MICHIGAN: THE Great Lakes
STATE
BY CLAY
LARROY
Leisure
travel is
a wonderful experience that everyone should have in their lifetime. Even
business travel can be made enjoyable. There are some aspects of travel that
can detract from your enjoyment. When
planning to fly for a trip, don't forget any frequent flier miles you might
have racked up. It does you no good to hang onto those once you've already gone
on your big vacation. Even if you don't have enough miles to cover the whole
trip, many airlines will allow you to discount your rate using your miles. When you want to
plan a vacation contact me!
Michigan
Travel Guide
Sizzling
beaches, sprawling forests, boutique vineyards and buzzing cities: think
Michigan is one big car factory? Think again.
Bang in the heart of the Great Lakes,
the state is split across two peninsulas, divided by Lake Michigan and linked
by one of the world's longest suspension bridges across the Straits of
Mackinac.
This Midwest state has more natural
features than it knows what to do with. Once used by fur traders and loggers,
Michigan's 300-plus rivers are now perfect paddling territory. Then there are
the 5,149km (3,200 miles) of shoreline and 11,000 inland lakes, where you can
hook hefty trout and monster salmon or take a cruise. Oh, and did we mention
the 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres) of sand dunes?
Backcountry adventures await in Isle
Royale National Park in Lake Superior, a craggy wilderness home to wolves and
moose. And in winter, thousands of miles of forested cross-country trails bring
skiers out in force across the state.
Michigan has its share of urban chic
too. Cosmopolitan Grand Rapids is an ultra-cool city with a thriving arts
scene, farm-to-fork dining, and more than a dozen craft breweries. It's a handy
half-hour jaunt to the sandy swimming beaches of Lake Michigan. And you can
flip a coin for the designated driver role on the lakeshore wine trail.
On the opposite side of the Lower
Peninsula, Detroit may conjure up images of urban decay, but the state's
biggest metropolis is Michigan's comeback kid. The city's downtown and
inner-city neighborhoods are being revitalized by creative entrepreneurs, who
are opening up hip cafés, cocktail hangouts, techie start-ups and urban farms.
Things to
see and do in Michigan
Dearborn
Drive through the Detroit suburb of
Dearborn, the birthplace of Henry Ford and the automobile. Visit the Henry Ford
Museum (www.hfmgv.org)
and Greenfield Village, and step back through 300 years of history.
Detroit's Cultural
Center
Spend a day at the Cultural Center
featuring the Detroit Historical Museum (www.detroithistorical.org),
the Detroit Institute of Arts (the fifth largest art museum in the USA) and the
Charles H Wright Museum of African-American History (www.maah-detroit.org),
the largest museum of its kind.
Explore the
Renaissance Center
Dine at one of dozens of restaurants
while visiting the Renaissance Center. The center also houses a 1,300-room
hotel and a variety of shops, as well as being General Motors' world
headquarters.
Ford and General Motors
Tour the Automotive Hall of Fame (www.automotivehalloffame.org),
Spirit of Ford and Henry Ford's Fair Lane Estate (www.henryfordestate.org)
in Dearborn. Or tour the General Motors plant in Lansing and watch cars come
off the assembly line.
Hitsville USA
Listen to the music of Motown at
Detroit's Hitsville USA, now home to Motown Historical Museum (www.motownmuseum.com),
where the sounds of Diana Ross, The Temptations and The Four Tops are immortalized.
Isle Royale National
Park
Backpack the Isle Royale National Park
(www.nps.gov/isro),
a wild, rocky wilderness island in the northern reaches of Lake Superior.
Let loose in Traverse
City
Head for the recreational haven of
Traverse City, which features sand dunes, resorts, golf and skiing.
Mackinac Island
Escape to Mackinac Island (www.mackinacisland.org),
a well-known summer resort in Michigan. Cars are not allowed and visitors must
walk, cycle or use horse-drawn carriages. Visit the impressive Grand Hotel (www.grandhotel.com)
and Fort Mackinac (www.mackinacparks.com), a restored 18th-century
military outpost.
Ride a bike at Belle
Isle
The nation's largest urban island park
also offers canoeing, an aquarium and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
Shop and
eat in Detroit's Greektown
Enjoy Greek food, entertainment and specialty
shops in Detroit's Greektown.
Take a family trip to
Detroit Zoological Park Families will love to explore the Detroit Zoological Park
(www.detroitzoo.org),
containing more than 5,000 animals in natural settings. Visitors can walk or
tour by tractor-train.
Travel along Michigan's
Great Lakes coastline
Get your feet wet travelling along the
Great Lakes coastline. The 60,000km (36,000 miles) of rivers and 11,000 inland
lakes offer great boating, canoeing, fishing and watersports opportunities.
Visit Ann Arbor
The home of the University of Michigan
(www.umich.edu)
offers a multitude of bookstores and cosy cafés perfect to stop and relax.
REFERENCE SITES:
I love Michigan. Mat Kearney
Travel to experience memories that will last a lifetime!
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