Roundup of Travels Through Michigan: Detroit, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Lighthouses, a Hike, and Random Exploring of the Lake Michigan Coast
Tom and I had stopped in the Detroit area to visit his brother and his family, and after the visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts we visited the massive Eastern Market and got a driving tour of Detroit during which I snapped a few photos. Eastern Market, a multi-pavilion indoor/outdoor farmer’s market was swamped with people buying annuals since it was the third weekend in May so I didn’t take many photos as we attempted to navigate through the crowds but I found many delicious veggies and some fantastic whole wheat rye bread as well as fresh ground spices.
Eastern Market, Detroit, Michigan
Eastern Market, Detroit, Michigan
Abandoned church, Detroit, Michigan
Church, Detroit, Michigan
After our visit we headed north along the coast of Lake Michigan making stops at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and a few lighthouses while we waited for the rain and cold temperatures in northern Michigan and Ontario to blow over. We had a few sunny hours here and there in which we walked (and rock hunted) on the lake shore and hiked the 6.5 mile Vasa Pathway near Traverse City but most of the days were rainy and a bit chilly despite it being nearly June. We also encountered our first swarm of black flies on the trip, which chased us out of a couple shoreline walks.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Tom and Abby walking on beach, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Rock hunting, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Tom and Abby walking on beach, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Tom and Abby walking on beach, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Museum recreation of commercial fishing shanty, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Grand Traverse Lighthouse, 1858, Leelenau State Park, Michigan
Vasa Pathway, Traverse City, Michigan
Toad on Vasa Pathway, Traverse City, Michigan
Petoskey Pierhead Lighthouse, Petoskey, Michigan
Lake Michigan from Petoskey, Michigan
Old Mission Lighthouse, Michigan
Old Mission Lighthouse, Michigan
Orchards on Old Mission Penninsula, Michigan
Vineyards on Old Mission Penninsula, Michigan
Michigan is one of the three states I have not yet visited. It looks absolutely gorgeous, as my parents have reported too. Thanks for giving me a better picture of it! Can’t wait to see where you are headed next! Hope all is well with you. xoxo
Hi Liz, Michigan was really beautiful (and a new state for me too). We circled Lake Superior over the course of two months but we traveled counter clockwise so there will be about 30-40 posts from Ontario, Minnesota, and Wisconsin before most of the rest of the Michigan posts are done. I do have a few more stops to blog about from our route north to Sault Ste. Marie but the best part of Michigan was the Upper Peninsula which was on our way back and it’s a place I can’t recommend highly enough. All the beauty never fails to amaze me – right now we’re in Ohio (by way of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), and it’s incredible gorgeous here too. Hope all is well with you too; I look forward to catching up with blog reading and writing in the next few days and am eager to see what you’ve been up to in the last ten days! xoxo