Michigan's statewide singalong video

50 cities across Michigan in 7 days helped create this singalong. It put a smile on my face on this Monday morning here in Michigan :).

What are your plans for the summer?

We already have plans for a lot of short trips around the state. We're taking the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City this month. In July we'll be camping up at White River Campground – one of my favorite privately run campgrounds in the state. Towards the end of July and in early August we have tickets to see a couple of Detroit Tigers games at beautiful Comerica Park. My son is super excited because at one of the games we're going to he will get to run the bases. Wish I could, too :).

So, how about you?

[poll id="42"]

The best from our Michigan vacation

We had such a wonderful time on our vacation to northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. It's difficult to condense it all down to a single blog post so this is Part One. We traveled up along the coast of Lake Michigan passing through the beautiful towns of Holland, Muskegon, and Ludington. A picnic lunch was called for and the sugary sandy beach of Ludington was just the place. After lunch we continued up U.S. 31 and stopped at the Dairy King in Beulah for one of the best ice cream cones I have had in a long while. You read that right, it's Dairy King - not Queen and the ice cream was far superior to the Queen.

I was hoping to have time to swing up to Sleeping Bear Dunes and stop in Glen Arbor, but time was running short and we still had to set up our tent for the night so we pushed on through Traverse City (looking beautiful as always) and by recommendation camped at Barnes Park in Antrim County. If you are in the area I highly recommend camping there. The sites are all shaded and Lake Michigan is a short walk away.

Just up the road a bit from Barnes Park is Friske Orchard and Farm Market. The kids were excited by the animals and playground and the wife and I were enticed by the delicious aromas from the bakery and outdoor grill. A morning snack of super yummy chocolate chip cookies with cherries was enjoyed by all. After a quick time of feeding goats and playing on the playground we packed up the kiddos and headed on our way once more.

Just north of Petoskey on 31 is the little burg of Oden. It's home to artesian wells and one of the best fish hatcheries in the state. We picnicked at the Oden State Fish Hatchery and then hiked the paved pathway to the trout viewing window (you can watch trout at stream level through a glass viewing area) and on out to the trout ponds where you can feed the huge fish.

After Oden, it's just a short jog up the road and if you watch through the trees in front of you - you might be lucky enough to be the first one in the car to spot The Bridge. For those not in the know, The Bridge is the Mackinac Bridge. The most beautiful suspension bridge around as far as I'm concerned. Of course I'm a bit partial being a native of Michigan and all.

I would not trade jobs with these guys for all the money in the world:

Upon entering Michigan's Upper Peninsula the first stop we made was Java Joe's Cafe in St. Ignace. It's my favorite coffee shop in the whole U.P. I had a wonderful Caramel Apple Latte and the only disappointment was that Joe and Sandy (the owner's and simply nicest folks you'll ever meet) weren't in at the time.

Here's a great mural on the back wall of the cafe -

Well, that's as good a place as any to end Part One. The way this is going it's looking like a three part post :). So much fun, though!

Excited about traveling in Michigan this summer!

I can't help it. I love the state I live in. I'm already lining up the trips we'll be taking this summer and can't wait. We'll spend a week in the U.P. Camp here and there. Take a side trip up to Sleeping Bear Dunes and then grab some snacks in Glen Arbor at Cherry Republic after getting a coffee at Leelanau Coffee on our way out to Point Betsie Lighthouse. We'll stop for a quick bite at Scalawags Whitefish in Mackinaw City before crossing the Mackinac Bridge. Before heading towards Escanaba, we might take a slight detour east on into St. Ignace and snag a great cup of coffee at Java Joe's Cafe on the east side of town. Depending on the weather and the kiddos moods we might head north a bit at some point and take in Tahquamenon Falls and go through the Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

Oh, there's tons of stuff to do in Michigan and that's just a few of the plans that we have. Watch this video and get excited about taking a Michigan vacation this year. Then, be sure to vote in this week's poll about favorite places to visit here in Michigan. If yours isn't on the list or you want to be more specific, please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

[poll id="23"]

Hey, we're back - so long summer

We visited Michigan's beautiful U.P. over the weekend and I have to say that just like summer - it went by far too fast. I've been busy today getting out everyone's orders from the weekend (don't worry, they all went out today just like I promised :) ) so I haven't had time to post much today. I plan on downloading a ton of pictures that I took and hope to share some of them with you tomorrow. The U.P. received some much needed rain yesterday as we were driving home from Escanaba. I have to say, that was some of the heaviest rain I have driven through in quite some time.

The Mining Journal reports that most of the U.P. received at least .75 inches with the Newberry area (just south of the area affected by the Sleeper Lake Forest Fire) getting over 4 inches of much needed precipitation. That rain will definitely help those still fighting the blaze.

I had wanted to get some pictures of the Sleeper Lake Forest Fire damage yesterday, but the weather (thankfully for those in the U.P.) did not cooperate. We had a great time and enjoyed the scenery as well as the cool nights (natural air conditioning).