Our Road Trip Through Michigan & Wisconsin: A Highlight Reel

Robby and I try to vacation around our anniversary every year. This works two-fold because it's also the same time as my birthday. This year was slightly different because I was hitting a big milestone: 30. It seemed daunting to me a couple years ago, but watching most of my friends turn 30 before me and greeting it with the same fun and enthusiasm that they did in other aspects of their lives made me realize that it wouldn't be a terrible thing at all. If anything, I could officially shed the anxiety that my 20s held of trying to accomplish so much during such important, growing years.

Robby had initially planned to go to Toronto and Niagara Falls, but didn't even start the passport application process when he told me this at the end of June. He asked about it maybe a month before our trip which, by that time, it was too late. After some brainstorming, we decided that Michigan and Wisconsin would be where we'd go: it was close enough that we could do it as a road trip and still see a lot of each state, but it was also a part of the country neither of us had seen (or seen much of). Below is what we managed to see in a week's time. We were pressed for time, as one is during a road trip, and there are things we'd like to go back and see more of, of course. I'll make sure to mention that so if you ever decide to go to this part of the country, you can have some ideas to work with.

Day One: River Raisin National Battlefield Park and Detroit

Detroit is only an eight-hour drive from where we live in western Maryland, so we decided we'd leave early in the morning to get up there around noon. This way, we'd have some time to see the city and stretch our legs. A goal of this trip was to hit as many National places as possible (monuments, parks, trails, etc.), and to see some baseball games where we could. So, the first National Park we came to was River Raisin National Battlefield Park. It commemorates and preserves the January 1813 battles of the War of 1812, the greatest victory for Tecumseh's Native American confederation and the greatest defeat for the U.S. It's a small visitor center with a winding informational trail that includes plaques, but it was overall worth the visit. There was a lot of Native American history, especially about tribes in the Great Lakes region, and I thoroughly enjoyed that. As well, the general public doesn't know a lot about the War of 1812, so it was a good refresher for Robby and myself.

After that, we drove into Detroit, where we had tickets to see the Detroit Tigers play the Toronto Blue Jays that night. We found cheap parking right next to the stadium, and then walked down to the GM Renaissance Center to get the Motor Cities National Heritage Area stamp and get out of the heat for a bit (it was a whopping 95 degrees that day). There were all sorts of GM, Chevy, Ford, and Chrysler cars that we could sit in, look at, and take pictures of. We also spent a little bit of time out along the Detroit River and waved at Windsor, Canada, easily visible across it.

Other than that, we didn't do much else, which I feel like is a disservice to Detroit. To be fair, my husband doesn't do well in big cities, we had been up since 3:30 AM, and it was so hot, all we really wanted to do was sit down. I even got a little heat sick until I forced myself to eat something during the baseball game. I will say, though, that the architecture of downtown Detroit is beautiful. It seemed that every building was a picture of what the height of Detroit looked like: the roaring 20s, and towers of art deco and neoclassical buildings down every street. The traffic was unbelievably sparse, even for a Saturday. And, on another note, I am absolutely in love with the Tigers stadium. It was intimate and had a great baseball culture like Baltimore's. They lost to the Blue Jays, but it was still incredible to see them play. We also got rained on, which felt pretty amazing. Overall, I would like to see more of Detroit again, but I think what we did was a pretty good introduction!

Two things we'd like to do next time: Spend some time in Greektown, and eat a Detroit Deep Dish pizza.

Day Two: Grand Rapids and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

After grabbing a Tim Horton's breakfast, we made our way through the center of Michigan as we headed for the part of our trip where we would camp for three nights (spoiler: it saved us a TON of money, and made our trip so special). We made a stop in Grand Rapids to hit up some breweries around lunchtime: Founder's, and Grand Rapids Brewing Co. Both were great, although Grand Rapids Brewing was in an old building with a rustic, small town feel. It also had a S'mores beer that was . . . SO good. Grand Rapids seemed like a cute (but bigger sized) town that I think would have been fun to see more of. But we didn't really do a lot of research on what was there because our main stop would be Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

We arrived there late in the afternoon and checked in to D.H. Day Campground, to which the older woman at the ranger's station warned us that a juvenile black bear was hanging around. Cool, cool. Thankfully, we never encountered him, but that evening we walked out to see Lake Michigan, which we could hear from our camp site. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect. The lake stretched on forever (I had only seen it for the first time last summer in Chicago), with choppy waves and blue, blue water. After we walked back to camp, we just hung out by the campfire before we went to sleep for one of the best sleeps we had in a long, long while.

Things we'd like to do next time: Visit the Manitou Islands, do Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive at sunset, and practice night photography.

Day Three: Traverse City and the Upper Peninsula

This day was my 30th birthday, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We woke up super early, packed up camp, and then drove around Sleeping Bear Dunes more. We visited the U.S. Life-Saving Service stations, the visitor center, the Glen Haven Historic Village, and then did the Dune Climb. When I tell you that it was a workout I never thought would be as difficult as it was, I am not even being dramatic. Picture walking on a beach, through the thick sand that's past all the packed down sand where everyone sits. Then, picture doing that, uphill, for a MILE. Listen, I'm glad I welcomed in my 30s by doing it, but it was no easy task. The views from the top were incredible and 100% worth it, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'm glad I got to share with my husband. We had a great time.

After doing all that exercise, we made our way through Cherry Country to the Upper Peninsula! I had no idea that Traverse City was the Cherry Capital of the world, so along with seeing adorable coastal towns with cute main streets, we stopped at a few fruit stands and got amazing sweet cherries, cherry preserves, and cherry sweets (donuts, cookies, and turnovers). It was lovely, and broke up all the driving.

We then crossed the Mackinac Bridge over to the U.P. and stopped to eat lunch at The Gangplank in St. Ignace where I had the best birthday fish tacos I could have asked for. Robby also bought some smoked fish, and we looked around with curiosity at what in the world all these signs for "pasties" meant. While we were near by, we stopped at the Father Marquette National Memorial, which, spoiler, they don't have a stamp for. There is a small pavilion with information and a scenic trail with an overlook of the bridge, but not much else. It was a bit unsettling walking around with not even a ranger present, but the views of the Mackinac Straight and the bridge almost made the detour worth it.

After that, we made our way through the U.P. to our campsite in Munising. We stopped at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge where a ranger told us that we had to take advantage of the perfect weather and drive around as we had just gotten there about five minutes before the visitor center closed. We didn't anticipate doing it, and the seven-mile loop took us almost two hours to complete, but we saw so much wildlife including a beaver, loons with babies on their backs, swans and geese, ducks, cranes, and so many Monarch butterflies. We didn't expect to enjoy it as much as we did, but it was well worth it. PLUS, the sun goes down so much later in the U.P. that we were still able to get to our campsite with enough time to set up camp before the sun went down.

Things we'd like to do next time: Spend more time in coastal towns like Charlevoix and Petoskey, and visit Mackinac Island.

Day Four: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Calumet

The next day, we drove from Munising back up to Grand Marais to drive through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This was probably the day we wished we had extended over two days. We didn't realize until we got there that most of the photographic points in the park were only accessible via hiking or kayaking, and we just didn't have the time to see everything that we wanted to. We did fit in two smaller hikes, though, and were still able to see some stunning views of Lake Superior. We did the Sable Falls Dune Trail and the Log Slide Scenic Overlook, then drove through the rest of the park down to the Munising Falls visitor center, which we also walked to. This place is breath-taking, truly. Walking the Sable Falls Dune Trail was so serene and peaceful that Robby and I stopped several times just to listen - the woods were unbelievably quiet and beautiful. I told him I was ready to live here during the summers when we left because I couldn't get over how lovely it all was - no crowds, just nature in its own untouched elegance.

