2025-02-12 - Traverse Travels

The 10am ferry on a Wednesday morning to the mainland isn't particularly busy in the middle of February, so it's a nice relaxing two hour cruise from Spellbound over to Traverse City. Michael had met Trick at the ferry terminal with coffees and donuts for the ferry ride over and now the two were seated comfortably as the boat chugs its way along southwardly, leaving the islands behind.

"I was actually glad you chose the off-island option," Michael says. "Not that I don't love the islands or working there, but I've spent the better part of the last year there and haven't done a ton of exploring the area or doing much nearby save for a ski trip recently, so this will be new for me, too."

As Michael admits this, Trick's in the midst of pulling on a coat to pull atop the hoodie that was plenty warm for the Spellbound side of the water, but certainly isn't going to cut it on the "mainland."

"I'm glad you're glad," he says with a grin."I thought it might be the case, and also while I like horses, I feel like sometimes they don't like me, so this felt like a stronger option for us both." He flashes a grin, before taking a sip of his coffee, still warm enough to steam in the chillier air.

"A ski trip sounds fun. I went a couple of times before I got to Spellbound, but usually in the winter I do a lot of boarding, so I may have to head out and do a trip one of these days," he tells Michael.

Michael has a warmly lined leather jacket on over a dark blue sweater and a t-shirt on under it with a pair of comfortable jeans and hiking boots on. He's definitely gone for layers for the swap between the mainland and the islands. He grins at the admission about the horses and says, "The horses weren't mandatory. I was just trying to come up with something that might be interesting. But this definitely works out."

"There's a couple of good spots around Traverse City," he says. "I can give you the info on the place we went a few weeks ago. Nice powder. The lodge we rented was really nice, too. Good for a bigger group, but I know they have some smaller places as well, depending on how big of a trip you want to take. I've done a little boarding but I've done more skiing."

He wraps his hands around his coffee, using it as hand warmer as much as beverage and says, "So, since it's a little chillier, I'm thinking grab some lunch when we hit the mainland and then heading over for the indoor museum tours. Wasn't sure how warm it was. The lighthouses are cool, but I don't know how much time you want to spend standing outside on beaches and cliffs in the cold. Not that I'm not game. I've got info for everything on my phone and times and tickets depending on what sounds good."

"You did good. Hopefully you weren't sad I outbid someone else," Trick says with a grin, taking another sip of his coffee. At the offer for the info on the ski resort, he nods. "That'd be appreciated. Some friends of mine are in Banff this weekend and it was making me a little homesick for real snow. Snowsick? Snomesick?" He shakes his head, and grins.

At the various offers laid out, he tips his head thoughtfully. "The lighthouses sounded good on paper, but now you mention it, maybe we can save that for a spring outing," he says with a grin. "I don't mind being in the cold to be, you know, in the cold, but it's different when you're suited up and sweating on a ski run. We can do the lighthouse tour another day. Maybe make a group of it."

After a moment, he adds, "Or at least before I leave. I'm not sure how long I'll be here, I guess. Eventually I'll probably get the wanderlust hitting me again."

"Why would you think I might be?" Michael asks curiously as he lifts his cup of coffee to take another sip, studying Trick. Then he laughs. "I like Snomesick." He then flips through his phone to find the info that is still there from when he set up the ski trip and sends it over. A couple of texts with links bloop over to Trick's phone. "There's not a lot of skiing in Indiana, at least not around where I'm from. So I never really went very often. Usuaully when visiting friends elsewhere."

"Yeah. I forget sometimes that the islands are a lot milder. So when I was thinking of it, I was thinking more spring temperatures than what it is now," Michael says a little apologetically. But then he nods about the lighthouses and says, "Another trip, another time. If you have the time." Then he says, "I guess you do quite a bit of traveling," admitting, "I've never been outside the states."

Trick laughs a little at the question, and looks away as he's studied. "I don't know! I put myself up with no expectations, but someone might have had hopes of a certain other person bidding on them, and then I come along and dash those plans like so much... I don't know. Salt. Something you dash."

