Tag: Michigan Travel

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Five States Known for Their Yummy Pies (and How to Win One from Michigan)

January 23, 2013 at 12:01 PM | by | Comments (0)


A slice of Michigan ABC pie

Happy National Pie Day! Yes, this is a real thing and yes, it totally warrants a cheer of "America, f*ck yeah!" Pie is awesome, having a day just to celebrate it is awesome, so go get you some awesome pie.

Or let pie come to you...

Michigan kinda feels sad for everyone who doesn't live in their state, a state where bakeries average 30 fresh pie varieties daily. So, just for today, Michigan will ship out Grand Traverse pies every hour to people who share their pie love on Twitter. Here's how it works:
· Follow both @PureMichigan & @GTPie on Twitter.
· Between 10am & 5pm EST on January 23 (today!), tweet your favorite type of pie at them.
· Include the hashtag #puremichiganpie when you do
· Wait for pie* (*if you're one of the hourly winners)

Speaking of state allegiances, here's Five States Known for Specialty Pies:

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Rails to Trails to...Awesome: Michigan's Pere Marquette Bike Path

August 21, 2012 at 3:44 PM | by | Comments (0)

Our roving Midwestern reporter, Lara Zielin, files a report from somewhere in Michigan on a very cool project reusing the country's rusting transportation infrastructure:

My husband recently imagined he was a train. If I’m honest, I’ll admit I felt a little silly witnessing this. I mean, what 36-year-old with a mortgage closes his eyes and pretends he’s a choo-choo?

Except, that’s what mid-Michigan’s Pere Marquette Trail can do, especially if you’re on a bicycle and you’re speeding up as you pedal over the Salt River, the birds and frogs calling out the way they must have done before loggers and lumber barons arrived in this flat, woodsy place in the 1800s.

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At the Colon Magic Festival: There's a Walk of Fame and Everything

August 7, 2012 at 1:39 PM | by | Comments (0)

Here at Jaunted, we spend considerable time and (virtual) ink drooling over weird festivals. So, this summer, we've decided to visit a few. Today and tomorrow Lara Zielin will report back from the Colon Magic Festival in Colon, Michigan.

Move over, Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Colon, Michigan has its own star-laden sidewalk honoring not movie stars, but magicians. So what if there are only three stars in the entire town? And who even cares if two of the three magicians are dead? It hardly matters to festival attendees, who hunt down the stars around town as a kind of challenge. And it certainly doesn’t dim the exuberance of 78-year-old magician Carl Karl, who was honored with a star during the 75th annual Magic Get-Together this past weekend.

“The plaque took my breath away,” Karl says, his eyes filling with tears as he recalls the surprise of being recognized for a lifetime of magic tricks. He’s one of a handful of magicians at the festival who have made a full-time career of magic, though these days leg pain keeps him off the stage. There’s a big part of Karl that’s still performing, though. He has, after all, glued two coins to his forehead. When anyone asks him about it (and a lot of people do), he says those are his...headquarters.

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At the Colon Magic Festival: This is Your Brain on Magic

August 6, 2012 at 1:46 PM | by | Comments (2)

Here at Jaunted, we spend considerable time and (virtual) ink drooling over weird festivals. So, this summer, we've decided to visit a few. Today and tomorrow Lara Zielin will report back from the Colon Magic Festival in Colon, Michigan.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I was enthralled with that stupid rope. It was the Saturday night performance during the 75th annual Magic Get-Together in Colon, Michigan, and Mac King was on the stage. He was wearing a dumpy plaid suit (hello, cliché much?) holding nothing but a single rope. And here I was, leaned forward in rapt attention as he cut the rope, folded the rope, hacked at it time and time again and, voila! It was always the same piece of rope, the same length.

The applause at the Colon high school gym (the home of the fighting magi, where the motto is “learning is magic”) was deafening when he was done. Every seat in the house was packed, and everyone was downright delighted. Even the teenagers sitting in front of me—some of them from Chicago, a big city where disaffected kids should know better.

