Since I basically live in Indiana I'll ask the actual Michigan people. GF has a conference coming up in Bellaire the 22nd-24th of this month, she is not confident her boss is going to approve the PTO and if he doesn't we are going to re-calibrate and just go somewhere for a couple nights to get away. Looking for a 2 night trip somewhere within driving distance of Grand Rapids. I initially considered something like Mackinac Island but it appears hotels, etc. are unavailable for our dates. Any hidden gem ideas?
Never been, seems like a pretty solid place for a short trip, and they have a blow mold Santa I want at the XMas place. I'm so close to St. Joe / New Buffalo that I don't think of the Lake Michigan spots, another one I haven't done that looks good. These will go in my presentation to her.
Yeah Frankenmuth is full of kitschy shops and shit, but it's interesting to walk through every few years. Get some overpriced cheese, overpriced fudge, and a chicken dinner. Honey B's is a legitimately good breakfast. Theres a really basic wine and chocolate tasting on a small river boat you can do as well. Frankenmuth funships .
So far so good. Had a rolling brownout so I was worried I’d have to get the generator out to keep the sump going but things seem better now.
Ludington/Hemline Lake, Empire and Bear Lake all have their features for a couple day getaway. Actually going to Bellaire could also be fun - get a room at the Lakeview Hotel at Shanty Creek. That’s a solid 2+ hours from GR, though.
The conference she is still waiting on approval for is at Shanty Creek so if her weird ass Doc is ok with it we'll be up there Sunday-Wednesday (this is my hope, gives me empty days to golf and work on some side hustle shit while she is in meetings) I'll look into the others. I've also discovered that the Tigers are at Cleveland that Monday so that may become an option for a more city focused trip.
Shanty Creek it is. Any must hit spots around Torch Lake there? We're looking to find a "nice" (I'd say ambiance and good food over great food) spot to eat Tuesday night if anyone has somewhere they enjoy.
Shorts is good food and drink. https://www.shortsbrewing.com/locations/bellaire-pub/ It's Up North so nothing is fucking awesome...but, Shorts is a great time. Pearl's is surprisingly good Cajun food and drink... https://www.magnumhospitality.com/pearls/
Blue Pelican Inn in Central Lake is probably 15 or so minutes away. We had our rehearsal dinner there. Food and drinks were great, and the Inn is supposed to be haunted.
Our municipality switched to Priority Waste when it took over the GFL residential accounts last month. Last week they were a day late picking up recycling. This week they were a day late on recycling and two days and counting on trash. They’ve ruined our hockey team and our waste removal.
I drove around Torch one day just to check shit out, that night we just hopped around downtown Bellaire before ending up at the dive bar watching the Tigers. The next day I went up to Petoskey looking for stuff for the kids and that evening we hit a couple bars (Dockside and some little place in Alden) around Torch lake The third day we headed home via Traverse where we dicked around shopping and had lunch at Bootleggers I'm certainly down to go back up and spend some more time, we ended up having less than expected and the weather was shit most of the time which undid our plans for a small hike, etc. It's legit beautiful up there.
Headed to Grand Haven on Sunday with the family for a few days. 2 kids, 10 and 7. Any recs on things we HAVE to do/places to visit/eat while we're there?
Those straight line winds that just came through in the front edge of this storm fucking wrecked my backyard
Power out by the highway and lots of branches on the roads, but our power is still on. Thank Jeebus, no AC tonight would be an absolute nightmare.
Grand Haven was awesome. We stayed in a Condo in the Grand Hotel. It was 80 almost every day we were there so we spent 3 days just basically hanging out on the beaches. Absolutely perfect weather. Hung out at Windsnest Beach, Tunnel Park Beach in Holland, PJ Hoffmaster St Park and Silver Lake. Did the Mac Woods dune rides up in Silver Lake which was really fun. We avoided the beach in GH because honestly it was a shit show down there. Caught the fountain show in Grand Haven on Taylor Swift night as my daughter is a swifty. Found a nice little mini golf course in Muskegon. Drove to Indianapolis on the last day and caught the Fever game. Stayed overnight and came back to iowa on that Saturday. It was my first time in Michigan and I came away thoroughly impressed. Was mainly looking for r&r/chill time and thats exactly what we got. Your state parks/beaches were great. Kept up really well. Kids want to do it again next year.
This post is why we annoy the hell out of our #Ohio State Buckeyes posters with all of our talk about lakes.
Despite the fact that I can walk to Tunnel Park from my house, I go to Windsnest often to paddleboard. It is really a hidden gem. Glad you had fun and sorry I missed your post or I could have given you the suggestions to go to Tunnel Park and Windsnest. :)
Yeah, I actually saw a Tiktok that recommeded Windsnest vs others so I said screw it, we'll try it. Went there 2 different days actually. Its unbelievable how much stuff there is to do in western MI.
I can walk to the musical fountain from where I work. I miss being close to the big city mostly for the sporting events, but I've really enjoyed living out here the past 4 years (beside the occasional local politic mess). Glad you enjoyed your visit
You have some great coffee shops downtown also. Ate at the the Toasted Pickle once too. Was very good. The kids also got paw pups one day and ate too many. My favorite place was the great harvest bread co though. That place is dangerous.
Glad it worked out and you didn’t boycott the trip. Was the Fever game a surprise still for the kids? How’d they react?
If anyone is going to Arts, Beats & Eats this weekend, check out the Egg roll Diva truck. I just smashed two absolutely amazing crab Rangoon egg rolls.
How up its own butt does a city need to be to throw its summer street fair on a holiday weekend? Royal Oak fucking sucks.
City streets are closed for 6 days, the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority fronts some of the money, city cops and firefighters are on duty, city parking changes for the residents, etc. Don’t be obtuse. You can buy tickets through the city’s website.
I’m at the bar drinking an M-43 while my daughter is at gymnastics and I overhead a group of dudes talking about their next project. It’s in Monroe, and one of them just said, “Monroe is the Muncie, Indiana of Michigan.” Thoughts, B-Boy $P1?
Anyone here using AT&T Fiber? WOW’s performance has been so bad lately and I’m looking for change things up. I use my own router and modem so this is purely a WOW being shitty issue.
I have it, it’s not bad. Setting up my mesh network through their system was a pain in the ass but only look an hour or two. No complaints about the service