More to see in Detroit

Detroit is full of many places to explore. I have already written a blog about some different museums and sporting events to see in Detroit but there is so much more to explore then just that.

Detroit has a rich history that most people don’t even know about. At one point in time, Detroit was the fourth largest city in the United State. The city drew many people from many different backgrounds making the city very diverse. While visiting the city, there are a few more cool museums you have to see. Detroit is home to the only Arab American National Museum in the country as well as the Museum of African American History.  The two museums goal is to highlight the history of these two cultures and create openhandedness.

I am a huge history nerd and I love exploring different places to grow my knowledge of the past. Greenfield village is one of my favorite places. Greenfield village is a little town that functions as a society from the late 1800s and early 1900’s. You won’t find any modern cars driving around the streets, instead you will see cars such as the Ford Model T’s. Traveling around the park is an old train that makes different stops for people to get off at, after seeing the sights in that area.  The village is home to many different replica work spaces of different people such as Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and Thomas Edison. There are so many cool shops where you see how people use to make glass, farm, and weld. If you are a person who loves history I highly recommend you take a trip to Greenfield Village.

 

Greenfield Village

 

Detroit is located along the Detroit River, which divides the US and Canada. In the middle of the river is Belle Isle. Belle Isle is a cool place to spend an afternoon. On the island there is a little beach, an aquarium, and many trails to walk. One of the coolest things about the aquarium is it is the oldest aquarium in the country. During the summer, the island hosts Hydrofest, a speedboat races through the river and the Detroit Grand Prix a formula one car race. Even if you aren’t visiting the island for one of these events, Belle Isle is worth taking a drive to because it is the perfect place to take some amazing pictures of the Detroit skyline

 

Detroit Skyline from Belle Island

 

Although Detroit may get a bad rap from people around the country, there are a lot of fantastic places to explore around the city. The city is full of tons of history and amazing architecture.  You know the saying don’t judge a book by its cover. Detroit is a city that may look rough, but really has a lot to offer.

Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor is located just outside the outskirts of Detroit and is home to the University of Michigan. Being a college town, Ann Arbor is the place to be during football season. Even if you aren’t a sports enthusiast, Ann Arbor is still a pretty cool place.

Tailgating is the thing to do when the U of M is playing a home game. The city is hopping with all kinds of people. Weather you are the home or visiting team you are sure to have a blast. There two most popular places to tailgate are the U of M golf course, kitty corner to the stadium, and Pioneer High School parking lot, across the street from the field. Even if you don’t have tickets to the game, there are a ton of people that stay at their tailgate sights and watch the game, on tv. Tickets to games can sometimes be hard to get depending on who Michigan is playing, especially if it’s Ohio State, Michigan State, or Notre Dame.

University of Michigan Stadium

Even if you don’t like football, you could spend an afternoon walking around the University’s beautiful campus. The university is situated right near the heart of downtown Ann Arbor making it a great place to go for a bite to eat. There are tons of different restaurants downtown and a few hometown breweries that you have to try.

Ann Arbor has other cool museums and libraries go explore. The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum is a great place to spend a day for anyone of all ages. Also there is the University of Michigan art museum and the Gerald R Ford Presidential Library. Another cool place Ann Arbor has is an old theater, Michigan Theater, with a pipe organ. They have all kind of different shows at the theater to see.

Ann Arbor is more than just your average college town, sure football is a big part of the community, but there are also tons of cool places to grow your knowledge.

 

Little Bavaria

Michigan is a diverse state with people heralding from many different countries around the world. These people together create cities such as Frankenmuth. Frankenmuth is called Michigan Little Bavaria because its German heritage, which the city still holds on to. Driving into Frankenmuth you almost feel like you are driving through the streets of a small German town. Frankenmuth’s building are all built with similar architecture to those in Germany.

Downtown Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth has many more unique features other than just looking like a German town. When visiting Frankenmuth, one of the most popular place to shop is Bronner’s Christmas World. Bronner’s is the largest Christmas store in the world and is open 361 days a year. There are many other cool places to shop in Frankenmuth as well. Along the Cass river is the River Place Shops. At the River Place Shops there are tons of different stores with a variety of different products.

I can remember when I was little spending the weekend walking are the shops with my parents than heading over to Zenders for dinner. Zenders is a Michigan famous, cafe style, restaurant that serves home cooked entrees and fried chicken. Zenders and the Bavarian Inn are two of the most famous places to eat in the city.

When visiting Frankenmuth, there are many different places to stay. The Bavarian Inn and Zender’s Splash Village are unique to the area. At both of these resorts, there a large indoor pools with waterparks.

 

Zenders Restaurant

If you are looking for outdoor activities, Frankenmuth doesn’t lack. Since Frankenmuth is along a river, there are tons of different places to kayak and fish. Also, Frankenmuth has an Adventure park. If you have never done an adventure park I highly recommend. An adventure park is a park full aerial trails, groups of ropes or obstacles, that are attached between trees. My family have done one of these and unless you don’t like heights you will love it!

Frankenmuth is a city unique to Michigan and is a cute little town to spend a weekend in.

 

Grand Rapids

Although Detroit is the biggest city in Michigan, the most popular city to visit is Grand Rapids. Until recently, Grand Rapids was just another city in a declining state, but with many companies growing in the area the city is seeing an urban revival. Now know as the Beer City, Grand Rapids has become a hip place for young people to visit and live.

A large part of Grand Rapids’ revival is due to an increase in art and the related culture. There are multiple art/education institutes scattered around the city. Frederik Meijer Gardens is an outdoor botanical garden and sculpture park. At the park, you can see many modern sculptures depicting a variety of topics. The park is a great place to spend a spring afternoon walking the gardens. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is a great place for kids and adults. Some of the current exhibits include;  Creatures of Light, Journey Through The Pacific, West Michigan Inhabitants, and The People of This Place.

 

Frederick Meijer Gardens

 

Another reason the city is expanding quickly relates to the increase in micro breweries. Grand Rapids has embraced the name “Beer City” with open arms. The city now has over 40 breweries, some of which rank in the top five in the world. If you are a person who likes to spend a night out, I’ve heard that taking a beer tour is the thing to do. There are walking tours you can take around downtown Grand Rapids, but I recommend taking a guided driving tour.

 

Founders Brewing Company

 

If you are  an outdoorsy person, this is another wonderful reason to visit Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids has been ranked one of the most walkable and bikeable cities in the country. Other than outdoor rock climbing, I can’t think of sport that you can’t do in the Grand Rapids area. The Experience Grand Rapids website is full of information about different parks that offer opportunities for biking, walking, fishing, hunting, or boating.

Grand Rapids is one of my personal favorite cities to visit. Many people in my family have moved to the area and I love visiting them and exploring the city. The Grand Rapids area is cool place to explore any time of year.

Grand Haven

If you know me at all you know that my perfect vacation spot is the beach. By far my favorite place to visit in Michigan is the Grand Haven area, on the west side of the state. Looking for beautiful beaches to chill out at during those hot summer months, this is the perfect place to go!

 

Grand Haven State Park

 

Of course, the beaches are the most popular of places to chill in Grand Haven. Just minutes away from downtown Grand Haven is Grand Haven State Park, a public beach crammed with people during the summer. One of the coolest things about the state park is that there is a campground right on the beach. It’s pretty awesome be able wake up and look right onto the beach, from your RV.  Because the State Park is so crammed with people during the summer, I recommend traveling down Lakeshore drive to find more secluded public parks with beaches.

If you aren’t the kind of person who likes sitting out in the sun all day, there is a lot more in the area for you to do. Grand Haven’s downtown is full of quaint shops and awesome restaurants. Looking to be a little more outdoors, Rosy Mound park and PJ Hoffmaster State Park have awesome trails that you can hike through. The trails take you through forests and out to lake Michigan. There are other water activities that you can partake in such as, kayaking the Grand River and Lake Michigan or boating.

 

PJ Hoffmaster State Park

 

One of the coolest things that I like about Grand Haven is their annual Coast Guard Festival. Grand Haven is know as the Coast Guard City and they love to show pride for their service men and women. Each year the city puts on a week long festival full of games, entertainment, and of course parades. A few years ago my sister and I were able to be apart of the Parade. It was such a cool experience. Being younger I loved riding on the float and handing out candy, but now when I look back on the experience, I realize how awesome it was to be part of an event that honors service men and women who protect our lives. If you are free the week of Coast Guard Festival, I recommend you go!

 

Coast Guard Festival Nigh Activity

 

There is so much more to do in Grand Haven and surrounding area that I haven’t even touched on. The city is such a beautiful and friendly place to visit.  I would recommend the Grand Haven area to anyone looking for a good weekend vacation or a new summer home.

 

 

Mackinac Island

Arguable one of the most famous places to visit in the state of Michigan is a destination that most people can’t even pronounce. This island is situated in Lake Huron between the upper and lower peninsula. Mackinac Island is a 3.7 square mile island once used as a key fort in both the French and Indian War and the War of 1812. Fast Forward to today and Mackinac is a resort destination and summer home to many. The most unique thing about the island is that there are cars. Here on the island the main forms or transportation are horse and buggy, bike, or walking.

There are multiple forms of transportation you can use to get to the island, but the main way to access the island is by boat. There are two ferry services that you can use to get to the island. On the ferry trip over, the captain and crew tell you a little about the history of the island. Although the island may seem isolated in the winter, there is an airport on the island that you can fly into, on a private or commercial plane.