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Fulfill Your Summer Fest Quota at This Weekend's Colon Magic Festival

August 3, 2012 at 4:42 PM | by | Comments (4)

Colon, Michigan was named for a punctuation mark, not a part of the digestive system. The little southwestern Michigan town of 1,200 is a pause, but not a full stop, halfway between Chicago and Detroit.

Magician Harry Blackstone thought so, anyway. He set up shop there in the 1920s with his brother. The pair, along with their crew, would spit-shine their magic acts during the summer in preparation for their fall and winter tours across the United States.

Blackstone was a big deal performer back in the day—so much so that he drew other magicians to the town of Colon, including Australian magician and ventriloquist Percy Abbott. Abbot’s efforts to host public open houses showcasing magic left a legacy that’s not hocus-pocus. These days, the Colon Magic Festival and the Colon Magic Get Together draw thousands to the small town to see world-class performances and to shop at FAB Magic Company, one of the largest brick and mortar magic shops in the world.

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Three August Festivals to Celebrate All Things Blueberry

August 2, 2012 at 12:54 PM | by | Comments (0)

While we we've busy enjoying the warmer weather it’s been all work for those responsible for tending to this year’s blueberry crop. Thankfully things must have gone according to plan, as it’s time to harvest. Before August slips into September it’s time to celebrate blueberry season, and here’s three of the best festivals where you can do exactly that:

National Blueberry Festival – South Haven, Michigan

Running August 9-12, this festival has everything and anything involved with the berries that are little and blue. All the events go down right on the shores of Lake Michigan at the town’s Riverfront Park. Blueberry Pie Socials, Lawn Tractor Pulls, Pie Eating Contests, and a Blueberry Cookout round out the weekend’s events.

Organizers are expecting at least 40,000 hungry visitors as the event celebrates its 49th year filled with live entertainment and way too many blueberry pancakes. If you need a blueberry break—like that’s even possible—just swing by the Sand Sculpture Contest scheduled to do its thing at North Beach on Sunday afternoon.

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Three Crazy Easy Ways to Get Out on the Water in Upper Michigan

July 20, 2012 at 3:36 PM | by | Comments (3)

Summertime, and the livin' is easy. So you're thinking of a late season trip so long as there's blue water involved, hm? Believe it or not, Michigan's got beaches, blue water and budget-friendly destinations. This week we'll be looking at the ways and places in which you can chill out while diving into the state's northern bits.

We known we know. It's too hot outside. That's nothing that a little getting-out-on-the-water can't fix. Plus we have a theory, that as global warming continues, more and more people are going to be looking favorably on beach vacations in traditionally cold locales, like—oh—upper Michigan (where it was in the high 80s last week!)

Flying over the state, you'll be able to pick out at least ten lakes you wish you were cannonballing into right that moment. The good news is that you can...but you know, get off the plane first and check out these three ways to get on the water in Michigan's Upper Peninsula:

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True Story: We Got a Blackberry Peach Pie Past the TSA

July 20, 2012 at 9:26 AM | by | Comments (0)

What you see above is a Blackberry Peach Pie in a bag. It is not a weapon. It is not a dangerous material. It is neither liquid nor gel. IT IS A YUMMY NUMMY SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS PIE.

Luckily we know what it is, because the Transportation Safety Administration sure is confused. After forking our way through a piece of Grand Traverse Pie Company's ABC (apple-blueberry-cherry) pie way too quickly this last weekend, we caved and bought an entire "Tall ship" (blackberry-peach) pie with the noble intentions of flying it back to share with family.

The Delta agents checking us into our flight from PLN to DTW gently ribbed us about our carryon, but were sure TSA would let it through. In it went into the security buckets, with our Keds and laptop, successfully passing through the X-ray machine. Then maybe it made the TSA agents hungry, because they discussed (in front of us) whether or not it was allowed.

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Michigan Field Trip: Sippin' on Sweet Cherry Wine in Harbor Springs

July 18, 2012 at 2:23 PM | by | Comments (0)

Summertime, and the livin' is easy. So you're thinking of a late season trip so long as there's blue water involved, hm? Believe it or not, Michigan's got beaches, blue water and budget-friendly destinations. This week we'll be looking at the ways and places in which you can chill out while diving into the state's Upper Peninsula.

