Get your free copy of the 2007 Michigan Travel Ideas magazine

The 120 page magazine (published by Midwest Living) is chock full of great ideas for every corner of the state. I ordered a copy a few weeks ago and have already received and read through it. It was neat to see quite a few pages devoted to the St. Joseph River, Michigan's first Heritage Water Trail, as that is practically in our backyard. There were also a few pages devoted to historic stops along U.S. 12 such as Walker Tavern and Rosalie's Roadhouse. The travel ideas cover summer, fall, and winter travel destinations in Michigan.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Thumbs Up! - Enjoy the blue waters of Lake Huron and the beautiful 'thumb' region of Michigan
• Fishing and canoeing the Au Sable River
• City weekend trips - covers - Grand Rapids, Detroit, Bay City, Midland, Saginaw, Benton Harbor, and St. Joseph.
• A slew of Beach Time at great shore towns all along the hundreds of miles of Michigan's coastline
• Autumn trips on southwest Michigan
• Great places to ski and snowmobile in Michigan's winter wonderland
• A really interesting list of places to visit on Michigan's Freedom Trail - the Underground Railroad

Order your free copy today!

P.S. Don't forget to request a free copy of the 2007 Michigan state map that highlights the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge.

Michigan predicting modest increase in tourism for 2007

Funny, but they gave the same estimate for growth last year. More money was spent on advertising Michigan as a tourism destination and guess what? The number of tourists in 2006 remained flat - it was pretty much the same as 2005. Since the results were so good last year (sarcasm here folks) Michigan is planning on spending more money this year on promoting our state as a travel destination. I am sure that the marketing budget for tourism is just a drop in the bucket that is our state budget deficit, but businesses do not keep throwing good money at poor (no increase in tourists) results.

Why should Michigan?

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Upper Peninsula visitor poll results

The results are in for the poll I had running on my Squidoo Lens - www.squidoo.com/bestofmichigan/. My question was a simple one - Have you ever been to Michigan's Upper Peninsula? The following are the results -

• Yes, but I do NOT live in Michigan - 0%
• Yes and I DO live in Michigan - 69.2%
• No, but I do NOT live in Michigan - 15.4%
• No and I DO live in Michigan - 15.4%

So none of the folks who voted said that they have visited the U.P. but do NOT live in Michigan. It is a pretty small sample size so I wouldn't take much stock in that.

Maybe what surprised me more was that 15.4% said they have NOT visited the U.P. and they live in Michigan. I am biased I guess as I love going up to the Yoop. It's like when you are talking with someone from Michigan about "the bridge" and they look at you and wonder what bridge are you talking about. Oh, only one of the world's longest suspension bridges - The Mackinac Bridge.

Should I be surprised that people from Michigan don't explore their own state? I don't think it is any different than the large number of Americans who do not explore their own country. I love to learn and see different places. I'm a history nut so I guess that makes me an oddball as someone who thinks Michigan has a lot to offer.

I don't need to see any "Pure Michigan" campaigns to get me interested in our state. Do you?

Best cup of coffee in Michigan

This story in the Detroit News got me thinking about the best place to get a cup of coffee here in Michigan. The article states that " Consumer Reports taste test found McDonald's Corp.'s coffee tastes better and costs less than brew from Starbucks Corp., Burger King Holdings Inc. and Dunkin' Donuts Inc." I like to drink my coffee black, but McDonald's coffee has seemed so strong in the past that yesterday when I had a cup of joe from McDonald's I added one cream and sugar. I have to say, it was a pretty good cup of coffee. I don't think it was the best I have ever had by any means although the price would be hard to beat.

Here is a brief (so many coffee shops, so little time) list of some of my favorite places to get my coffee fix across Michigan. The list is in no particular order - I love them all :).

• North Woods Coffee Co. - Coldwater
• The Bean Counter - New Buffalo
• L. A.'s Coffee Cafe - Three Rivers
• Java Joe's - St. Ignace
• Nicky's Coffee Bar at the Stray Dog Bookshop - Three Rivers
• Beaners Coffee (yeah it's a franchise, but it started in East Lansing and that is where I fell in love with it)

There are so many other coffee shops that I see and jot down in my memory bank as places to try out sometime. I wish I had the time to stop at them all, but alas I do not.

Feel free to add to this list in the comments for coffee shops in Michigan that you absolutely love. I will certainly add them to my list.

Have a very happy Friday!

Condos within spitting distance of Big Bay Point Lighthouse

Well, I guess my wife and I won't be staying at the Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast again. We stayed there once during our honeymoon and loved it so much we came back in the fall for a longer stay. Once again, we had a great time and vowed to spend a future anniversary there. Now with this news that the condo project near the Big Bay Point Lighthouse has been cleared by a Marquette County judge I don't think the bed and breakfast will offer the same atmosphere.

The town (or village - it's not too big) of Big Bay is remote. Tucked away northwest of Marquette in the midst of a peaceful remoteness filled with beautiful scenery, waterfalls, and wildlife. As you drive out to the point where the lighthouse stands the gravel road gets a bit narrower and bumpier the closer you get.

The surrounding forest seems to close in on you as you turn each bend expecting to see a moose, bear, or other assorted wildlife. Upon arrival at the lighthouse all you hear is the wind in the trees and the thunderous crashing of Lake Superior's waves upon the sandstone cliffs.

Oh how I would hate to go up there and see a suburban setting of cookie cutter condos sitting just off the road within sight of the lighthouse.

I should mention that I do not feel sorry for the lighthouse bed and breakfast as they are part of the group that owns the land and has been pushing for this development.

You can read all about this story at The Mining Journal.

Follow this link for a satellite image showing just how remote the lighthouse is located - Google Satellite Map of Big Bay Point Lighthouse

Before you hit the road, hit the web for current road conditions in Michigan

Michigan law enforcement and public safety workers across the state contribute road condition information that is provided to the public at http://www.ohsp.state.mi.us/rw/home.htm. This service is provided during Michigan's winter months - September to June (just kidding) Late November/Early December through March 30th. Simply click on the area of the Michigan map that you want road conditions for and you will be taken to a page that lists road conditions for the major trunk lines and freeways in that particular area. Rural and county road conditions are rarely (if ever) provided.

For example, I clicked on southwest Michigan and some of the information provided was the following:

I-94 Between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek is reporting Icy, Snow Covered, Drifting Snow, Blowing Snow, and Lanes Reduced.

Of course, if you are out driving and things get dicey it is always best to just stay off the roads. Use the information provided at the above website to help you plan, but don't forget to use your head for more than a hat rack.

Keep Warm!