1 Week in Michigan

J is from Michigan and wanted to show me his old digs so he planned a weeklong trip to Michigan for us to enjoy. Our vacation kicked off with several flight delays that resulted in us missing our connecting flight and some misplaced luggage, but we regrouped and ended up driving to the UP from Chicago and J's checked luggage eventually made its way to us up in Hancock.

It was a lot of travel time, which was pretty tiring, but we still had so much fun.

We stopped at a little diner-y spot in Kenosha, WI, called Mad Rooster Cafe, for brunch to fuel up for the six-hour drive. The midwest is very, very flat and driving really drains you even more because there isn't much to look at. Luckily, I love J's company so we chatted the entire way.

Once we finally arrived in Houghton, we dropped our stuff off at our Airbnb. Then, we had to go retrieve J's lost bag from the Hancock airport. We ended up eating some pizza at Ambassador and then grabbed a pint at KBC before turning in for the night.

The next morning, we got up and headed into town to admire the waterfront and then grab breakfast.

We went to Suomi where I had a delicious blueberry pancake and a side of spicy chicken with biscuits and gravy. J had the pannukakku (Finnish pancake) with his requisite eggs and bacon.

After we ate, it was time for some sightseeing. We visited Quincy Dredge #2, Hungarian Falls, and Gay Sands.

We got eaten alive by mosquitos in Gay, so we decided to head back to civilization and ended up in Calumet, where we went to an antique shop and then met up with J's friends from university. We went to Shute's and had a couple of pints.

For dinner and evening festivities, we ended up at J's friend's cabin where we enjoyed ribs and a nice fire. The boys ended up in the wood-fired sauna before we headed back to our Airbnb.

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at Victoria's Kitchen and then walked around the Michigan Tech campus (where J went to school). Afterwards, we went to visit Redridge Dam and then ended up back on campus to visit the Mineral Museum.

Then, we met up with J's friends again to do a boat tour on the Portage. The tour was booked through Copper Country Boat Tours and we made our way around on the Dragonfly. Then we grabbed some dinner at the Copper Range Depot before heading "home."

The next morning, we checked out of the Airbnb and then grabbed a pasty, a sandwich, and pastries from Roy's to eat by the water. We were able to check in early to the Vault Hotel.

Then, we were out on our adventures again. We passed by the snow gauge on our way to Copper Harbor.

We stopped by Great Sand Bay so J could bathe in Lake Superior.

Then, we went to the top of Brockway Mountain to enjoy the views.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by Brickside Brewery for a snack and a pint.

Back at the hotel, we visited their guests/members only speakeasy downstairs, called the Counting Room, where Sam, the bartender, mixed us some delicious libations. We ended up getting a late night dinner at The Library.

The next morning, which was the 4th of July, we got breakfast at Armando's (highly recommend the ghost pepper cheese curds) and then drove to the Jam Pot to get some pastries and, of course, jams.

Then, we went on a hike at Bare Bluff. We only went out to the bluffs where we could get some lovely views before we hiked back to where we parked the car so we could meet up with J's friends for dinner.

Dinner was at the Fitz. I loved my entree (which I devoured without documenting because they'd accidentally added peanuts, which I'm allergic to, and they had to remake it). It was a buttery garlicky udon noodle with brisket and mushroom.

Then, we went back to the Counting Room for drinks. It was our last night in the hotel and we wanted to take advantage.

I had been super lazy up until this point and hadn't worked out at all (even though I had planned on it) so on our final morning in the UP, I went for a jog along the waterfront trail.

Then, we hit the road again to head down state. We stopped at Lake Michigan to have a snack and listened to some special song that J says is tradition when you're crossing the Mackinac Bridge (because the song is about the bridge? Just play along).

We stayed in Frankenmuth for a few days, with J's sister, so we could spend some time with his family. For dinner, we went to Station 100, a v. unassuming eatery with delicious food.

The next day, J and I worked remotely and didn't do much of anything. For dinner, we went to Prost. We shared a charcuterie board and then J got the lasagna and I had a flatbread.

The next morning, I went for a run (the day before, I couldn't due to rain) and loved all of the quaint charm of this Bavarian-themed town.

We both worked a half day and then hit the road to head to Detroit. Before heading to the hotel, we stopped at John K. King Books

I picked up a random true crime book and a gardening guide and then we headed to the hotel. We stayed at the Shinola, which was super lovely.

We rested for a bit and then wandered around the downtown area and along the waterfront.

For an aperitivo, we went to a speakeasy called Shelby. You head downstairs to the coffee shop and then ask for Shelby and they escort you in. 

After drinks, we went to Albena for dinner, where we had one of the most memorable meals of my existence. It's an intimate, open concept kitchen eatery with only eight seats. That night though, we were the only diners. It was awesome getting to speak to the chef and the food was spectacular.

We started with a cracker with baby zucchini, gazpacho, a Swedish-style salad, walleye, Korean fried quail, smoked boar rib, and then ended with two desserts: maple and feta ice cream with accoutrements and a tomato and stone fruit pastry. The chef avoids using refined sugars (instead opting for honey and maple syrup) and they used some cool machine thing to make the ice cream fresh for our meal.

I loved all of the dishware and the wine glasses (because of course we got the wine pairing).

Our final bite was a corn cake with blueberry buttercream and cornflowers. We were so full afterwards, but super content.

The next day, we started off at Eastern Market. We walked around, doing a little window shopping, and then ended up getting lunch at a Shawarma booth and oxtail stew. It was so delicious.

It was starting to rain pretty hard so we opted for an indoor activity: the Detroit Institute of Art.

For dinner, we went to Marrow with J's friends. We had tartare, cheese, and their namesake, marrow, for appetizers. We also shared the maitake mushroom dumplings and truffled paccheri. For our mains, we shared the pork and lamb (which I forgot to document) and the beef.

For dessert, we had the baklava donuts. I didn't think they much reminded me of baklava; I thought they were more like churros. But regardless, they were nice.

Then, it was off to three different bars for after dinner drinks. We went to Time Will Tell, the Upright, and the bar in Shinola, Evening Bar.

For our last day, we had a battle of coney dogs (between American and Lafayette; Lafayette won) before heading to Belle Isle for some fresh air.

After that, it was off to fill up the rental car with gas before dropping it off and then getting on a plane to go home. We almost didn't make it (the pilot made us go back to the gate due to lightning in Newark but then immediately said they'd got us a new flight path) and though I was momentarily terrified that we would have a repeat of our journey out, we eventually did get home. It was such a nice trip and it made me happy to see J so happy back in his old stomping grounds.

Here's my video diary: