tlstick, Bear Lake is not that far from Elk Rapids. I would love to have someone to go with on the August shop hop, even if you only wanted to do part of it. This year it includes shops in Charlevoix, Bellaire, East Jordan, Williamsburg, Traverse City, Interlochen, and Cedar. It runs for a whole week. Since I am in Elk Rapids, right in the middle, I usually take 2 days. If you want to go to all or part, I would love the company. Interlochen and Cedar are new this year, but the others are all really nice quilt shops. Clara