He grins, and then shrugs. "Indiana is one place I haven't been, so you win that point. Not that it's a competition. But honestly, there's a lot to see just in the states that so many people don't. Could keep you busy enough without ever leaving the country," he says. "New York's different than here's different than Los Angeles is different than Seattle, etc. But maybe so long as you're here, pop up to our neighbors to the north, and say hey."

The apology, though, gets a wave of a hand from Trick. "Don't worry about forgetting about the weather. It kind of feels good to be cold, after having everything pretty perfect for so many days i a row, you know?"

Michael grins a little at that and shakes his head. "Honestly, I had no expectations either. I haven't really dated at all since I've been working on the island. This was a chance to meet somebody new and get out and do something fun." He gestures a little with his cup of coffee at Trick, "And, success! You are new and we're going to do something fun. So no, not even a little bit disappointed."

"You're not missing a whole lot," Michael admits, of Indiana. "But I guess a lot of people feel that way about where they're from. Too familiar. There's some beautiful places. The horse farm I grew up on is actually on some beautiful land. But it's definitely no New York, Seattle, or Los Angeles." Though the mention of popping up north has him laughing. "True, I could probably trip and fall into Canada from up here. Maybe one of these days I'll take a road trip."

"True enough," he agrees about the weather. "So where would you go next? If the wanderlust took you? Got any plans for your next stop?"

"No expectations is the best philosophy for this sort of thing, I think. Can't be disappointed," Trick says with a grin before listening to Michael speak of Indiana and its beauties.

"New York is fun, but I think it wasn't a great place to grow up," Trick admits. "Both because there's not a lot of room to play and explore without probably being murdered, and because the kids I grew up with all were expected to grow up into CEOs or high-powered attorneys and the like, and with all the entitlement that comes with that. I'm not sure how I escaped that mentality, honestly, but I'm glad I did."

He looks up, thoughtfully at the question of wanderlust. "Good question. After skiing in Banff, maybe down to New Zealand. Do some surfing, get some real sun."

"I mean, you could be disappointed, but hopefully not," Michael laughs. "Guess that's true. There was a whole lot of room to play and explore around where I grew up. Less likely to get murdered. More likely to kill yourself doing some dumb shit and falling down a well or off a horse or something." His smile is a little bit wryly amused. "I don't think my folks had a lot of expectations. They hoped at least one of us would take over the farm, but they never really put it on us to do so. We learned how to work it as part of growing up, but when I left for school there was no guilt about it. And now half my siblings are up here working at the park with me."

"See some hobbit houses?" he asks. "Sounds nice, really. Warm sun and surf. I have no idea how to surf, but I could definitely get into swimming in some non-frigid water and soaking up some sun."

"Aside from the death wells and murder horses, that sounds really nice," Trick says with a grin. "We had a place in the Hamptons, and yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds to say aloud. But I pretty much ran free and wild there during the summers and it's probably a miracle I survived that."

It takes him a moment to catch on to the hobbit reference, and then he grins. "Right, I forgot those were filmed there. Mostly hiking or kayaking or surfing. I haven't been myself, but I hear good things. I'll stop by in Australia, but that raises the chances of death a few points, I think."

He takes a sip of his coffee, then wraps both hands around it for the residual warmth. "How many siblings is half?"

"Never knew anyone to actually fall down a well or get killed being thrown by a horse, though definitely a few fractures, and probably a lot more falling out of trees or off of roofs than anything else," Michael muses. Then he shakes his head and says, "I don't think it sounds ridiculous. People have places in the Hamptons." He chuckles. "If you said something like.. we lived in a pink blow-up pumpkin with shag carpet and diamond-studded furniture in the Hamptons.." He lifts a hand and does a little hand-wobble gesture. "That'd sound kind of ridiculous."

"Sounds like fun," Michael says. "I like going hiking. Probably some beautiful places to do it there. Also, many sheep." Laughing, he chuckles and says, "Because all of the wildlife is dangerous, or because you disappointed some fans there once?"