In Munising, we also stopped by the Hiawatha Natonal Forest visitor center, and asked one of the rangers there a) what a pasty was (pronounced pass-tea), and b) where we could get the best ones. He told us that a pasty was a hand pie that resembled a beef stew in a pastry that was made for miners in the 1800s to take for lunches. He then pointed us in the direction we were thankfully already going, and said the best pasties were at a gas station in Au Train: Au Train Grocery & Motel. We grabbed ourselves something to drink, and two giant pasties at $5.50 each. They were not disappointing. Filled with beef, onion, rutabaga, carrot, and potato, these things kept us full for hours.

We then made the drive through desolate U.P. country to the Keweenaw Peninsula. We stopped at the Houghton Farmer's Market because we were on the hunt for Saskatoon berries, but more on that later, before making our way to the Quincy Mine visitor center. We, of course, got there just as it was closing, so we scanned the gift shop and grabbed a couple brochures. It was pretty cool to learn about the mining history on the Keweenaw Peninsula - one that involved the intense labor of a diverse group of immigrants - and how essential copper was to our history during this era. Afterward, we drove around Calumet, read about the HUGE piece of copper outside the town's limits, and then headed to McLain State Park to set up camp.

Here, we camped right beside Lake Superior, which was beautiful, along with watching the sunset at 9:45 PM. But, I don't think we'd stay here again for two reasons: it was the most expensive place we camped, and all the campsites are out in the open directly next to one another. Although, let me tell you, that hot shower was amazing.

Things we'd like to do next time: Hike to Grand Portal Point/do more hiking in Pictured Rocks, and Quincy Mine Tour.

Day Five: Keweenaw Peninsula and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

We woke up early again and drove back into Calumet where we enjoyed an hour of coffee and free wifi at Keweenaw Coffee Works. This was our third anniversary, so it felt a little bit more special than usual as we walked around the Calumet visitor center. After spending close to two hours there, we left and headed to Wisconsin. Robby had four things that he wanted to try in Michigan: Saskatoon berries, pasties, wild rice, and smoked fish. At the last possible second, we stopped at a gas station and got a bag of wild rice that we would eat once we got home from our trip, but Saskatoon berries were unable to be found until deep in the heart of Wisconsin. But, more on that later.

We arrived at the Apostle Islands visitor center in Bayfield to find, again, that most of the things you could do in the park required either kayaking, hiking, or a mix of both. We were told that there were boat tours, however, and that an evening boat tour was available on the day we were there. We rushed down into Bayfield and purchased tickets, and then went on a scenic drive through Bayfield's orchard country to kill some time. We tried homemade hard ciders, sampled gooseberries, red currants, jams and jellies, and just about everything in between while we waited for our boat tour. We also ate at Greunke's Restaurant and Inn, where JFK, Jr. apparently stayed and ate when he visited the Apostle Islands. Their whitefish livers, my first time trying fish livers, tasted exactly like fried morel mushrooms. They were divine, and melted in my mouth for an earthy, buttery finish that I still think about often.

After eating a quick dinner, we raced down to the dock and loaded up on the boat. The weather and lake conditions were perfect. At first, I wasn't sure if it would be worth it as we cruised past the islands, but the real show came when we reached Devil's Island. Because the water was so calm and flat, we were able to get up close to the unbelievable sea caves that line the island. The sounds the water made inside them created such eerie, beautifully haunting sounds that Native Americans thought there were devils inside the caves. Along with other stories and the history of the islands, the cruise ended up being well worth the cost. And because we went in the evening, we got to see a lovely sunset over Lake Superior that couldn't be topped. It was the perfect end to our anniversary. Afterward, we dodged a lot of deer on our way down to Trego, where we spent our first night in a hotel after three nights camping. The big king bed felt like a big deal.

Things we'd like to do next time: Kayak and camp in the Apostle Islands.

Day Six: Driving Across Wisconsin

In the morning, we enjoyed a hot, nutritional continental breakfast (as we'd been living on granola bars and fast food up until that point) and headed out to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverways visitor center in Trego. There, we met an awesome ranger who wanted to talk to us about the river, and national parks in general. We asked her about Saskatoon berries, and she said they're also known as juneberries, and that a lot of people don't want to share them because they only grow for a short amount of time (I relate this to wineberries here in Maryland). We told her we had seen signs for them everywhere in the lower part of Michigan, but hadn't been able to find them since. She smiled and told us to wait a moment as she disappeared into the back of the visitor center. She came back a moment later with a plate of Saskatoon berries that she had picked the day before and frozen. We were elated. When we put the frozen berries in our mouths, they tasted similar to a blueberry, but then finished with a more almondy, nutty flavor. She said she loved eating them in pancakes.

After that, we drove out to St. Croix Falls to get the other vistor center stamp, and then continued on our drive through Wisconsin. We wished we would have realized how close we were to Minneapolis, because we probably would have tried to see a Twins baseball game, but alas. It will truly have to wait until we visit Minnesota. Along our drive to Milwaukee, we stopped at a few stores and bought some local cheeses, fresh (squeaky) cheese curds, and maple syrup. We also visited Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, which was a lot of fun, and tried Culver's frozen custard (so much better than any custard I had had up to that point - so creamy and delicious). We also spied the Madison state house from afar, but didn't go into Madison to visit.

Once we arrived in Milwaukee, it was almost like a culture shock. Compared to Detroit and even other larger cities we had driven through, Milwaukee seemed to be bustling especially after spending most of our trip in the wilds of northern Michigan and Wisconsin. We made it to our hotel in one piece that night, took showers, and then quite literally dropped blissfully into bed.

Things we'd like to do next time: Kayak or canoe on the St. Croix River, and visit Madison.

Day Seven: Milwaukee

Remember how I said my husband isn't a big city person? This day was a little rough for him, but I thought he did a good job. One thing I have to personally do is map everything out beforehand and tell him what we're doing to put his mind at ease. If he has a plan, he works a lot better. I'm also usually the driver, which is fine, as I tend to handle city traffic a lot better than he does.

Since we only gave Milwaukee a day, we of course didn't get to see everything, but I was pretty pleased with what we did see. We went to the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which had just opened in February, and was the perfect place for Robby. I enjoyed myself too, but it was definitely a stop more for him than me. After that, we walked through the Milwaukee Public Market. We weren't really hungry, so we didn't get anything to eat there, although I wish I would have pushed Robby to get some seafood as he was eyeing it the whole time we were there. We also walked along the riverwalk, saw Gertie the duck and her babies, and spotted the Fonz. It would have been super cool to kayak along the river too, but maybe another time.

We then drove out to Miller Brewing Company and took the tour of it. If beer is your thing, this is well worth the $10 you pay. Along with the tour that you buy the ticket for, you also get four beers that are served to you throughout (and were more than enough for me). Robby and I both couldn't believe how huge the facility was - it was literally its own town just outside of the heart of Milwaukee - and we had a really good time seeing how they mass produce beer on that large of a scale.

Afterward, we headed to our final destination: Miller Park. We had tickets to see the Brewers play the Chicago Cubs that night. The stadium is massive, with a fanning ceiling that opens and closes depending on the weather. There were more Cubs fans where we sat, but I had a great time being a Brewers fan for the night. In big stadiums like that, though, I feel you lose the personal, intimate touch of the game. I felt so far away from the field and the rest of the fans, but the Brewers won and at the end of it, beside having a good time and good food (fried cheese curds, hello), what else can you ask for?

We made a stop at Kopp's, the Milwaukee-famous custard stand, to end the night. I had a turtle custard and their classic vanilla, and by far I liked it more than Culver's. Just when I thought it couldn't get creamier, it did. A great way to end our trip - one truly for the books.

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The only Michigan national park we didn't get to was Isle Royale, which we discovered was closer to Minnesota than Michigan. Overall, I was pretty proud of ourselves. Robby said he liked it because he didn't feel like he was in the car a lot, and I tried to purposely make our in-car time no more than 4-6 hours a day. Some days, obviously, called for more, but overall, everything we saw was pretty close together. It gave me confidence that we can do other fun trips that mix both of our loves together and we can have a really great time.

100% would recommend, would do again. <3