anatomy of a Murder, starring Jimmy Stewert was filmed. Pretty cool! We were invited to look around and were shown the locations that made it in the film, now I have to watch the movie!

Thunderball Inn, Henry Ford had his suite on the top floor left side.

Duke's grill, Sawyer and I sat on the porch enjoying the bustle of the locals. 

For a small town the restaurant/bar (Duke's Grill) next to the hotel was pretty busy, so we had to check that out too!

Another wonderful stop with great people and lots of history.