Master Plan Adventures: Michigan

Greetings!

We are just over one week in Michigan and wow - we love this beautiful state! We will spend 3 weeks here and this past first week was filled with interesting and fun things!

We are so excited to be travelling all 3 weeks in Michigan with our dear friends - the Halvorsons. Dan is a special friend from our college days - 40+ years and counting. Dan, his lovely wife Diana, his beautiful daughter Dani, and their sweet pup Harley are our travelling companions throughout our time in Michigan with the exception of 2 nights - more on that later.

We kicked off our Michigan stay with 4 nights at Holland State Park campground which is located right at the beach on Lake Michigan. It is pretty much a parking lot, but the setting is unmatched - steps from the beach and water and also "Big Red," an iconic lighthouse poised at the entrance of Holland harbor.

With Diana at the inlet out to Lake Michigan - the Holland Princess behind us is heading out for sunset.

We loved our campsite as we had a lot of privacy next to a dune.

Our first morning in Holland, we went to the Farmers Market and also explored downtown to include Centennial Park. We try to visit local Farmers Markets and the fresh produce and bread were quickly purchased as delicious provisions.

Chef Paul buying mushrooms for a risotto he would make the next night - YUM

The strawberries are in season and the cherries are amazing.

Centennial Park is a beautiful park right in the city with gorgeous gardens.

L. Frank Baum who wrote the Wonderful World of Oz summered in Holland and the yellow brick road was named after winding cobblestone roads in Holland. The book made out of shrubbery is part of the park as a nod to him. They put it in a greenhouse in the winter.

Paul's former boss - Jon - lives in Holland with his wife Theresa and family (5 children and multiple grandchildren). We had a fabulous afternoon with Jon & Theresa - dinner at New Holland Brewery (delish) and then a boat ride on Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan. The weather was iffy earlier in the day, but the skies cleared, the winds died down, and it turned out to be a beautiful evening on the water. It was a special evening - great to reconnect - and we are so grateful for their hospitality!

Jon and Paul with Big Red in the background going out of the channel from Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan

The Captain!

Big Red at Sunset

Another glorious sunset over Lake Michigan

The next day we started off with a bike ride and then took an afternoon hike to the Sanctuary Woods Preserve. Chef Paul then prepared grilled chicken and mushroom risotto and we gulped it down at the picnic table with just a few minutes to spare before the rain started. The Halvorsons have a beautiful Motorcoach RV so we enjoyed local blueberry pie a la mode after dinner in their comfy rig!

Paul's famous mushroom risotto - DELISH!

The next day Dan, Paul and I hiked up to Mt. Pisgah - very close to the campground with sweeping views of the Lake, Big Red and our campground!

There is a section of this beach called Ottawa Beach and Dan took this hilarious shot!

What a view!

I then walked to the channel marker at the very end of the jetty - beautiful day!

Big Red is to my left.

We then headed into a nearby town - Saugatuck - which was so charming and quaint. We had a delicious lunch on the water and wandered around - it reminded us so much of towns on the Cape and Islands.

Hilarious! A great place to relax while the ladies shop!

A beautiful storefront - reminded us so much of New England

It was our last night in Holland, so we went to Bowerman's Blueberry farm for dinner, followed by a beautiful walk in Tunnel Park (very close to our campground)

Bowerman's was everything blueberry - including the door handle! And Dan's outfit complemented all the blue!

Tunnel Park - where you take a tunnel under a dune to the beach!

There is also a set of steps up to a beautiful overlook of Lake Michigan.

Our final morning - Paul and I rode our bikes past the park and around the neighborhood.

It was time to leave Holland and head to Traverse City for 3 nights. We stayed at a campground on Silver Lake about 20 minutes south of the city.

Our first night we had a campfire to review our plans!

Our first day we explored the Old Mission Peninsula which jets out north of Traverse City and is known for its farms and wineries. It was a beautiful drive.

At the very tip of the peninsula was Mission Point Lighthouse - a beautiful setting and interesting history.

At the top of the lighthouse - only 3 allowed at a time!

Diana and Dani stayed on the beach with Harley.

Such a pretty spot.

After the lighthouse, we headed to a lavender and cherry farm - which was really lovely!

Fields of lavender surrounded by Cherry Trees

In this area, still a little early for the Cherries - but cherry trees were everywhere!

In a barn where they dry the lavender - smelled so good!

We couldn't leave the peninsula without stopping at a winery - so went to Mari Vineyards and did a tasting. Perfect timing as once we got inside, it started to rain.

The next day, we went to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and like all national park sites, it was amazing.

We all hiked Empire Bluff which had sweeping views of the dunes on Lake Michigan

Breathtaking view, which disappeared within minutes due to fog. So glad we got to the overlook before that happened!

A nice lunch in the cute town of Empire inside the park.

After lunch, we did the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive which had several beautiful stops.

A view of Glen Lakes from the scenic drive.

The Dunes overlook was our last stop and it was incredible. This signed cracked us up, but several were sliding down the dunes and having a ball. We were a bit more conservative!

The angle of the dunes, the color of the water - it was so cool.

Heading back to our cars.

Our final night in Traverse City was spent chartering a small sailboat for the 5 of us and getting out on Great Traverse Bay for sunset. What a way to cap two awesome days in Traverse City.

We are now in Wilderness State Park - we got here Friday - and the Halvorsons join us today - they stayed in Traverse City for 2 more nights. We are here for 10 nights and will post more about our time here again soon, but suffice it to say, it's pretty spectacular. We are on the very north end of Michigan's lower peninsula just steps from Lake Michigan and I'll tease you with a few sunset photos the night we got here and a few campsite shots.