"Two. My sisters Astrid and Farah. The other two are back in Indiana," he says, about his siblings. "Astrid and Farah both work over on Starlight island with the animals."

"Somewhere in Manhattan, my mother, bless her heart, is pinching the bridge of her nose in pain at the ostentatious gaudiness of that description," Trick says with a laugh, one thumb flicking at the plastic lid's edge of his coffee cup. "The Hamptons house was actually pretty comfortable, meant for relaxing in, unlike the house in the city. But nary a diamond-encrusted ottoman in either."

The question about disappointed fans in Australia draws another laugh, and he shakes his head. "Just the dangerous wildlife. I don't really have fans that have that many expectations of me to disappoint, to be honest. I just put stuff out and people watch it, but none of it's important. I don't know why they watch it, to be honest. It's a mystery, but a nice one that I don't need to solve."

Trick nods at the mention of the four siblings, two here, two in Indiana. "Big family," he says, though without judgment and perhaps a little bit of wistfulness. "I'm an only child, which is probably predictable. Where are you in that line up? That's a whole basketball team."

"My apologies to your mother," Michael laughs, lifting his coffee to take a sip before taking a bite of his donut. Then he gestures with his cup and says, "Missed opportunity there." But he's kidding.

"People like to be entertained, and people like bite sized entertainment that they can quickly share with others immediately. It appeals to the instant gratification. Plus, you're charismatic and attractive and get to do things that they can't. Why wouldn't they want a little bit of vicarious enjoyment? But good that it's just the dangerous wildlife."

"Yeah," he says, about it being a big family. "I think they figured if they had enough of of us someone would want to stick around and take care of the farm." He smiles a little wryly. "I mean, I say that, but they've made that joke themselves, so it's fair."

"Oh, don't apologize to her. She deserves to feel judged for plenty of things, but her furniture state is not one of them," Trick says with a laugh.

"Bite sized and inconsequential entertainment, but it's all right. The idea of doing anything too important makes me feel itchy and then I go do the opposite until it wears off," he replies, and then covers his face at the words charismatic and attractive. "Hush. Look, is that a dolphin?" he says, pointing off into the water.

Not likely.

"You plan to go back and do that, or is that not your thing?" he asks, of the farm.

Michael laughs and says, "Duly noted."

Michael shrugs his shoulders and says, "It matters to someone enough to watch it," with an amused smile. "I mostly just ride around making sure people don't end up too much of a danger to themselves or others. Most of it involves making sure drunk people don't fall on, into, or over things." Then he laughs at Trick's very clever distraction. "Definitely a dolphin," he agrees even without looking at what is definitely not a dolphin.

"Go back to the farm? Oh, I don't know, maybe. When I get too old or too injured to do the security thing, maybe? Wouldn't be a bad retirement. Seems to be working out for my folks," he muses. "I hadn't given it much thought, to be honest. It's a ways off and I'm not sure what my siblings would want for it either. That's a future decision." One he's not quite planning for yet.

The job description Michael gives pulls a grin from Trick, and he looks around, before admitting, "I just want to free run on the castle, myself, but I don't want to get a lifetime ban. It'd be pretty fun, though."

He nods, then, at the future decision that is not a problem for current Michael. "I'm glad my father doesn't expect me to follow in his footsteps. He knew pretty early that wasn't going to be the case, I think. In third grade, our class had to plan and create a little business and you got paid classroom money according to what job you had in the company, right? So the president didn't do anything but tell all the other groups how to do their jobs while the people who built the product got the least money? Tiny economics class. Very micro," Trick explains, eyes crinkling with a smirk.

"After we got paid, I snuck in during recess and stole the money from the president and the vice presidents and redistributed the wealth among the rest of us."

"You know, you do know someone in security now who could probably arrange a time when you could do that when there aren't any guests present," Michael says with an amused smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "Whose roommate happens to be in medical." He chuckles.

