Hard to believe that it has only been 7 days. Time has elongated and it feels like we have been on the road for so much longer (so far in a good way). There has already been so many miles and so many things that have happened and that we have seen. From Niagra we have driven through 5 states, numerous rest stops, drank local beer and the scenery has been amazing. We have also fallen in love with Michigan (who knew?!).
So to back up, we had a great time at Niagra. We went right to the Canadian side since we had both been to the US side previously (though decades ago) and even though it was rainy it was impressive to see. We then drove to Niagra-on-the-lake based on recommendations from friends and the skies cleared enough for us to enjoy this quaint little town. Reddit steered me right and we found this place with apple fritters to die for called Fritters-on-the-lake. We ordered two and we got four so definitely a place to visit if you ever get up there. After a drive on the Niagra parkway we had been wishing we could stay an extra night or two so we could break out the bikes and hit all of the trails out there. After a dinner at a local BBQ joint with friends we were ready to hit the road again. We had planned a route to get to my cousins place on the upper peninsula in Michigan. It was a long haul ending up being a 10 hour drive through Ohio (boring views of continuous corn but A+ on the rest areas! They even had electrical hookups for the trailer so we could keep the fridge cold so yay OH!), a tiny slice of PA and Indiana that brought us into MI.
This took us to an overnight stay with our first Harvest Hosts stay of the trip. This was a place in a tiny town of Galesburg, MI. We set up our camper in the parking lot of the Bakery and BBQ. The hosts were great and, while it was a parking lot, the town was small and very quiet. We had BBQ for dinner and even enjoyed a beer at the local brewpub, Gull Lake Brewing, that had live music and a great DunkelWeiss.
The next day was an exciting one. We had tickets to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI where Jonathan was going to tick off a bucket list item of driving a Model T car. The drive to the museum was absolutely beautiful. Michigan has a flavor of the North east with the rolling hills of somewhere like KY. We were definitely enamored. Then we hit the Car Museum and holy car (ha!) it was great! Situated on a gorgeous 90 acres of land it is the second largest car museum in the world and it is set up so you can walk around the entire car (no touching please). There were cool stories about the cars and the building was pristine. Then we attended the Model T class and things got even better!
This four hour class was hosted by several docents who were incredibly knowledgeable and super friendly. There was a mixture of class and driving ending in a 2 miles drive around the grounds. I was a stay behind but got to attend the class times and in-between (while Jonathan was driving) had some fascinating conversations with some docents and attendees. People in MI are very friendly. Jonathan found driving the Model T fairly easy but quite different than anything he had driven before. The experience was truly a unique one and we can both highly recommend a visit here. We could write several paragraphs about it but you can ask us for more information when you see us. 
Our next major stop was to stay with my cousin in the UP(you-pee) as the Michiganers (?) called the upper peninsula. We spent a night at a campground that was on the way and then had a long 7 hour drive but holy cow it was a beautiful one. We stopped at a Polish restaurant called Legs Inn for lunch which was recommended to us and totally worth the stop. Then onto the Mackinack bridge that connects the UP to the mainland. It is the 7th largest suspension bridge in the world at 5 miles long and sits in-between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. We definitely got a tour of the UP driving into where my cousin lives in Wetmore, MI in the Hiawatha National Forest pretty much smack-dab right in the middle of the UP. I knew where she lived was beautiful but I had no idea how beautiful. This is paradise.
She, her husband and three dogs live right on a set of four interconnected lakes surrounded by beautiful forest. We have left the large deck overlooking the lake only a few times and most of that to sleep. We have kayaked, walked around, toured the pictured rocks but mostly hung out with family and soaked in the relaxing and beautiful vibes. I think we have finally hit our “retired” stride and we are loving it. A two night stay has turned into four but we are ready to move out again tomorrow. We have decided to tour a bit more of MI and we are heading to Houghton, MI in the Copper country region where people go to get transport to the Isle Royale National Park. We are not going there since it does require planning ahead of time but the area is supposed to be beautiful. We have bear spray and we are ready to roll! See you back here shortly!
Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-lake:
Galesburg and Gilmore car museum:
The UP!
← Episode 2: …and we are off!
