We go "up north" to Elk Rapids and Torch Lake often during the summer and early Fall. It is a family favorite. Elk Rapids is a small town that transforms itself into a wonderful little tourist community in the summer and fall. You can walk down the main street and visit unique art gallaries, like Mullaly's. Really interesting pieces, and Barb is the owner. Across the street is the Harbor Cafe, which is always great for breakfast. It's sometimes a bit slow and/or crowded, so go just out of the main downtown to Fish Bones restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner (near the Village market). The best place for a casual and fun-filled dinner is Pearl's, which is a canjun restaurant with a variety of offerings and a great atmosphere. Back in downtown Elk Rapids are clothing stores, antiques, and a nice coffee cafe with Internet connection.  A new restaurant in town is the Siren Hall.  It's a little upscale, but the food is very good.   A walk down to the marina is always enjoyable after a filling meal. Also, don't miss going to the library up on the hill to sit and look over some books. There's also an old movie theater in town with first-run features. The biggest attraction is probably the park and beach area of the town. All kinds of things to do--right on the banks of Traverse Bay. A walk about the town would not be complete without taking a look at the large older, and fully renovated homes overlooking the water and park area. Several are B & Bs. Drive a little north of Elk Rapids and you'll be along the west bank of Torch Lake. Torch is one of Michigan's most beautiful inland lakes, big, deep, and clean. There are several public launch sites around Torch Lake, we usually use the one on the west side about 13 miles north of Elk Rapids. The far south end of the lake is the "sandbar" area. In the summer on weekends, this area is packed with boats of every type and everyone is playing in the water that is only 1 foot to 3 feet in depth. If you're on Torch Lake and hungry, go over to the east side of the lake about halfway up, and there's the Dockside Restaurant--another favorite spot to eat and watch boats/people. There's tons to do in and around Elk Rapids and Torch Lake. My family loves it up there.

To end a busy Halloween Weekend, I took my seven year old son, Darryl, along with my friends and their kids ziplining at the Howell Nature Center. I saw a family on TV ziplining in Hawaii, and I wondered if ziplining was offered here in Michigan. The Howell Nature Center allows the public to go ziplining on select weekends in the Summer and Fall. It turned out to be a great adventure for everyone and a whole bunch of fun. The kids loved it and as a adult, I can say I have not had that much fun in a long time. The experience of flying through the trees is like not nothing else I can describe. The Howell Nature Center's zip line is 500 feet long and goes over a pond. Each ride is only $5. You have a make a reservation for your party in advance. I think this is definitely one of the lessor known Michigan gems.

Living in Rochester Hills, Michigan our family has always loved traveling to the great city of Detroit! Traveling to Detroit is so exciting because every time we visit Detroit there is more improvement in the city. I wished I lived there! We tell all of our friends and family to see the difference in Detroit. It is truly a city reborn.

My husband & I never tire of visiting Hartwick Pines State Park in Michigan. We enjoy birdwatching and our most favorite experience recently was hand feeding the chickadees from the visitor center's outdoor deck. The staff was kind enough to give us some sunflower seeds to lure them in. I can't describe what a wonderful experience it was to have that precious little bird land so lightly in your hand to take a seed. On a cold day, you can sit in the visitor center and just watch the birds come to the many feeders they have set up outside their large row of windows. We have seen Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Evening Groesbeaks just to name a few. The paved trails they have in the park are great for walking, cross country skiing and snow shoeing.

Staying at Crooked Lake is so nice. 6 Cabins are on Crooked lake , Sandy beach, great fishing lake , Playground for the kids, relaxing, peaceful,and friendly. We have our family reunion there .It's perfect , take all 6 cabins and the whole family gets to spend time with each other.  It's location is in Clare County.  It's just a short drive ,they have , snowmobile trails across the road, boats, bait shop, snowmobile rentals, their cabins are completely furnished . I just have to bring my clothes ,food . It makes a vacation very affordable . They have something for everyone.

My family and I spent the Labor Day weekend at an RV campground in Grass Lake. It was an incredible way to end the summer. The days were hot enough to enjoy swimming, fishing and hiking and the nights were cool enough to sit around the campfire roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores. We go camping nearly every weekend and we often see deer, wild turkeys, herons and other wildlife, but we were thrilled to see eleven hot air balloons from the Stockbridge area practice their maneuvers over our campground this weekend. It was mesmerizing to watch them glide gracefully over the tree tops and across the water, and we all had a hard time deciding which balloon was our favorite. They were all great. It was a simple, relaxing weekend, but it was memorable for the surprises we experienced, the camaraderie we shared, and the nature we enjoyed.

My three year old granddaughter, Dellaunna, got worn out at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. Really. Her first fascination was the child size gate into the children’s garden. I didn’t see it, but she did, and went in and out several times before we could get her to the next attraction, a fountain and statue (of course you could get wet in the fountain!) Another water feature, very welcome on a hot day, was a large replica of the great lakes where children could sail boats and build bridges out of tinker toys. The children’s garden appeals to a wide age range. Grandma enjoyed looking at the map inscribed in concrete around the “lakes”. Dellaunna wasn’t too interested in the sensory garden yet, an area emphasizing the five senses, but Grandpa was. Our next major stop was the giant sand pile, where there were fossils to uncover, conventional sand toys, and a child sized backhoe to operate. Then it was on to the tree house, a fantastic array of platforms and connecting bridges inhabited by denizens like giant spiders. While Grandma read about the insects and birds, Dellaunna ran the bridges and scrambled from platform to platform. Children’s fun doesn’t end with the children’s garden. We walked the boardwalk and wooded path to the farmhouse yard, where children enjoy such chores as pumping water, hanging clothes, or painting a fence. When Dellaunna finally wore out gathering eggs, Grandpa was sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch and Grandma was learning to play hoops on the lawn.

When I decided to walk around Presque Isle in Marquette, I got a real bonus. The woods and wildflowers were beautiful, as I knew they would be. Lake Superior was majestic as always. What I didn’t expect was a daredevil show of divers leaping from a huge rock into this bluest, deepest, coldest Great Lake, then climbing the rugged rock face to do it again. I was brave enough to find my way down to the nearby beach and joined them in that water, but no, I did not jump from the rock.