Michigan has always been special to us. It is the first state we called home, indeed, the state where Ajey and I met, the start of ‘Us’! We both went to Michigan Tech, up, up, up in Michigan’s UP – a gorgeous, tranquil paradise – all year round, if you’re a fan of winter, with lots and lots of snow! And then some more snow!! And then just a little more to take you into Spring! But the summers – oh the summers!! – the pristine natural beauty, the crystal clear lakes, dense evergreen woods, and the ambrosial air – there’s nothing like summers in Michigan! And what better place to spend the July 4th long weekend than the ever popular Mackinac Island?!
Mackinac Island is actually one of the very first vacations we took – so definitely a trip down memory lane, 2 decades on, this time with Manasi. With an overnight stay in Grand Rapids – we were soon driving towards the iconic Mackinac bridge, connecting the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous bridge – but far more crowded than I remembered – it took us almost an hour to crawl across – I guess Michigan’s UP is no longer the well-kept secret it was several years ago!! On either side of the bridge, there are ‘Bridge-view’ exits – these truly do offer the best view of the bridge! So Mackinac Island is unique – no motor vehicles are allowed, bikes and horse-drawn carriages are the preferred modes of transportation. There are several options available to stay right on the island – including the very grand Grand Hotel – it is also just as easy to stay on the mainland and take a ferry across to spend the day! At a time when we thought that Red Roof Inn was a splurge, staying at the Grand Hotel was a distant dream – alas, at $900 for a smallish room, the dream remains a dream!
The ferry brings you to Main Street – which looks straight out of Disneyland, I was half expecting a parde to pop out any minute! Charming little store fronts, ice-cream and fudge, several up-scale restaurants and those horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping along! Best way to ‘see’ the island is to rent bikes and ride along the 8mile circuit of the island. Last time we were here, we rented a tandem bike – but 24 years of marriage has taught us that from bikes to duvets – everyone is happiest when each person has their own! The first stop was Arch Rock – park your bikes along the trail, and climb up about 200 steps to stand in line and take a ‘I was here’ picture with the iconic limestone formation. The entire trail has so many beautiful views of the lake, we kept stopping every few minutes to take more pictures – finally making it to British Landing. Now I had no memory of this, but Ajey remembered taking a photo with the cannon, which we of course had to recreate! Small detail – I wasn’t in the original picture!! Also, it is really really hard to get a good scan of an old photo! Nevertheless, I think we got pretty close to the original!
After returning our bikes, we browsed along Main Street – stopping for hand-dipped icecream. The fudge shops smell heavenly – and they all offer free samples – which is a great way to get your sugar fix! We walked around the interior trails, making it up to Fort Mackinac – these were less crowded than the outer circuit – with the wildflower carpets on either side, and the evergreens joining together to form shady canopies overhead, absolute bliss! There are several other limestone formations dotted about, Arch Rock was easily the best! Sunset point was our next stop – and we did get some good photos, but there was an overhang of rock that didn’t let us see the sun actually set in the lake. The last ferry back to mainland was 10pm, so we thought taking the 9:30pm ferry would let us see the sunset on the lake – except that there was no 9:30 ferry. Long wait at the dock – and a gorgeous moon rising in front of us!! We spent about 6 hours on the island – quite enough to get a taste of Mackinac!
Next day, we were headed to Charlevoix – which is hands-down the most charming, picturesque, quintessential small town – straight out of fairy tale! The winding street into the heart of the town is lined with stately house with immaculate yards, lush baskets of petunias adorning all the lampposts – all the way to bridge across a river dotted with boats headed out to Lake Michigan. ‘Charlevoix – The Beautiful’ says the sign – and yes, oh yes, how beautiful is this place! We walked along the Pine Channel River to the lighthouse, stopping to watch the drawbridge open for the larger boats, and meandered along – several inviting restaurants with outdoor seating for lunch – however, most with a wait of couple of hours or more – if I were to come back, eating on the deck of the Weathervane is going to be #1 on my list! Next best option – bring a picnic to East Park with an incredible view of the boat docks – never has a Subway sandwich tasted better! ‘Mamma’s tourism’ said that the Mushroom Houses of Charelvoix were not to be missed – there are actual tours offered, but these houses are quite easy to find on Google! It was quite fun to spot these as we drove along – they totally look straight out of Hobbiton!!
