You may wonder what this music advisor is doing in the travel category, writing a review of a vacation he'll be leaving for tomorrow. Don't worry, it's the same vacation I've gone on for the past two years, so I'm well versed enough to give you some good information about a not-so-well-traveled area of Northern Michigan. (And those of you who read my music reviews will know why I'll likely get stripped of my advisor title come September after being away from the Internet for half of a month. But that's beside the point.)

You see, each summer since the dawn of time, my girlfriend’s family (actually, ex-girlfriend’s, but that’s another story) packs up their things (including two cats and a lion’s share of reading material), and flies up to a secluded little property just outside of Big Bay, Michigan, where they spend a good month or so in a few rustic cabins on the shore of Lake Superior. Friends of the family come up from time to time – the property has been owned by the family since the 10’s or 20’s, when the family used to run a boys’ camp there. It’s a nice place – situated where the Iron River flows out of Lake Independence and into Lake Superior – but I won’t bore you with the particulars. It’s private property, so if you actually go there, the family might not take too kindly to it (though several “Keep Out” signs seem helpless against any number of off-road vehicles during the snowy winter when no one is around). Still, plenty of other people own or rent similar properties up there, and the scenery is in no way limited to just the land owners! It’s a lovely place to just hang out and enjoy the outdoors, especially if you travel with family. Dads who are interested in extracting their kids from the world of electronics for a few weeks will doubtless enjoy the remote and foresty nature of the UP. The nearest airport, and city of any real size, is located about an hour away from the community of Big Bay, in Marquette (which I believe is the largest city in the entire Upper Peninsula).

Of course, a remote location such as this has its drawbacks. The only way to get to Big Bay is by taking Highway 550 out of Marquette – it’s not a well maintained road, which explains why covering 30 miles takes an hour. The locals tend to be a bit irritated with the state government over this, but there’s little worry of doing actual damage to your car. My suggestion if you fly into Marquette (which will likely require a connecting flight from Chicago, Detroit, or Minneapolis) is to stop by the local Rent-a-Wreck and borrow an eyesore for the duration of your trip – no worries about potholes! Kids who read in the car might have a little trouble, so save the reading material for the inn, campground, cabin, or wherever you’ll be staying. You’ll want to enjoy the scenery anyway – it’s thick and green. Perhaps my only complaint about the otherwise beautiful forest is that it’s not a very hilly area. To my knowledge, there isn’t much hiking to be done, but maybe I’ll look farther into that this year. Excursions off into the forest generally take the form of leisurely nature walks, or perhaps even a trip to pick berries - there are some great blueberry/blackberry patches just outside of town that don’t appear to be privately owned will help you fill entire pies in no time – just keep an eye out for bears! Other wildlife to be aware of includes the following: snapping turtles (don’t wade into random streams or rivers if you don’t know what you’re doing), ducks, rabbits (one of the family’s cats actually caught one last year!) obnoxiously large flies (they bite and leave little welts on your skin, and they’re oddly attracted to darker shades of blue), dragonflies, and mosquitos (also of the obnoxiously large variety). Again, Big Bay may not have many tourist attractions (though its claim to fame is the Thunder Bay Inn, where the murder scene from the movie Anatomy of a Murder was filmed – reportedly the real murder happened at another tavern just across the street!) and the only permanent residents tend to be elderly, retired folks, but they’re all so darn friendly compared to any stranger you’d meet in L.A. or similar metropolitan areas. The town is roughly three or four blocks square, with the streets eventually dead-ending or meandering off into the forest, so it’s safe to say that everyone there knows what everyone else is up to, including which yearly vacationers are there at what times. Of course, things tend to close awfully early, so you’d better get your food and camping supplies and whatnot during the day. The local corner store may even let you check your Email at non-peak hours, but don’t quote me on that! Whether you’re a familiar face or a total stranger, you’ll always be greeted with a smile and the traditional elongated vowels of the UP residents (affectionately known as “Yoopers”). Weird for a big city boy like me, but strangely comforting nonetheless.

If you decide that camping and looking at trees is getting old, there are a few things to do outside of the Big Bay area that would only require a chunk of a few days out of your trip. If you get everyone up early, it’s feasible to make a day trip out to Mackinac Island (pronounced “MAK-in-aw”, though the nomenclature seems confused as to whether to end the word is “c” or “w”, as is evidenced by the nearby Mackinaw City). Situated in Lake Superior not far from the bridge that joins the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, this curious little island is a fun tourist trap, somewhat akin to Disneyland’s Main Street USA, but thankfully less commercial and more authentic. Ferries from a few different points on the mainland will take you across (personally, we cheated and took my girlfriend’s dad’s private 6-seater plane which he had flown all the way up from California, but I’m guessing most folks don’t have that option). There you will find a way of life that is a strange breed of this century and the last – no cars are allowed on the island, and so the preferred ways of getting around are by foot, by horse, or by bicycle (you can rent bikes and ride the full circumference of the island in under an hour). Some might find the constant smell of horse droppings to be a bit irritating; I just figured it was something everyone had to get used to before we had cars, and it’s not that overpowering. One of the biggest attractions of the island are its fudge shops – Mackinac Island fudge is a pretty well known commodity throughout the state, if not the country. These shops aren’t exclusive to the island, but they appear there in the greatest number, offering many tempting flavors of fudge (as well as taffy and other goodies). My personal favorite in Chocolate Raspberry – it’s nothing short of orgasmic. (But don’t tell your kids that.) I would suppose that it’s also feasible to pack up the car and cross over into Canada for a few days, via Sault Ste. Marie, which isn’t far from where the peninsulas meet. But I haven’t done that yet, so I can’t tell you what there would be to do on the other side of the border.

Though it can start to feel claustrophobic after a few weeks, Northern Michigan is a great place for a “back to basics” family vacation. If you’re looking for constant excitement and the convenience of a million things to do right at your fingertips, I might look elsewhere. Admittedly, it’s not the easiest place to plan into a road trip, being virtually “out of the way” of just about any conceivable journey. So go and plan to stay there for at least a week to get the full effect.

On a personal note: My hope for this year is that it will be a good, relaxing trip that will facilitate rest and healing. Obviously being there with my ex-girlfriend and her family will be a bit weird, but hey, I already had the plane ticket and they’re all still happy to have me join them. There’s something in the air there – something very un-stressful and un-urgent. It could be a great place for two people to get to know each other again after coming off of a rather difficult breakup. If I was going to be in close quarters with her and her family for two weeks, I can’t think of any place I’d rather do it.

Well, thanks for reading my amateur travel review, and I hope that any of you who go find Northern Michigan to be as lovely and tranquil as I have.


Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug