I Swear It Was An Eagle

 As I was heading up River Road to get to the spot where I normally see snowy owls, I saw a couple of eagles.  Sadly, they weren't in a good place to get pictures.  As I headed back, I went back and forth a couple times.  And then I saw one.

Unfortunately, the eagle flew away and was replaced by this seagull.

While I'm happy with the pictures I would have been happier with an eagle.

Especially in this light.

I tried the spot a couple more times but the eagle kept flying away.  I was losing my light, so I gave up.  I might try again tomorrow.

Scotty Simpson's Fish and Chips

I had a little time to kill until the next ship, so I decided to grab some lunch.  I keep telling myself, that I need to try some of the off the beaten path places.  I'm not entirely sure if this place is off the beaten path but it does count as a local eatery, so I went there.

 I saw a link to an article for this place on Facebook.  A couple posters said that you have to try this place and I figured I would.   On Saturday it opens at 2, so I had a little bit of wait and I decided to look around.  I'm glad I did because I saw that they only accepted cash, so I head to head over to the bank.

 It's kind of an unassuming building and it's tucked away in the middle of a neighborhood.  If you didn't know about it, you would be hard pressed to find it.  But it's not that hard to get to.

 Like I said, if you weren't actually looking for it, you wouldn't find it.

 I was kind of surprised how busy it was but usually that is a good sign.

 I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I got fish, shrimp and perch.  The breading was light and crispy and the fish tasted like it was right off the boat.  The fries tasted like they were freshly cut.  The cole slow was pretty good.  I decided to get a piece of pumpkin pie for desert and that was pretty good as well.

 A shot of the fry area.

The fish is pretty much traditionally battered.  And from a sign on the wall, this place has been owned by the same family for a while.  I would definately head back there again.

Dinner at Bortell's Fisheries

Just outside of Ludington, there is a place called Bortell's Fisheries.   It is one of those places that you would miss unless you knew to actually look for it.  I ate there the last time I went over to Ludington for the Fourth of July and I recalled that it was pretty good.  It came on the recommendation from another blog I used to read.

 On there road, there is nothing particularly flashy announcing its presence.  Just a sign that says "Fish", in case there were any doubts what was served there.

 It's kind of a stretch to call this a restaurant though.  Since they are only open during the summer, there are a few picnic tables in the front yard.  I imagine that keeps overhead low.  On a day like Friday, that wasn't too bad.

 They hae a nice little mural on the front of the building and if you go expecting anything else, prepared to be disappointed.

Another sign.

 I was just trying to go for an odd angle in this picture.

 They open sometime in May and close on Labor Day (or sooner if they run out of fish).

 I guess they have a pretty successful business model since they been open over 100 years.

 Again, the hours are dependent upon their supplies.  The last time I went there, they were out of pretty much everything.

 Their display case.  I think the fresh water fish is freshly caught.  The ocean fish may not be as fresh but I think it's fairly fresh.

 Their menu is pretty simple.  Pick what type of fish you want and they fry it for you.

 If you go, don't bring your American Express (or Visa or Master Card) because they only accept cash.  Judging by the number of cars, it seems to work for them.

 The decor is about what you would expect for a place like this.

 Another view of some of the decor.   There are also some pictures throughout their history.

 They sell t-shirts and hats if you are so inclined.

I decided to go with the walleye and onion rings.  The breading on the fish reminded me of the kind of breading that you would use if you made the fish yourself.  It wasn't too think and didn't distract from the fish flavor.  The walleye was pretty fresh tasting.  The onion rings had the standard breading but it wasn't overdone so those were pretty good as well.

So if you are in Ludington, I would highly recommend this place.

The Great Lakes Aquarium

Next I headed over to the Great Lakes Aquarium.  I thought that I got a complimentary ticket because of my membership to the Lake Superior Museum but that wasn't the case.  I ended up going inside anyway despite the number of kids wandering around.

 A giant stuffed catfish.  Apparently this Aquarium is the only one in the world that is all freshwater fish.  Occasionally they will get some saltwater tanks for special exhibits but that is not the norm.  I had a feeling that kind of limits the number of displays.

 I forget what this fish was called but it would have been an example of a fish that would have swam around the Great Lakes Area millions of years ago.

 An example of a fish in a glacial pond.

 They basically had a recreation of a trout pond.

 An alligator gar.

 I'm not sure what kind of duck this is.

 A soft shelled turtle.

 A painted turtle.

 A pike.  I was amazed at how big he was.

They also had an otter exhibit.

The aquarium was pretty cool.

Miscellany on the River

Just some of the random things that you find along the river.

 I think this is a sparrow.

 Some baby fish but I'm not sure what kind they are.

 Another group of fish.

 A fishing boat.

 The pilot boat going out to join the saltie convention.

 Another fishing boat coming down the river.

 A seagull.

 A fishing boat.

 I'm not sure what kind of flower this is but I like the colors.

 A red version of that.

And a pink one.

Wolf Lake Fishery

The most direct route from South Haven to Kalamazoo is to take M-43.  That takes you past the Wolf Lake Fishery.  Since I had a little time, I stopped there to get a couple of pictures.

 The Fishery was established in 1927 and is used to restock the Lakes with game fish.  This is a group of salmon fry.

 A stuffed falcon.

 A stuffed pike.

 A sturgeon.  This is one of the fish that they spawn from here as well.  For a while, they were getting close to being extinct, I think they are making a comeback.

 This is some sort of trout.

 A wooden sturgeon.

 One of the neat things about this place is that they have a stocking pond where you can feed the fish.  These are rainbow trout, I believe.

 I love the silouette.

 Something lurks beneath the waves.

 A pretty big one.

 A stand of trees just outside the building.

Looking up at the trees.  If you get a chance, you should go here.  It's not too far outside of Kalamazoo.