A love story that blossomed for six months.
Now is definitely not the time to travel, but it’s ok to dream about it, right? I’m planning to roll out blog posts I never had the chance to publish, whatever the reason (mostly because I haven’t finished them). Hope they stir a little bit of travel inspiration and maybe help you make plans for the future.
It’s been five years since we’ve been back from our six month stint in Michigan and I have to say, we kind of miss it. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, we moved to Detroit, Michigan, to live around six months for work. You can read some of it here.) Not the actual living per se, but all the traveling, especially traveling around different parts of the state. Michigan is such a beauty and now I find myself following instagrammers from Michigan, just to keep in touch.
We went to Traverse City twice, once for the cherry festival and cherry picking and the second for blueberry picking. (There was also the ice cream factory tour during the second visit. A dream.) And while I miss Target, all the outlet shopping, the bbqs, the ridiculous amount of food you get and the overall chilled vibe, I miss all the small city charms the most.
This is the Mackinac Bridge that connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. It’s quite a sight, as you can see there are people just chilling around the nearby park looking at it.
When in Mackinac Island, always go for the fudge. But before that, you need to take a ferry to the no-car island, but it’s well worth a trip. It’s like walking back in time.
To be honest, I’m not that much of a fan of fudge because it is just oh so sweet, but it is great to try a bit if you’ve never had. There’s one in every corner, plus they show you how they make them and it’s totally mesmerizing.
The overall area of Traverse city and northern Michigan is famous for its cherries, so be sure to try everything cherry-related.
We also stayed in Petoskey for around two days because we wanted to venture out the area a bit more and it was beautiful. There isn’t so much happening and I have to admit, it was more of a stop-by location, but it was such a gorgeous city, something you would see in movies, really.
Because for someone like G, who had never really lived in the U.S. before this, all his expectations and perspectives on America was mostly from movies and books. His first trip to Target, his first Alfredo sauce jars (Who is Alfredo? What do they mean, Italian style?), his first Walmart experience (who are there so many types of bread?), his first corn dog, his first premium outlet experience (10 dollars for Levi’s jeans?): everything was quite entertaining.
There’s even a wine tour, which I didn’t know about until now. Bummer.
The sunset was amazing. (Those two people look like their floating, right? Now I can’t unsee it.)
Leland is a favorite among a lot of Michiganers and for a good reason. It’s more of a small town or community located near the Leland River. It’s a lovely little town, with gorgeous houses lining up the streets and the historical Fishtown where there are fish shanties, souvenir shops, cafes and quick to-go eateries. I’ve read that some of the shops will be renovated while others will be moving due to the very harsh winters especially this year, but still, a great place to visit if you’re in the area.
I’m sure I’m missing out a bunch of great things in the area, but the trip was always pretty spontaneous anyway. Wine tours, cherry picking in Traverse city, walking along the Fishtown, driving through the beautiful cities and towns. Such a sweet experience.
There are excellent wineries around the area, especially Traverse City, and that will be coming up very soon too.
More about Michigan:
- Cheery picking in Traverse City
- Ice Cream tour in Traverse City
- Blueberry picking in Traverse City
- Mexican town in Detroit
- Eastern Market in Detroit
All photos by rachelsanghee.