Weekend Trip: Northern Michigan

One of the benefits of being married to Katie is a free place to stay in Northern Michigan and a reason to head up there whenever the mood strikes. As I've touched on before, all of my early vacation memories center around the area and I love getting to go back. One of highlights of visiting in the fall is the beautiful colors you get to see and even if it was a bit early in the season, we were not to be disappointed.

No trip up north can begin without a stop at Dingman's. Dingman's has been our go to bar for a few years now for many reasons. 1) It's generally pretty late by the time we get up there and 2) It's really the only place to stop on the way.  It's exactly the kind of hole in the wall spot you'd expect to find in the middle of nowhere. Immediately upon entering on a Friday evening, you're greeted with terrible karaoke renditions of country songs made better/worse depending on your level of intoxication. The bartenders/wait staff are generally as drunk as the patrons to the point that it can sometimes be difficult to actually tell who works there as everyone seems to freely roam in and out of the kitchen area.

This trip to Dingman's was made unique as there was a friendly dog roaming the bar.. No one really seemed to mind his presence nor the fact that a dog in a restaurant is probably in violation of some sort of health code, but the dog seemed happy enough, so why complain? I'm not really sure why someone would bring their dog with them to the bar, but judging by the level of drunkenness while we were there, it wouldn't surprise me if he'd been brought along as a DD.

After a few drinks to unwind, we headed to Katie's parent's house for sleep. Oddly enough, the next day also started with a dog. The Simmonds family had been pet free  for awhile but had been toying with the idea of a new dog for some time and finally decided to pull the trigger. I was awoken on Saturday morning when Katie plopped this adorable ball of fuzz down on my face.  Her name is Ruby and she instantly crawled into my arms and began to snuggle. I was instantly in love.

Our plans for the day were pretty simple. There was to be a corn maze, a popular fall activity which none of us had ever really engaged in. We stopped over at Katie's sister's house to pick up her and her many, many children and made our way out to Old Mission for the maze.

The best part about this was probably the drive. As I am a terrible photographer, I didn't even attempt to snap any pictures from the car but for the most part, the scenery was pretty breathtaking. I had assumed the maze would be at some sort of Cider Mill and I really hoping I'd be able to feast upon some overpriced apple cider and donuts. Alas, it was just a maze. We were the only ones there which probably should have probably tipped us off that cider and donuts were the better route, but alas, the kids seemed to enjoy it and I suppose that was the important part.

We were given a map (which we had to return at the end. Again, probably another sign that this wasn't the classiest corn maze) and there were helpful hints scattered throughout to guide us on our way. Of course, the best part about a corn maze is that if you really get lost, you can simply push your way through the corn until you get where you want to go, a tactic we employed on more than one occasion. Eventually, we were able to navigate our way through the labyrinthine stalks of corn to the exit where we were rewarded with an unparalleled sense of accomplishment.  (Unparalleled in the sense that you've never done anything more rewarding in your life than walk through some corn).

After this, we made our way back into Traverse City for some food and, at my request, the Tigers game. We ate at a local restaurant called The Blue Tractor. Since Katie wants to write about food, I'll save that for her but I can say that it was delicious and that baseball is probably not the most entertaining thing to sit through when you've got four kids with you under the age of six. Regardless, the Tigers won and I was able to knock back a few more Oberon's before they start to hibernate for the winter.

The next day we spent our last few hours taking in what we could of the scenery. Katie and I were able to get Ruby to walk (previous attempts had just resulted in her getting dragged along on the leash) and the three of us were able to take in the scenery. Again, I have absolutely no skill when it comes to photography, but here's one of the shots I managed to get.

In all, we were there less than 48 hours, but the beauty of Michigan is that we're fortunate enough to have some great spots for a day trip within a short drive. Even if it's not the ocean, just being able to get away, no matter what the duration of the trip is what the spirit of Part Time Travel is all about. And with a marriage license solidifying the deal, there will be many of these trips to look forward to.