In honor of #winewednesday, and partly because we dedicated our palate to Lake Erie Wineries last week, today we visit a winery in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, just outside the hopping town of Harbor Springs.

Harbor Springs Vineyard and Winery sits on Pond Hill Farm, an organic working farm with a general store, restaurant, wine tasting room, garden (full of hollyhocks right now!), sheep, pigs, livestock barn, greenhouses and something called a Squash Rocket.

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Michigan Field Trip: This Island Was Made for Bicycling

July 17, 2012 at 6:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

Summertime, and the livin' is easy. So you're thinking of a late season trip so long as there's blue water involved, hm? Believe it or not, Michigan's got beaches, blue water and budget-friendly destinations. This week we'll be looking at the ways and places in which you can chill out while diving into the state's Upper Peninsula.

Did you know: The entirety of Mackinac Island is both a National Park and a National Historic Landmark?

Did you know: Mackinac Island State Park was only the second National Park established, following Yellowstone?

Did you know: There are over 70 miles of paved and natural trails for biking on the island, and all trails are completely free of motor vehicles?

Stepping off the Shepler's Ferry, the very first thing to greet us on Mackinac Island was a sunburnt tourist man wobbling on his beach cruiser bike, shouting a warning: "first timer here, watch out!" We jumped back onto the sidewalk, but secretly our hopes for mankind were renewed; here is a place where Americans get up off their butts and get to pedaling, enjoying the outdoors. Sure, it's the only option other than hailing a slow-moving horse carriage, but still—progress.

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Michigan Field Trip: How to Make It to Mackinac Island

July 16, 2012 at 6:40 PM | by | Comments (0)


Inside the terminal at Pellston Regional Airport

Summertime, and the livin' is easy. So you're thinking of a late season trip so long as there's blue water involved, hm? Believe it or not, Michigan's got beaches, blue water and budget-friendly destinations. This week we'll be looking at the ways and places in which you can chill out while diving into the state's Upper Peninsula.

Google Map Mackinac Island. Do it right now. It's waaaay up there in Michigan, isn't it? And yet, it's a real island that's been insanely popular with vacationers for 125 years. There are no cars on the island nor is there a bridge to reach it, so how do the seasonnaires, the daytrippers and perhaps even you get on over there? Let's see...

By Air:
· Commercial flight. The nearest major airport for scheduled flights is Pellston Regional (PLN). The airport is super quaint with only two gates and an interior chock-full of flannel, stone fireplaces and taxidermied animals. Even the carpeting is hunter's plaid. Delta is the only airline with year-round flights, and only from Detroit, so you'll need to connect at DTW.

Don't miss heading up the carved wood stairs off Delta ticketing to reach the second level of the airport, with its observation windows and couches, plus a full restaurant and bar. FREE WIFI throughout PLN!

You'll still have to drive/call a cab from PLN to the ferry to Mackinac Island, as Pellston Regional Airport is on the mainland, but only a 20-minute drive to the dock.

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Wish You Were Here: The Grand Hotel on Michigan's Mackinac Island

July 13, 2012 at 10:01 AM | by | Comments (0)


This photo of the hotel and its Esther Williams pool is unedited. Yes, it really looks like this.

If we told you that the temperature is low 80s, the sun is high and the clouds are absent and the water is Bermuda-blue and clear, you probably wouldn't think that we're speaking of somewhere way way up near Michigan's border with Canada, huh? Well, we are and we give Mother Nature a gold star on this one. It's Mackinac Island, a vacation destination since the railroads constructed the imposing Grand Hotel in 1887 and started funneling genteel city folk up here for the summer season.

This year the hotel celebrates its 125th Anniversary—this weekend, actually—but what's being celebrated the most is the fact that it still exists, still is owned privately by a family and still made of wood. Consider that it was built in a remote location with basic handtools and underskilled laborers in only 93 days, with the intention of it not lasting nearly this long, and you can begin to understand the importance of it hitting the century-and-a-quarter mark.

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