Travel in state Michigan

Moving abroad was freeing at first, as if I'd finally gotten out of a relationship that just wasn't working.

Think the Midwest is just a cornfield you fly over between coasts? Don’t be fooled by that nonsense.

S

Terry and Al Hershey can afford to live anywhere they please after their successful careers—she in the corporate offices of Time Warner, he running businesses in medical device manufacturing and contract research and development. So, when they loaded up their 34-foot RV at their Bonita Springs, Florida home and hit the road to scout a second retirement locale, they headed to what might sound like a surprising place: Traverse City, Michigan, a small town (population 16,000) 250 miles northwest of Detroit, that sits on a bay opening to Lake Michigan. In 2021, the Hersheys moved into a 132-year-old, 5-bedroom Victorian three blocks from Grand Traverse Bay, where they spend six months a year with their goldendoodle and Aussiedoodle. Now both 76, they hike, bike, kayak and motorboat and can choose from scores of musical performances a year at the nearby Interlochen Center for the Arts and by the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. “We wanted a summer base,” Terry explains. Why not spend all year in Traverse City? They don’t mind the cold (they lived for many years in Colorado), but find the lack of sunshine during the winters in Traverse City too dreary, she says.

This August, my four daughters, two sisters, and mom all hopped on a train from Michigan to Chicago with one special purpose in mind: to visit the American Girl store.

Various MGM Resorts International properties across the U.S. Monday faced a "cybersecurity issue" that caused the gaming giant to temporarily shutter computer systems across the country.

The price of gas is rising. Air travel is a mess. But this fall, many college-bound high school seniors and their parents will spend days—sometimes happily, sometimes not—exploring far flung campuses. They may ask blunt questions of undergraduate guides; wander through dorms where the students aren’t yet dressed; listen to lectures (if they get there on a weekday); snap touristy selfies with scenic views (at parents’ insistence); or find that tours at the schools highest on their lists are already booked up, at least for fall weekends.

The summer travel season may have just wrapped up, but it’s already time to ink in plans for Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel—at least if you want to find the best deals.

With fall on the horizon, the window for travelers to visit seasonal hotels and resorts is narrowing, and often shoulder season is the best time to visit seasonal properties as it brings less crowds, cooler temperatures and more affordable prices.

In the northern reaches of Lake Michigan, the Emerald Isle ferry—departing from Charlevoix at the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula—takes about two hours to reach the lake’s largest island. As it approaches, homes, a lighthouse, and a red-roofed research center pop into focus amid dense forest. Docked boats herald the ferry with honks, and dogs bark from ship to shore. Upon arrival on Beaver Island, a lively community center and welcoming crowd beckon family and visitors ashore. On the island it’s customary to wave, or at least lift a finger, for each passing vehicle—every single one.

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Driving through Chicago is one of the great miseries of my life. 

To the visitor driving in from out of state, the 127 Yard Sale seems like a kind of Ironman for thrifters. The “world’s longest yard sale” is a test of endurance and attention. Spanning six states, 690 miles and thousands of stalls, it traverses dramatic landscapes, delicate cultural terrain and two time zones. Seeing it all in the four allotted days — Aug. 3 to 6 this year — is enough to induce vertigo in even the most stable-minded deal hunter. But some of us are foolish enough to try anyway.

Flight prices have been all over the place this past year.

Dave Lorenz was announced as the honoree before more than 1,000 destination marketing professionals at the U.S. Travel Association’s annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) conference.

Ott previously served as General Manager of San Diego Mission Bay Resort, a Noble House Hotels & Resorts property.

Museums are among the most visited locations around the world, with the world top’s 100 art museums attracting 71 million visitors in 2021 — a 31 percent rise from the year before. They’re also lucrative as museums contribute annually an estimated $50 billion to the U.S. economy alone.

Pure Michigan is back. The advertising arm of Travel Michigan, the state’s official tourism promotion office, is launching a national winter marketing campaign for the time since 2019, featuring videos showcasing Michigan as a prime destination for cold weather adventures.

The U.S. has kick-started a multi-year infrastructure boom, but too much of it is focused on airports, reckons Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and President of MGM Resorts International.

Five hours after leaving Chicago, we ran out of pavement. At the tip of the Door Peninsula in northeastern Wisconsin, the ice cream parlors disappeared. The wine shops and art galleries, too. Just a simple tollbooth, and the breakwaters beyond, and a small archipelago gathered like clouds on the horizon. A grinning crewman waved us aboard a 92-ton ferry, and before my wife, Mel, and I could exit our car, the Arni J. Richter was plowing through Lake Michigan. Like us, it seemed eager to flee the crowds.

An hour north of bustling Milwaukee, about a mile inland from the Lake Michigan shoreline, my husband and I checked into a Frank Lloyd Wright house recently made popular by season two of Netflix's The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.