On the Road Again: Part 1

Last week my husband and I traveled like nomads through parts of Northern Michigan. I am proud of him, because in the last year or so of our marriage he has made a journey with me to the dark side: SPONTANEITY. 

It all began with a holiday shopping trip to an outlet mall stateside. We didn't get there until late afternoon, and um...that's not enough time to shop. So I said, "What is stopping us from staying?" He said...."no we can't do that, we haven't planned anything, we have no place to stay, AND we have no jammies."

I said: "So what?" 

Two days later and one desperate trip to Meijers for the necessities, a quick pop onto Hotwire.com, a tour to the Bavarian timewarp that is Frankenmuth and all the shopping that a girl's heart could desire...we had done it...and loved it!

Now this type of travel is not for everyone. You have to go with what you get, and sometimes the hotel stay isn't superb (I would also recommend packing clothing and necessities)...but with some practice and time, we have turned this type of travel into an art.

Our first stop was Mackinaw City. We did not end up going across to Mackinac Island as the ferry costs $22/adult, and we were only going to spend the afternoon there. I highly recommend going, the restaurants there sound lovely and there are lots of things to do, especially if you plan to stay a few days. 

Mackinaw City Pros: 

The view of the Bridge

The variety of shops for Fudge and Salt Water Taffy

Mackinaw City Cons: The variety of food. We had the hardest time finding a place to eat. Once we found a place, which was an old train station...the food was so/so and as you can see below, just a wee bit greasy. 

We then took our travels down to Traverse City, MI. On the way, we spent the night in Petoskey, MI. It was a beautiful little place on the water, and the hotel stay was decent. Here's a tip for those who want to try spontaneous travel: if you are moving from place to place, especially between big cities, try staying in a town on the way or in a suburb of the city, you end up with cheaper hotel deals and not necessarily bad hotels to choose from!

We took a scenic drive down, and on the way we made a little stop at a local orchard stand. I was really excited because Traverse City is known first of all for its famous cherries, it is also a great place for fruit to grow - which at this time of year means delicious apples.

King Orchards
 http://www.kingorchards.com/

I picked up a few Honey Crisp and Jonagold apples to make my annual Thanksgiving apple
pie. You'll have to wait for my upcoming blog about my pie to learn why I grabbed those two types of apples.


My husband snatched up a fresh, personal-sized Raspberry/Cherry pie to enjoy on our trip. It's his absolute favorite, so he was really excited.


A neat tidbit about the orchard is that they ship locally-grown cherries. I am considering getting a bag to keep frozen for recipes throughout the year. 


Well, this post is getting long, and I have some experimental homemade bread to take care of!


Check back tomorrow for part two and my favorite part of the trip..

Traverse City!

Home of Sleeping Bear Dunes: voted America's most beautiful place by Good Morning America

AND

One of the up and coming Top Foodie Towns in America! MMMmmmm