"Up North"

So pretty much everyone in Michigan lives in the lower half (Detroit & surroundings to the east, Kalamazoo/Grand Rapids to the west and Lansing in the middle) and so the upper half (+ the Upper Penisula, where I think it's like a forest?!) is pretty uninhabited and the place to go for vacations. I *think* people like to hunt, get out on the lakes, visit state parks and see some hills (more hilly & interesting terrain up north). Anyway, so you often hear about people who want a house "up north" or spent the weekend "up north".

So up north we ventured over Memorial Day weekend on our (ok, my) quest to see all parts of the state. We went to the northwest shore of Lake Michigan to a small town Charlevoix, via a day (lunch, some sites) in Traverse City. Not a whole lot to do there, but for a few days, we bopped around town, walked out to the lighthouse, ate a lot, shopped a bit and chilled out on the deck reading. Very relaxing! From there, we drove north east to the northernmost tip of the lower peninsula of Michigan to Mackinac City. From there, we took a ferry about 8 miles to Mackinac Island, home of the sort of famous Grand Hotel.

The Grand Hotel is sort of "do it once - just to see" type deal (for us anyway). You have to be in ties & dresses after 6pm in all areas of the hotel, breakfast & 5 course dinner are included in your stay and there are people to wait on your hand & foot! It was a little weird for us - it felt pretty colonial (Most of the servers were black, from the Caribbean or Asian from SE Asia & most of the patrons were white). So while it was a fun stay and the hotel and surrounding grounds are beautiful, 2 nites was enough! There isn't a whole lot to do on the island, but we rode bikes around the island (about 7 miles), sat by the pool and read, sat on the porch and hung out, walked around downtown a bit (many fudge shops). Oh and we visited the Butterfly House - which is pretty much just that (the pictures are pretty funny).

All in all, a very relaxing weekend. I think we may go East to Detroit & surroundings next. All the photos are here.