Day Made in Manistee

July 14th 2021: The calm before the storm on River Street in magical Manistee, Michigan.

Manistee is one of those places where my mood, the weather, and rows of colorful buildings were all whisked together to create one delicious seven-layer cake of a memory. Just reading the name Manistee or looking at one of my photos from that town brings an avalanche of emotion and a mental gif of moments I’ve filed away forever.

If I’m ever back in that sweet little town, my mind will project memories of my first visit as I happily stroll in a hybrid state of nostalgia meets the present moment. And just like my first time there, my experience will be completely unique to me. I find that fascinating—how a number of people can visit the same place, listen to the same song, eat the same meal, and all have a different experience of it.

I sat at the bar of TJ’s Pub, waiting for a sandwich and torrential rain to arrive. On TVs hung high on the wall in front of me, I watched the weather reports go from bad to worse. A special marine warning was issued with predictions of severe thunderstorms, hail, and wind gusts 34 knots or greater. Warnings that small craft could be damaged in high winds and suddenly higher waves were also released. This was around the time I realized that the Great Lakes were more like almighty oceans than peaceful ponds.

Eventually, the satellite tv went out. A DirecTV logo bounced slowly around the screen, adding to the indulgent illusion that I was blissfully off the grid and in for the sort of meteorological mayhem I fantasize about.

No one around me seemed to be affected by the impending weather, but my imagination kept me enthralled with scenarios like, maybe we’ll all get stuck here. Maybe just a few of us will miss our window to make it out before things get really wild. Maybe we’ll have to pile into a cellar for safety. Maybe I’ll save half my sandwich in case it becomes the only sandwich left in the world. There’s no fear in these thoughts for me, only intrigue with a peppering of adrenaline.

But alas, the storm wasn’t all that bad. I did get saturated running to my rental car in the rain. And thunder boomed overhead as I watched the waves of that ocean disguised as a lake called Michigan crashing hard and tall over little boats being taken for a ride in the harbor.

There’s something about being near and in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that has a transportive effect. It makes you feel like you’ve entered a recently extinct time and place where Blockbuster videos still exist, and your local Pizza Hut still has the best salad bar around. Maybe that’s because up until 2021, Michigan boasted a whopping 58 Family Video stores, and I was getting used to seeing them scattered throughout the state. Also, an ad for “Pizza Hut, the flavor of now” was placed on the nightstand of my 2-star Microtel.

It was only my third day in what quickly became one of my favorite states, but Michigan was pulling out all the stops to win me over. It was like the Mitten State knew exactly what I love to find and was serving it all up just for me—charming Main streets, natural wonders, scenic byways, kind strangers, wonderfully weird whimsies, and of course, extreme weather.

All experiences fused to make Manistee a thrilling town and Michigan a place I’ll no doubt return to for many years to come.