The story about the micro-economics class gets a grin from Michael and then a bit of a more rueful nod at the realism there. But it's the last bit that makes him laugh outright. "How very Robin Hood of you. Did you want to become an outlaw when you grew up?" He finishes off his donut and sips his coffee. "Out here confessing crimes."

"Oh, do I," Trick says, with a grin for Michael. "That would be pretty fun. You ever do that, free run? I'm not like, world elite level or anything, but it's fun. Broken a few bones though, which makes you a little more cautious, and that's the worst thing for it. You get fear in the back of your head, it's going to throw you off your game."

The question of being an outlaw makes Trick grin, and shake his head. "I mean, outlaws are usually pretty interesting compared to the law abiding citizens, but that's not to say the white hats can't be interesting. I'm not much of a rule follower, but I'm not a bad guy, so I guess I'm somewhere in the middle."

Another sip of coffee is taken, and he turns back to Michael. "What about you? Is security a thing you planned to do, or just something for the time being?"

"I tried it out a bit when I was younger, but wasn't really my thing. That's why I have a horse now. More earthbound, but faster overall," Michael laughs. "Contrary to movies and TV, I never had to do a lot of rooftop chases."

Which sort of leads into Trick's question. "At first, I wanted to be a cop. I had some pretty idealistic ideas about it when I was a kid. But I found out pretty quick that it wasn't what I wanted to do. Which was a pretty big waste of time spent at the Academy," he admits. "Went into private security after that -- bodyguarding, events, and then I heard about this place and figured it'd be a nice break from everything, I guess. Still looking out for people. Still trying to keep people safe. But a whole different atmosphere."

It's a long trek, about two hours and change, to get over to Traverse city. Which leaves quite a bit of time to talk before they eventually see the shore approaching in the distance and the ferry terminal as the boat slowly chugs along.

"Had is the operative word. Some of us choose to do rooftop chases," Trick says with a wide grin. "Group of mad lads I hang out with in London play capture the flag on, well, the rooftops. It's a time. I misjudged a jump and ended up breaking my collarbone to keep from falling so that put an end to that for me before my trip was through."

He nods with sympathy when Michael explains the aspiration to be a cop and the realization that came after. "See? If you have no expectations, you can't be disappointed," he says with a grin, but it's only meant half seriously. "Still looks good on a resume, I imagine, so not a waste of time completely. And it helped you realize it wasn't for you earlier rather than later, so just a small waste of time. And maybe not one at all if it leads you to where you ultimately want to be."

He stretches his legs out, crossing them at the ankle. "Do you have your own horse or is it Spellbound's or how's that work?"

Michael gives a little bit of a wince at the breaking of the collarbone but says, "Sounds like it was a blast up until that point, though."

"Oh, I assure you that you can still be disappointed even with no expectations. Some things are just disappointing all on their own," Michael says with a little rueful smile. "No, it doesn't hurt the resume and I like what I'm doing at the park. So, no complaints." There's also a nod to it having shown him what he didn't want to do early on. "True enough. I don't regret having done it."

"Cornbread belongs to the park and is part of the stable of security service animals that are specially trained to be able to handle the close press of crowds, the sudden commotion, the attention of children and follow commands in high stress situations. He seems pretty quiet and docile but he's a fast runner and real good at following directions," Michael says. "But no, he doesn't belong to me. He was assigned to me when I joined the team over a year ago. As partners go, he's pretty good. Real good listener."

Trick nods, slowly, as he considers the validity and veracity of the statement on expectations, and comes out on Michael's side on the end. "That's true. Especially with food. And people. And... well, a lot of things. I rescind my prior comment entirely."

His teeth flash in a quick grin again, before the mention of Cornbread the horse. "That is an amazing name for a horse. Is he that yellow color? I don't know horse colors, I guess. I went riding a couple of times as a kid, but seemed to get the jackass -- no pun intended -- of the group every time."

He squints, then, and rubs his jaw. "I probably deserved it with the first one. The second one smelled my fear."