Once on the island there are tons of different lodging options. The most famous resort on the island is The Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel is a very large, luxurious hotel, opened in 1887 and was a summer getaway for the wealthy from Chicago and Detroit. The Grand Hotel has 390 rooms to choose from and prices ranging from $325-924 a night,  Don’t worry, there are much more affordable places to stay on the island. One such option is a bed and breakfast. B and B´s are scattered all around the island mostly in old historic homes close to downtown. The Mackinac Island website is full of information about where to stay.

 

The Grand Hotel

 

There is so much to do around on the island, such as shop, hike, bike, boat, or relax on the beach. The most famous activity to do is take a carriage ride around the island. The carriage rides are lead by a tour guides who bring you to historic places on the island, where you then you can walk around and explore. Mackinac Island has a large down town full of quaint buildings such as art galleries, gift shops, and restaurants that serve everything from seafood to bbq. Looking for some physical activity, you can bike around the island. The island also has over 70 miles of paved bike trails, and over to 10 bike rental shops. Being an island, Mackinac is some a great place for watersports, such as kayaking or boating. There are many places to rent kayaks and a few different marinas to rent boats from.

 

Mackinac Island Downtown

 

I can assure you that a trip to Mackinac Island will not be a waste! The island is full of amazing shops and scenery to explore. No matter what type of week or weekend you are looking for, Mackinac Island is the perfect getaway.

Exploring the Grand Traverse Bay Area

Traverse City is a well know destination to people outside the state of Michigan. The city is located in north western Michigan on the Grand Traverse Bay. Traverse is a popular tourist destination because of its shopping and beautiful scenery. Because of the cities close proclamation to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Traverse city makes the perfect long weekend getaway.

Traverse City has a picturesque downtown with over 200 specialty shops. You can spend a whole afternoon walking up and down the streets shopping if you want. There are also tons of amazing restaurants scattered all over the city. Traverse City is known for its breweries and wine tasting shops. My favorite stop downtown is at the Grand Traverse Pie Company. They have tons of amazing pies of any flavor you could imagine.

 

Downtown Traverse City

 

Located 20 miles from Traverse City is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Sleeping Bear is located right along Lake Michigan and in my opinion is one of the most beautiful places in the state. In the park, you can take a drive along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, run up and down the sand dunes, or spend a relaxing afternoon at the beach. Along the scenic drive there are plenty of places to take some amazing pictures from the lookouts scattered along the roads. Taking this drive during the fall colors is one of the most beautiful sights. Hence the word dunes in the name sleeping bear is home to many sand dunes for people to run up and down. My dad and I especially enjoyed running up and down the dunes to the lake on our last trip.

 

Sleeping Bear Dunes

 

The Leelanau Peninsula is an awesome place to visit if you are a fan of wine. This peninsula is known for its amazing wine and has three wine trails that you can take. During the drive you will travel through many cute little fishing towns. On of these towns Leland or Fishtown is home to many old fishing shanties scattered along the Leland River. The name fishtown has a dual meaning not only does the town bases around fishing it’s also smells a little fishy.

 

Leland Michigan

 

 

Traverse City and the Leelanau Peninsula are  well known vacation destination and for a good reason. Traverse City and the surrounding area is a great place for anyone to visit, no matter what you enjoy you will find something to do!

Day Activities in the Upper Peninsula

In my last blog I talked about things to see mostly on the west side of of the UP, but there are so many cool things to do and see up there I couldn’t just stop. There are lots half day activities to do in the UP, here are some suggestions.

Arguably the most pretty place to visit on the Michigan shore line is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The first national lakeshore in the country, pictured rocks is best seen by boat on the lake. Here along the coastline there are many shipwreck tours that take where you pass over hundred year old ships. On these tours you travel along the beautiful, jagged rock cliffs. These tours are some of my favorite memories from my trips up north. I loved seeing the waterfalls into Lake Superior and the huge shipwrecks. There are many lighthouses along the coast that you are able to tour as well.  While visiting the lakeshore you can spend time in two quaint towns of Marquette and Munising.  

 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

 

On the eastern side of the peninsula lies the town of Sault Ste. Marie ( It’s French). The town lies on the Saint Mary’s river, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Here on the river are locks which have been engineered to make it possible for ships to travel between the two lakes. The Soo Locks are over 100 years old, and at the locks you can take a boat ride through them. Although this may sound pretty lame, it’s pretty cool when you get in a lock next to a huge freighters that seem 5x bigger than the little tour boat you are in.

