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Tags: Movie Set Travel / Drew Barrymore / Michigan Travel / Movie Travel / → All Tags
'Whip It' Good In Michigan This Fall With Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore can officially add another job to her resume this weekend: Director. The actress is making her directorial debut in Whip It, about a young woman (played by Ellen Page) who finds her life's passion when she joins a local roller derby team. The movie is set in Texas but was filmed entirely in Michigan last year. Take a look at where to stay, where to eat and what to do in Michigan this fall to get into the true spirit of Whip It.
Where to Stay:
The Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center is currently offering a weekend deal that includes a $100 Bonus Bucks coupon good toward any future two-night stay and $50 off a Hertz rental if you spend a Friday or Saturday night at the hotel this fall. Rates start around $166 a night, use the promo code V12 when booking online to get the deal.
Tags: Top Chef Travel / Food Travel / Michigan Travel / Ann Arbor Travel / → All Tags
Top Chef's Eve Aronoff Brings The World To Your Plate In Ann Arbor
Even though Eve Aronoff's hopes of being named the next "Top Chef" were dashed on Episode Two, owing to a sub-par shrimp and avocado ceviche, the Ann Arbor chef still boasts an impressive résumé. A graduate of Paris' Le Cordon Bleu program, restauranteur in her own right, and cookbook author, she's known for bringing the world to the plate by fusing traditional French methods with exotic flavors.
Her restaurant, the appropriately named eve, opened in 2003 and reflects her worldly approach to cooking. Everything is seasonal and Slow Food Movement-approved, so expect ingredients to be sourced from the area's best farmers though her influences come from far flung corners of the world, including Africa, Cuba, and various Asian countries.
Tags: Fall Foliage Travel / Fall Travel / Outdoor Travel / Michigan Travel / → All Tags
Michigan Budget Cuts May Cut Out Fall Foliage Hotlines
Remember when Michigan was spending all that money on their new travel campaign? Well, they may have spent too much on it, because money is starting to run out for other stuff. First, AAA Michigan had to shut down their annual fall color hotline due to budget cuts. Thankfully, Travel Michigan has picked up the slack, but they are facing their own budget deficit come October 1, so they might have to shut down their foliage hotline as well.
People may just be forced to drive around aimlessly and do their own research to find the best spots. However, the spokeswoman for the state’s tourism group thinks that Travel Michigan will be able to keep the hotline running. Unless there’s a total state shutdown, she thinks things will be safe from the axe.
Tags: Travel Advertising / Michigan Travel / Midwest Travel / → All Tags
Another $30 Million Spent In Making Michigan Look Pure
If you enjoy the Pure Michigan ads that the state's tourism agencies have been plastering everywhere, then we have good news for you! The Great Lakes State has just decided to dump an additional $30 million into the campaign, locking in another year of radio, print, and TV spots across the Midwest.
This costly campaign was first launched in 2006, but didn't garner national attention until Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm threw $45 million at it in 2008. Along the way it managed to earn accolades from organizations as diverse as Forbes.com and the Travel Industry Association of America. Pure Michigan's organizers have even managed to produce figures showing that every dollar they spend brings back more almost $3 in tax revenue.
Tags: Dunkin' Donuts Alternatives / Donuts / Michigan Travel / Food Travel / → All Tags
Michigan Bakery Combines Donuts and Candy, Creates Cravings
Some of our Dunkin' Donuts Alternatives are old-school classic bakeries that aim to preserve the heritage of this humble dessert. Others are classy, high-end operations that demand the donut be taken seriously. And some turn out donuts that just do what they were originally intended to do—make people really freakin' happy.
Sweetwater's Donut Mill in Kalamazoo, Michigan clearly falls into the latter category. This 25-year-old donut shop is the kind of place that doesn't take itself too seriously, but still manages to earn rave reviews from far and wide. Their sugar-high treats include playful, candy-inspired varieties like peanut butter cup, carmello, snickers, and chocolate covered cherries—even some filled with marshmallow fluff.
Perhaps the best part is that this isn't the kind of bakery where you have to arrive before 11 am to get anything good. Nope, Sweetwater's is open 24 hours a day. For extra convenience, it even offers drive-thru service. Honestly, we're not sure if it's a good thing for America to have constantly available donuts this good, at a place we don't even have to leave our cars to get to—but you won't find us complaining.
Related Stories:
· Sweetwater's Donut Mill [Official Site]
· Get Dat Donut [Jaunted]
· Do-Nuts So Old School, They Won't Drop the Hyphen [Jaunted]
[Photo: jima]
Tags: car-factory-tours / Michigan Travel / Ford Rouge Factory Tour / → All Tags
Car Factory Tours: Ford Rouge
An auto infotainment bonanza on a truly epic scale, the Ford Rouge factory tour aims for awe with its high tech circuit of Henry Ford's still functioning dream city. Count how many times your tour guide uses the phrase "world's largest" as your group winds through a 360 Virtual Reality theatre, a "living roof" garden/observation deck and a functioning F-150 assembly line.
Tags: Espresso Milano / Michigan Travel / Starbucks Alternatives / → All Tags
Starbucks Alternatives: Espresso Milano Beats the Frappuccino
We didn't think it existed, but turns out, there is a place Starbucks hasn't touched: Midland, Michigan. And while the small Midwest town of 60,000 doesn't offer unlimited alternatives, it does offer a great one: Espresso Milano.
The downtown coffee shop opened 10 years ago, well before the latte boom, and it's been serving its signature blends ever since. The décor has changed a handful of times, but the massive chalkboard of offerings and local artist exhibits have remained a constant. On frosty winter mornings we prefer the Six Shooter: six espresso shots. Prefer something sweeter? Try a Milkyway: the standard latte with caramel, vanilla syrup and a dusting of cocoa powder, too. But on hot summer days the Hazelkadoodle is a must. Espresso Milano's baristas blend coffee ice cream, espresso, hazelnut and vanilla syrup together for a frosty treat that beats the Frappuccino hands down.
Related Stories:
· Starbucks Alternatives [Jaunted]
· Midland Michigan Hotels [HotelChatter]
[Photo: Jeff Diogenes]
Tags: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park / Michigan Travel / National-Parks-World-Map / → All Tags
World's Best National Parks: Sleeping Bear Dunes
Best National Parks in the World Map
You don't have to travel to Pyla to visit the dunes. Residents of Michigan have been telling their friends about the 35-mile stretch of sandy hills of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park along Lake Michigan's eastern coast since the park opened.
With more than 100 miles of designated hiking trails, Sleeping Bear Dunes is a woodman's wonderland, while world-famous sand lots make it a beachcomber's dream. There are 13 marked paths on the mainland alone (two islands, North Manitou and South Manitou, are also included in the park property) that wind through forests, shoreline, marsh and dunes.
Park passes are required to get out on the trails, but visitors can enjoy the scenic views of Great Lake coastline and Michigan wildlife year round, since most areas are open for winter snow-shoeing too.
For those who prefer wheels to walking, the park offers self-guided bike tours and local clubs encourage tourists to hitch on with local cyclists on weekly rides. Two rivers provide ample opportunities for kayaking, tubing, and family-friendly canoeing. And for East (and West) Coast skeptics who claim no body of water could ever be as great as the ocean, the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve tells a different story. Lake Michigan diving expeditions come complete with two centuries of dock ruins and shipwrecks, too.
Related Stories:
· Sleeping Bear Dunes [Official Site]
[Photo: ourtreasures.org]