Michael shakes his head and says, "He is sort of a pale color but not really yellow. I'd expect cornbread to be a little more golden and brown than he is. But he's sweet enough without being too sweet and a pretty good partner all around." He then chuckles and says, "They can read us pretty well, I think. I met one of the jousters who can apparently talk to hers in a way that they can understand one another. I think I'm pretty comfortable without knowing Cornbread's opinions of me."

Eventually, the ferry pulls up on the mainland and they are able to disembark and stretch their legs. Even though it's still pretty chilly, it's at least bright and sunny which makes it feel a little warner, particularly as they move away from the immediate area of the water and along the waterfront buildings.

There are plenty of things to look at with several galleries, a couple of small museums, the smash room that Michael had mentioned in the date description, and a wealth of restaurants. Michael leads his way over to one on the boardwalk that has a covered deck on the second floor that allows a view of the lake and one of the lighthouses in the distance but is heated so they don't have to huddle for warmth while they eat.

"Rider of a pale horse, how ominous," Trick says with a grin, though Michael doesn't really resemble death or any of the other horsemen of the apocalypse as far as he's concerned. "I'd probably bet on him if I saw his name at the races, just for the fun of yelling, 'Come on, Cornbread!' at the top of my lungs."

Trick pulls a knit cap out of his coat pocket now that they're on the chillier side of the water. "This is really picturesque," he says, was they walk along the boardwalk, and he looks around, taking a few deep breaths of the crisp cold air. "I don't think I could ever live too far from water for very long. It's crazy to me that there are people who've never seen water this big, or the ocean, or been on a boat. I'm not, like, judging them, just that when you grow up on an actual island, even one covered in concrete, you take that water view for granted."

As they head into the restaurant, Trick looks around curiously, happy to let Michael lead the way.

"I'd never been on any real big body of water until my teens," Michael says to Trick with a grin. "Lots of rivers, lakes, creeks, but nothing the size of Lake Michigan, or the ocean, for that matter." He then shakes his head, "But then I started traveling a little when I was a teen and I saw the ocean before I saw the great lakes."

"I like being near the water, though. I love the islands. Even though it's not particularly tropical," he chuckles as they make their way up to the heated patio area. Then they're left alone with the menu for a while. There's lots of local favorites from seafood to pierogi and pasties. Michael points out some of the items that reviewers had raved about when he'd chosen the place.

Soon, they have drinks in front of them.

"That makes sense in your case. I knew this guy from California who hadn't seen the ocean until he was an adult, and lived less than a hundred miles away from it his whole life. So he's probably got you beat," Trick says. "I only saw big cities and big travel destinations until I was in college and we went on a cross country trip. Some really beautiful country that I didn't even really know existed."

He reaches for the glass left by the server and takes a sip, before smiling. "It's kind of funny how we all live in our bubbles, sheltered from the world in different ways. And how some of us manage to break free from that." Lifting his glass, he tips his head. "To seeing the world," he says. "Pierogis sound amazing, a bit different from the usual. Can't ever go wrong with stuffed dough."

"I think if it was that close, I probably would have gotten out there," Michael chuckles. "If only for like a weekend trip or something at some point." But then, who knows? Still, he muses on the things that he's seen and all the things that he hasn't. Finally, he nods in agreement. "We all have our little spheres of what we grew up in and then it's up to us to see where we can go and what we can see."

He raises his glass in toast and says, "To seeing the world. I'd like to see more of it someday." Then he takes a sip and takes a moment to peruse the menu. "I've heard they're very good and I do love pretty much everything that comes in stuffed in dough shape."

When the server returns, he orders himself the cheese and onion pierogis with a side salad to make some sort of nod at vegetables aside from the potatoes in the pierogi.

The cold, actually-winter weather on this side of the water may have something to do with Trick's order -- aside from some pierogis, he also gets a bowl of dill pickle soup (strange to American ears, but a Polish mainstay). There's no nod to fresh vegetables via salad, so the pierogi potatoes and the soup potatoes and other bits of produce in the soup will have to do.

"I think every culture has something stuffed in dough, and if it doesn't, it probably should," he muses with a grin. "I'm pretty sure it's the fact we make bread that separates us from the animals."