Although not the most conventional thing to do in the UP,but for Christmas one year my parents took me up north to go sled dog riding. In elementary school, my second grade teacher raced sled dogs and put the idea into my parents head that they had to bring me up for a ride. There are actually many places you can visit in Michigan to go sled dog riding. Michigan is a perfect place for mushers to train for the Iditarod, a multi-day dog race in Alaska. I have been a dog lover since birth so getting to spend an afternoon playing with dogs and letting them pull me around the trails was so much fun. I highly recommend!  

 

Natures Kennel Dog Sledding

 

 

If you are a lover of the outdoors and want to spend some quality time with your family the UP is a place for you. The Upper Peninsula is Michigan’s untouched wonderland full of many surprises for visitors to discover.

 

Exploring Upper Peninsula

When I talk about the UP with people from Illinois they look at me with a puzzled face. I precede to use my hands to show them where the UP is and they are even more confused. I guess when you’re not from Michigan you don’t realize that we use our hands to show where we are from. The Upper Peninsula (UP)  is the upper half of Michigan that everyone forgets about. I assure you, after you visit you will never forget its pristine beauty and serenity.

When traveling north on I-75 through Michigan you come to the Mackinac Bridge. As soon as you cross the bridge you feel like you have entered a whole new state. This new area seems untouched by man and is referred to as God’s country. No matter what time of year you visit the UP you will always find something to do. Yes, the UP is surrounded by three of the Great Lakes, but sitting by the beach and swimming is not something you’ll catch me doing. The average high temp barely hits 75 in the summer and average high in the winter is 25. Don’t be scared away by these cold temperatures, pack warm, I assure you the trip north is quite worth it!

Starting your journey in the western part of the state, you come to the Porcupine Mountains State Park. Porcupine State Park is known for its beautiful hiking trails, gorgeous fall colors, and is an amazing place to pitch your tent. Porcupine State Park was established in 1945 and has stayed relatively unchanged. While in the state park you can do an array of things such as, hike to Lake of Clouds, cross country or downhill sky, fish in one of the many lakes, or rent kayaks or canoes.

 

Lake of the Clouds

 

Michigan is home to one national park, Isle Royale. This island is closer to the Canadian mainland than US, but is accessible boat from the US. Isle Royale is a very primitive island with very few people. Looking to get off the grid, here’s the place. Just like Porcupine, Isle Royale has tons of hiking trails and amazing fishing spots. One unique thing that you can do at the island is you can scuba dive down to old shipwrecks.

Isle Royale National Park

Although there aren’t huge cities in the UP, Houghton and Hancock are the largest cities. This area of Michigan was gold rich, bringing many people here to work. Although there is no more mining going on in the area you can still tour the Quincy mine. This tour is an educational tour where the guides take you into the depths of the mines. If you are claustrophobic stay above ground! Keeping the city thriving is Michigan Tech. A highly rated engineering school, Michigan Tech beings hip restaurants and activities to the city.

The UP of Michigan is a nature lovers paradise. If you are looking for the big cities and shopping districts stay in the lower peninsula. The UP is an awesome place to sit back and relax enjoying the beautiful scenery.

 

Weekend in Detroit

Detroit gets a bad rap from people outside the state of Michigan. Every time I say “O I’m from Detroit” I get these looks like “are you crazy that city is a dangerous, bankrupt mess!”  I think people forget that at one point Detroit use to be one of the biggest cities in the county and was an industrial powerhouse. The city has so many things to offer and places to explore.

Detroit can be a history lover’s paradise. Detroit’s claim to fame is the auto industry and that is clear in its nickname, the Motor City.  Henry Ford and the Dodge Brothers both have large mansions that are open to tourists all year round and offer great place to spend the afternoon. The Fair lane Mansion is located in Dearborn. It was Henry Ford and his wife Clara’s dream home. Fair lane is a 31,000 square foot mansion with beautiful gardens overlooking the Rogue River. You can take tours of the house and gardens. The Dodge Brothers Mansion (Meadowbrook), located in Rochester Hills, is attached to Oakland University’s Campus. Here you can also take a tour of the house and the grounds. The gardens here a absolutely beautiful and makes a great place to have a wedding.

 

Meadowbrook

 

Exploring old houses, although one of my favorite things to do, isn’t everyone’s ideal afternoon.  For art lovers, the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) is an amazing museum containing over 100 different galleries. The DIA has one of the top six best collections in the United States. Here you can see many different areas of art such as modern, contemporary, graphic. It is also home to many works of African and Native American descent. One of the most famous murals at the DIA is Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry.

 

Detroit Industry

And still even if you aren’t a history buff or an art lover, Detroit has four major sports teams you can catch games at.  When it comes to sports, Detroit’s newest claim to fame is that by the year 2017 it will be the only city to have all four of its major sports teams in its city limits, take that Chicago!

 

Comerica Park

If your looking to spend a fun weekend in the city, Detroit is a perfect option. It offers tons of cool place to tour and explore.