Yes, I am a Midwesterner through and through, but I’d say that objectively, Michigan is magical in the summer. When Cash was about 18-months-old we visited Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes. We finally made it back last month (Cash is now 8!) to check out another Great Lake at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Muinsing, MI.

Pictured Rocks is one of only three lakeshores that are protected by the National Park Service (Sleeping Bear Dunes and Apostle Islands are the other two) and is on the southern shore of Lake Superior. A quick trip to Apostle Islands was the only other time we had been to Lake Superior and it looked and felt very different than our familiar Lake Michigan.

We drove up through Wisconsin and the Hiawatha National Forest, which took four and a half hours. If we didn’t have the kids with us, we would have rented kayaks and explored the shoreline up close, but instead, we took the two-hour “Spray Falls” cruise on the Pictured Rocks Boat Line. It was a perfect way to see all the best sights along the shoreline and the tour guide kept it interesting and fun for the kids. We saw all the unique rock formations and learned that the colors on the rocks come from minerals in the water.

Sandy Point beach was perfect for laid-back afternoon and Twelve Mile beach was the perfect spot the next day for to explore, hunt for rocks and catch frogs.

The Driftwood Deli and ByGeorge Brewing were our favorite spots for food and beverage (the options were a bit sparse) and Cash discovered a love for the regional delicacy, pasties, at Muldoons. He also learned the word “UPER” meaning a person from the Upper Peninsula and my only wish is that my Grandpa Greene who was born and bred in the UP, was around to see him devour that pasty.

Check out Horseshoe Falls before you leave Muinsing. They turned it into a bit of a tourist attraction, but the $10 entrance was totally worth it to take the gnome scavenger hunt through the gardens.

We crossed over the Mackinac Bridge and drive down eastern edge of Lake Michigan and hit up a bevvy of beautiful small towns in Michigan, each with their own unique flair.

Harbor Springs was a bit posh and preppy, Petosky was more laid back and had great shopping, and charming Charlevoix was home to a handful of houses designed to look like mushrooms. We breezed through these towns in two and half days before stopping in Holland for one last night. Nelis’ Dutch Village and New Holland Brewing were fun for the whole family.

From the top of Michigan, down around through Chicago, took us more like eight hours, but splitting it up made it much easier. Plus, we stopped at Stray Dog in New Buffalo for lunch on the way home, which is also a family favorite. We can’t wait to go back to Michigan - maybe Mackinaw Island next summer?