He takes another sip of his drink. "This is nice, getting out of the park. So spill the tea. What's the worst part of working there?"

"I'm pretty sure that dumplings are universal," Michael agrees, and also seems to find they are the appropriate meal before their afternoon adventures. There's a curious glance over at the dill pickle soup choice on the menu and he seems to debate for a moment, and then changes his mind and doesn't order it, as curious as he is about it. "Okay .. is it a hot soup or a cold soup? And.. are there pickles in it?" He has to know.

He does laugh a little and has to think about the worst part of working at the park. "I think all the tedious loading horses on ferries. I could do without the constantly needing to get them into the trailers on the horse ferry and take them from one island to the other. Spellbound has its own stables where all the security horses and carriage horses are and Fable has the horses for guests to ride. But we still patrol several islands, so there are ferries that have horse trailers on them to get the horses from Spellbound to the other islands and back again. And man some days they're just not having it."

"Hot, I think, and not quite like just throwing in some Vlasics in boiling water. I've heard of it, but never had," Trick says with a grin at the curiosity regarding the Polish soup. "You can try some of mine. I'm mostly getting it to try it, not that I think I need it."

The explanation of what it takes to transport the horses earns Michael a wide-eyed look from the tourist, and Trick shakes his head. "That sounds like a lot of work. And is probably a reason I don't really work, so to speak."

He does, but he definitely doesn't consider it the same sort of work. A few hours of editing after having fun doing whatever he wants is hardly the same as coercing stubborn beasts around. "Can you train them to just... get on the ferries without the trailers? That seems like it might be less strenuous for everyone, but I can see why they wouldn't want to do that, either."

"Huh," Michael says, considering this hot pickle soup and then decides. "I'll try a spoon." Since Trick is offering, after all. Though he chuckles at the wide-eyed look over the horses. "We're not allowed to transport them on the ferries without being in trailers. The trailers are permanent parts of the horse ferry, though. So they do just walk onto the ferry and into the trailer. It's to prevent any potential injuries from rough water or from them getting spooked by something and jumping the rails into the water."

Eventually their food does come and the pierogis are indeed excellent. The soup is interesting, as far as Michael is concerned, but definitely doesn't look like something that he'd order again. The meal is hearty though, and filling without being over-filling. And after some time to consume their beverages, it is time to check out a few of the local museums. Michael sets up a little tour for them that takes them through an indigenous art gallery, a more modern gallery, and a museum about Lake Michigan and the role Traverse City played in its history. They aren't particularly large, but it's a nice little walk that takes them out of the cold for a while and allows them to chat while they take their time dipping in and out of small shops along the way.

"I guess that makes sense," Trick says. "I don't know much about horses, like I said. Maybe you can help me realize they're not all trying to eat me or throw me to my death." He's mostly kidding -- given he jumps across rooftops and parachutes, he's probably not that afraid of horses. But they have teeth, and parachutes don't.

At the end of the little tour, Trick excuses himself for a few moments, purportedly for the restroom, but when he comes back, he's got a gift bag from the gift shop. Inside are two matching t-shirts with the words "you light up my life" written beneath a sunset scene of a lighthouse.

"This was great," he says, pulling his own shirt out and leaving Michael with the bag. "I learned a lot today and it didn't even hurt."

"Well, if you want to go meet some of them with me, I'd be happy to introduce you to some that definitely will not eat you or throw you," Michael chuckles. "Just let me know. We can go riding on Fable Island sometime."

When Trick returns, Michael is just leaning against the wall, looking out over the lake and toward the ferry dock where their ferry is very slowly approaching, the one that will offload and then take them back to the park.

When he's presented with the bag, he looks a little surprised, but opens it up and glances inside to pull out the t-shirt, laughing. "Thanks," he says, reaching over to clasp Trick's shoulder lightly and then release it. "This is great. And I"m glad you had a good time. I did, too. And.. if you ever feel like doing something again.. you know where to find me."