Lake Michigan is part of what makes the Great Lakes great. In the water, on the water, or near the water, cruising the Midwest is Big Fun any way you float your boat.
Read the full story »
No fast food or chicken strips. Fun, kid-centered food that the whole family will love.
The best new geocaching events and destinations for your next road trip.
We drive all Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies — in one mega trip!
Technical Stuff, Toys, Gadgets, GPS Info & more.
A good road trip takes some planning, here’s the help you need.
Kismet: Fate; a predetermined or unavoidable destiny. To me, kismet is free will on the open road. Following the tug of the steering wheel as the off-center alignment brings you where you normally wouldn’t have time or patience to go. We just spent 16 days and 1921.9 miles on a Great Lakes Road Trip exploring eastern Wisconsin and northern, lower Michigan. Some of our trip was planned, some wasn’t. Here are our kismet moments, in no particular rank or order:
Cheese Cave at Field to Fork Restaurant
If you ever visit downtown Sheboygan, Wisconsin, first look for Norman Rockwell and then try and park downwind from Field to Fork bakery and grocery on 8th Street. Let your nose guide you in to a lovely place that both supports the local economy and encourages global sustainability. A pleasant surprise and our newest favorite place to eat, Field to Fork was friendly, worldly, and kid-friendly. Here the boys are pretending to defend the “cheese cave” against the bad guys. Inspired by a dance club in Italy, imagine tropical fish as seen through a glass floor with the tide rolling in. A Wisconsin girl at heart, try fried queso blanco if you want a little cheese inspiration with your morning coffee.
Eating the Messiest Donut at Goodale's Bakery
Goodale’s Bakery just off of the main drag in Grayling, Michigan is not the most likely of tourist destinations. Desperate for coffee and adult conversation, we stumbled into the bakery somewhat by accident. A favorite venue for local residents for miles around, Goodale’s Bakery is now on or “must visit” list for next summer (and the summer after, and so on). Here is a photo of Owen post messiest donut in the entire display case. We stocked up on fresh-baked breads and cookies to freeze at the cabin and keep within snacking distance. Not operating at a particularly big city tempo, we chatted and “watched” people as we waited for our order.
Tunnel of Trees: Scenic Highway 119
If you have (1) a motorcycle or (2) a favorite music CD, please bring either (or both) to the Tunnel of Trees Scenic Highway 119 between Harbor Springs and Good Hart, Michigan. Without a care in the world, we snaked along the bluffs of Lake Michigan, into and out of fields, forest, passing dream homes along the way. Motorcyclists and convertable owners looked content on a summer day fit for open windows and napping kids.
Rocks near Petoskey, Michigan
We stopped at the Thorne Swift Nature Preserve at the Lower Shore Drive turn off. A short (perfect distance) hike to the rocky shores of Lake Michigan, we skipped stones, scampered on the big rocks, and tormented the resident biologist with incessant questions. Making a mental note to avoid the drive with trailer in pull or teenage driver, Tunnel of Trees was worth the wanderlust.
Discovery Center in Gaylord
Unprepared to encounter such a kid-friendly find in Gaylord, Michigan, the Gaylord Discovery Center is a gem of a find. Inexpensive by big city standards, we purchased a non-expiring 10 visit punch pass for $40. Planning to return next summer, we can’t wait to bring our cousins to the giant indoor sand pit,human gerbil maze, PVC water tubes, craft table, and age-appropriate play areas (including miniature drum sets the boys still talk about). Open for tired parents, birthday parties, and the weary traveler looking to tire kids without chicken nuggets, plug the Gaylord Discovery Center into your GPS and put kismet on autopilot!
Expert Guides: iPhone and Print Format
If you’re looking for even more suggestions on your next trip to Michigan, meet my new friend and fellow iPhone app author, Matt Forster. Author of the print guide book, Backroads & Byways of Michigan, Matt knows more about the Petoskey State than any other person I know. Here’s more about both projects:
Grand Traverse: Up North iPhone App
Looking to explore Michigan’s Grand Traverse region? This new travel app covers it all. Up North! Grand Traverse will guide you to the best places to take the kids swimming or hiking or fishing; where to sleep, bed & breakfasts, quiet lakeside inns, excellent campgrounds; where to eat and how much you’ll spend; the best farm markets, specialty foods, and great local snacks. For less than you would spend on a local map, this travel app has close to 200 entries and 500 photos and never goes out of date (upgrades are free)!