Normally, I don’t do hotel reviews on this blog – but this next one definitely deserves a special mention! But first – lavender fields! Halfway between Charlevoix and Petoskey is Boyne City – a little detour off the highway, and welcome to fields of fragrance!! At Lavender Hill Farm, you can buy everything lavender – from tiny little plants to all kinds of lavender products. Or you can take a walk through the lavender fields, marveling at all the varieties of lavender, and just inhaling the goodness! And then Bay Inn – first of all, totally new for us was the remote check-in – no front desk, no receptionist – last 4 digits of your phone number is the digital key! The exterior is deceptively simple, but the room took my breath away! The simple nautical theme, including a sail boat patterned wallpaper – cosy and comfortable – it totally had the vibe of a guest room in a cottage – so far from the bland hotel rooms we’re used to! The location is perfect – stay for a week, to explore from Mackinac to Traverse City, all within an hours drive away! So check it out for your next Michigan vacation!
Petoskey has been voted as one of the best small-towns in America – so after the gorgeous Charlevoix, our expectations were sky-high! Well, to give due credit – we were there on Sunday evening, with almost everything being closed – so totally didn’t get the same energy we had in Charlevoix – it really is a pretty place to walk around. Manasi has been reading Hemingway as part of her high school literature class, so was kind of cool that Hemingway spent his summers in Petoskey, and there’s a life size statue to celebrate the connection! The park is beautiful, with a gazebo and well-tended flower beds – would be the perfect spot to spend an afternoon with a good book here! The Clock Tower was next, and then after a delicious pizza at Duffy’s, to the lighthouse for the sunset – cheesy sunset pictures never get old, and are so much fun! Because, let’s face it – once you’re at Sunset Point, besides waiting for the sun to sink into the horizon – there really isn’t much else to do – so cheese it up!!
Winding down, our last stop was to be the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park – before the long drive home. On the drive to Traverse City, we were passing fields after fields of cherry trees absolutely laden with cherries – and signs all over for ‘Pick Your Own’ – irresistible, wouldn’t you agree?!! Alas, the smallest size you could pick at these farms was about the size of a small pail – I’m no baker, and I had no idea what I do with so many cherries – I mean, you can only eat so many, right?! But then Ajey remembered reading about the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City – quick Google search, and sure enough – maybe we would get some cherries after all!! The Cherry Festival was a gigantic carnival, with all kinds of rides, fried food – and absolutely everything cherry! Lots of local shops – honey, cider, spice rubs, candy, lavender stuff – it was a blast!!
We finally made it to Sleeping Bear Dunes – this landmark really has the saddest legend ever. A mother bear waits for her 2 cubs to swim to safety with her across the lake, and then heartbreakingly, watches from the shore as first 1 cub, and then the other, loses its battle with the waves. A kindly spirit takes pity on the grieving mother, turning her into a giant sand dune – and raised little islands at the place where the cubs drowned – a monument to the ‘Eternal Vigil of the Mother’! That always brings a lump to my throat, going to need a minute here.
Ok, back to the Dunes. When short on time, the best thing to do is drive on the Pierce-Stocking Scenic Drive. The map provided shows several stops along the drive – with views of the lake, history and evolution of the woods, and also a couple of picnic stops. The one stop we almost skipped was the Lake Michigan outlook – because, did we really need yet another view of Lake Michigan – but so, so glad we stopped. This outlook was actually from the top of a dune – and it was breathtaking! Walking on sand is quite hard, and we walked for a bit along the top of the dune. Several adventurous spirits had made their way all the bottom, to the lake – but not enough time for that today!! To actually climb on the dunes, we headed to the Dune Climb parking lot – I sat this one out, had enough of the sun and sand for a day! To get to Lake Michigan from Dune Climb is a strenuous hike – again, not enough time! Even without that, it ended up being quite a tiring day!
Our last stop of our vacation was in Cadillac, MI – and here is a very different face of Michigan. The grimy, industrial, automotive hub – totally utilitarian, bereft of the charm we had been seeing all along. With not much to do here, we left early next day – which gave us time for some retail therapy – outlet mall time at Michigan City! I’ll be honest here, transition back to Illinois is a little depressing – even the roads are bumpier here – corn fields replacing the dense woodlands, temperatures rising at least 15 degrees. Glad that Manasi dragged us out to the 4th of July fireworks on the Peoria Riverfront. The Red, White & Boom is something of a legend here in Peoria – and it is indeed a spectacular show!! A perfect finale to our perfect Michigan getaway!!
A place called home... 