Travel Blog
It’s that time of year… the sun goes down a little sooner, the night air has a chill, kids are getting ready for the first day of school, and Labor Day is just a couple weeks away. Though summer is drawing to a close, you know that fall on the Great Lakes is awesome. You might even look forward to fall for some cooler weather, brilliant colors, trick or treat, and fall sports. But no matter how fantastic fall is on the Great Lakes, there’s something special about summer...
When you look at a large body of water like a lake, sea, or ocean, do you wonder what it’s like on the other side? Until a couple weeks ago, we had circled all of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and Lake Huron, but not Lake Michigan. We’d spent lots of time on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and wondered what it’s like on the other side, especially Door County. Ok, you know where this is going… we just visited Door County and it is awesome!...
Have you ever watched Anthony Bourdain’s show layover? If not, Anthony goes to a place for something like 24 or 48 hours and experiences what he can in that amount of time. A few weeks ago we had a bit of a “layover” traveling to the western coast of Lake Michigan. We weren’t expecting much… boy, were we in for a surprise! We spent a grand total of 36 hours in Ludington, MI and Manitowoc, WI and had a blast during our “layover”!...
A few years ago Daniel told Todd and I that one of his travel dreams is to see all of the water in the world and how it’s different. Todd and I LOVE the water and decided make this a family travel dream! When we set out to visit Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and Lake Michigan in the summer of 2016, one of the things we looked forward to most was experiencing all the beaches.
We visited over 20 beaches on the lakes and rated all of them for sand, water clarity, size, access, atmosphere, and shallow water for swimming. What follows are our top picks!...
During our Great Lakes adventure last summer we intentionally skipped the western shore of Lake Michigan… why? A bit part was to avoid towing the trailer through Chicago! When planning a long weekend this fall we thought about a lot of destinations… we decided on Chicago for a lot of reasons… to visit family and friends, to experience the western shore of Lake Michigan, and to see if Chicago is really as cool as advertised. I had been to Chicago for work many times, but this was different… we had a fabulous time… Chicago is really a city for everyone!...
Charlevoix and Petoskey… beauty, fun, food, water. It’s hard to believe the number of amazing towns on the eastern coast of Lake Michigan… here are 2 more! We spent 2 days exploring these towns and had a great time… if you’re looking for natural beauty and outdoor activities, wineries, great restaurants, or a beach for some fun, this area is great!
Traverse City… a town well-known for its beauty, great restaurants, shopping, cherries, galleries, and all seasons fun. The north western part of Michigan below the upper peninsula including Suttons Bay, Leland, and Sleeping Bear Dunes, is often referred to as the Traverse City area. Todd and I had been to the Traverse City area several years ago and were excited to return. The Traverse City area is great for both couples and families of all ages… there really is something for everyone… it’s the type of place we visit and know we’ll return!