Backroads & Byways of Michigan
As a Michigan native, Matt has camped, hiked, canoed, biked, swum, antiqued, art galleried, toured, or simply explored nearly every corner of the state. In Backroads & Byways of Michigan, he offers 12 routes to discover the best the state has to offer. From the exploring the secret urban adventures of Detroit, to the mining history of the UP’s Keweenaw Peninsula, and everywhere in between, there is something new to discover with every turn of the page. Telling the story of each region, chapters also offer suggestions for lodging and dining and places you must visit.
Popularity: 3% [?]
We leave Jackson Hole and head to West Yellowstone on day 5 of our Rockies or Bust 2010 mega road trip. Seeing a bear is a huge highlight!
Visiting garage and thrift sales on a road trip is a fun way to save money, find hidden treasures, and keep kids looking for signs. From geocaching trinkets to clothing and toys, your next vacation souvenir may be off on an adventure of its own.
What’s not to like about the 4th of July? Fireworks and watermelon, parades and picnics. This year the Rockies or Bust tour stopped to celebrate Independence Day in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
I strap myself in, wait for the “Start your engines” announcement. The lights tick down. Green! I hit the accelerator and roar onto the track in my first Daytona 500 race. Zooming around the famed …
These days, most of us are pretty savvy about recycling at home. And, many retailers make it easy as well, so our every day lives are getting greener. But what about the road trip or even those everyday trips in the car? It’s not always the easiest thing to do.
We didn’t bring our dog on this Rockies or Bust excursion. 47 days in the car is too much for most humans, let alone a dog. But, many families take their pets on shorter trips, so we asked our sponsor, CarHelp.com, for some tips on traveling safely with pets.
Created to entertain even the most “bored” kid, Road Trips for Families suggest five road-trip friendly iPhone apps for your next family vacation. Be gone, “Are we there yet?” Behold the iPhone!
Leaving Cody behind, we drive along roughly the same route to Yellowstone that Bill Cody used when he took visitors to the park. Obviously, things are a bit different now. The Pahaska Tepee was a two-day journey back in the day and today it’s less than an hour. A visit to the park that took weeks can now be done in a day of driving.
Cody, Wyoming is known as the “Rodeo Capital of the World” for good reason. It’s named for Bill Cody, otherwise known as Buffalo Bill. Explore the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, his Irma Hotel and other relics of the Old West.
Today we’re traveling on the Circle the Continental Divide Driving Tour. This drive highlights the best of Wyoming — including national parks, museums, rodeos, pioneer trails, Native American tribes, jaw-dropping scenery, and colorful wildlife.
Southern neighbor of Beloit, Wisconsin, Rockford, Illinois is about an hour and a half drive from Chicago, Milwaukee, or Madison. Home of the adorable sock monkey, Road Trips for Families ventured to Illinois for a weekend vacation. In the spirit of monkey business, here are some kid-friendly places to “hang out” the next time you are Rockford with kids.
Family dining options are plentiful in Rockford, Illinois. Family-owned, local favorites range from “hidden gems” to “reservations required”. With many restaurants conveniently located near the interstate corridor, this Feed Me review is an appetizer to get you started.
The latest trend in family vacations is geocaching on the road. Road Trips for Families is Still on VaCation and playing in the nation’s largest high-tech treasure hunt.
Yellowstone National Park is the oldest national park. For those quick with logic, that means that Yellowstone is our first national park. The park is huge, and a map doesn’t truly convey how much geography is really encompassed. Housed in three states (Wyoming, Idaho and Montana), first-time visitors to Yellowstone often attempt to “see the whole park” in a few days. That’s a sure recipe for disaster.
Our friends at ReserveAmerica have just released their list of the Top 100 Family Campgrounds for 2010. Looking at the list and comparing to those we’ve crossed off our personal “To Do” list, it’s apparent …
The latest trend in family vacations is geocaching on the road. Go on VaCachen with Road Trips for Families in the nation’s largest high-tech treasure hunt.
There’s more road trip news than we can fit into our regular features. The Friday News Roundup gives families the stories we think are the most important every week, all in one place. Your family road trip just got a little bit easier, week-by-week.
A new trend in family vacation planning is iPhone travel apps, or virtual travel guide books. Authored by area gurus, travel apps offer an in-depth look at a particular region or vacation destination. Apps are more content rich and interactive than traditional guide books, and bring the itinerary planning right along in the car with you.
Even on family vacation, kids and their families can still enjoy the taste and health benefits of drinking milk and dining together while on the road. The National “got milk?®” Milk Mustache Mobile Tour is crossing the country from March to September, helping families make healthier choices and incorporate milk into their daily meals.
There’s more road trip news than we can fit into our regular features. The Friday News Roundup gives families the stories we think are the most important every week, all in one place. Your family road trip just got a little bit easier, week-by-week.
Staying in a vacation rental home is becoming increasingly popular for family vacations, especially because vacation rentals can be a fantastic value. With the growth of the popularity and availability of vacation rentals, there are some important things you can do to insure your visit will be everything you hoped for and more.
Back in they day, parents just took the car they had. Now, there are lots of options, so I talked to Ford executive and mom, Amy Marentic, about the 2010 line of cars from Ford, and their great features for road trippers.
Back in the day, parents handed fussy toddlers their keys, a teething toy or maybe a rattle. Now, we hand over the iPhone. The most common question asked by parents who look for travel advice isn’t about what highway to travel or even about kid-friendly luggage. It’s about iPhone apps. So, we decided to do some research and let our fingers do the downloading as we tried out some of the top contenders and a few more obscure apps. Here are our recommendations for the apps worth downloading. Let the happy road trips begin!
They are jokingly referred to as Wisconsin/Minnesota/Your State Here’s National Bird. They bite, carry disease and the red welts itch for days after you’re bitten. You resort to DEET just to keep them off your kids. Yep, mosquitoes.
Located just 80 miles from downtown Chicago and 50 miles from Milwaukee, Geneva Lake and the town of Lake Geneva is often called the Newport of the West. A vacation mecca for kids and their families, memories of lakeside fun are waiting in Wisconsin.
Located just 80 miles from downtown Chicago and 50 miles from Milwaukee, Geneva Lake and the town of Lake Geneva is often called the Newport of the West. A vacation mecca for kids and their families, memories of lakeside fun are waiting in Wisconsin.
Without an address or any discernible clue* you are at the right location, The Safe House restaurant is one of Milwaukee’s top-secret spy finds. Located downtown near the Milwaukee river, the main entrance is down …
Would You Rather is really fun because it says “Would you rather have poison ivy in your toes or on your butt!”
There’s more road trip news than we can fit into our regular features. The Friday News Roundup gives families the stories we think are the most important every week, all in one place. Your family road trip just got a little bit easier, week-by-week.
Our road tripping family gets asked all the time for suggestions on destinations, attractions and restaurants. And, honestly, it can be hard to remember details about each road trip. Family Rambling has solved that with their handy Travel Journal.
Be honest now. Back in the day (before the mini additions to the family) you rated the best places to watch any game, no matter how big, by how sexy the servers were, how cold and cheap the beer was, and obviously, how plentiful the TVs were. Now you worry whether your kids are even invited, and dream of a place with cold beer, TVs, sexy servers and a gigantic game room or daycare.
There’s more road trip news than we can fit into our regular features. The Friday News Roundup gives families the stories we think are the most important every week, all in one place. Your family road trip just got a little bit easier, week-by-week.
Located just 80 miles from downtown Chicago and 50 miles from Milwaukee, Geneva Lake and the town of Lake Geneva is often called the Newport of the West. A vacation mecca for kids and their families, memories of lakeside fun are waiting in Wisconsin.
Bad Behavior has blocked 1005 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Powered by WordPress | Log in | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) |Content by To The Point Content
