7 Days/6 Nights

Around Lake Michigan

Bustling cities and quiet harbor towns…lively ethnic enclaves and lovely wooded islands…fruit orchards, flower gardens and forest trails…an ever-changing adventure awaits you on our exciting journey around Lake Michigan. Join us this year in the heart of America for beautiful scenery, friendly faces, fascinating history and more!

Tour Highlights

• Dine in the world-renowned Walnut Room—one of Chicago's oldest and most famous restaurants.
• Visit the Reiman Publications Visitor Center, Taste of Home Outlet Store, and fun gift shops in historic Greendale, Wisconsin.
• Stop at orchards, farms and forests and meet those who produce blueberries, apples, cherries, milk and even trees!
• Add to your Mackinac Island experience an optional overnight experience at the famed Grand Hotel.

Itinerary

Day 1—Milwaukee: Our adventure begins in the Great Lakes city of Milwaukee. At our evening get-together you’ll relax and get to know your new traveling friends. Welcome Reception included.

Day 2—Chicago/Stevensville: We’ll start the day learning about the past and present of Wisconsin’s southeastern counties as we make our way into the Windy City itself. We’ll see Wrigley Field and beautiful Lake Shore Drive and then take a ride up to the 94th floor of The Hancock Observatory for breathtaking lake and city views.

Board a cruise boat for an unforgettable view of downtown Chicago. Our home tonight is Stevensville, Michigan. Meals included: B, L.

Day 3—Holland/Traverse City: This morning we’ll sample delicious Michigan blueberries at De Grandchamp Market and visit this friendly fruit grower.

Next stop is the town of Saugatuck, situated on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, where we’ll get in a jeep for an entertaining dune ride in the spectacular wooded dunes along Lake Michigan's blue waters. After all that fresh air, you’ll be famished for the delectable lunch we will have prepared for you in a dockside restaurant overlooking beautiful Muskegon Lake. We’ll also visit Manistee to marvel at the craftsmanship of a church’s Tiffany stained-glass windows. Our day ends in Traverse City. Meals included: B, L.

Day 4—Charlevoix/Mackinac Island: We’ll pass picturesque harbors on our way to Charlevoix. You’ll love this town’s unique stone homes!

At Mackinaw City we’ll board a ferry to the charming Victorian village of Mackinac Island. There, horse-drawn taxis will take us to the gorgeous Grand Hotel for an elegantly served, sumptuous meal. You’ll dine at an unforgettable buffet served in the elegant Main Dining Room—with a lush assortment of seafood, hot entrees, cheeses, salads and more than 20 desserts.

We’ll also enjoy a tour of this fabulous hotel. The Grand Hotel’s most memorable architectural feature is its seemingly endless colonnaded front porch. Reputed to be the longest porch in the world, it stretches the entire length of the hotel’s elegant facade. Finish the afternoon off with a relaxing carriage tour of this nostalgic island. Meals included: B, L.

Day 5—Upper Michigan/Green Bay: Today we cross the “Mighty Mac”—an amazing 5-mile suspension bridge—to Upper Michigan. Since this is lumber country, a local guide will amuse you with events from the past and present about logging, which has been big business for over 100 years in the Upper Peninsula. We’ll learn about growing and harvesting trees, and you’ll tour a beautiful log home.

In Gladstone, friendly church folks will fix us a tasty lunch and afterwards we'll explore the restored Sand Point Lighthouse, which served mariners continuously from 1868 until 1939. Our home for the night is Green Bay, Wisconsin. Meals included: B, L.

Day 6—Door County/Manitowoc: Entering scenic Door County, one of the top ten vacation destinations in North America, we’ll stop and visit with Dale and Kristen Seaquist in Sister Bay. They will give us a tour of their orchards and markets. Lunch is a traditional Door County “fish boil” just for you. It features Lake Michigan Whitefish, a fish native to the waters of Door County. You won’t believe how it is prepared!

Further down the road we’ll meet Jim and Carole Anhalt, who will show us around their century-old dairy farm. Tonight we’ll stay in Manitowoc. Meals included: B, L.

Day 7—Manitowoc/Milwaukee: We’ll discover Lake Michigan’s intriguing past and present at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. Then we’ll head to Milwaukee to drive past the famous “winged” art museum—it amazes everyone who lays eyes on it! Afterwards we’ll visit one of the city’s ethnic neighborhoods for a scrumptious farewell lunch.

Last stop—Greendale, home of the Reiman Publications Visitor Center. You’ll learn the company’s fascinating history, browse for bargains in the Taste of Home Outlet and stroll the shops on Greendale’s historic main street.

Then it’s back to our beginning hotel—and fond farewells from all your traveling friends. Meals included: B, L.

Accommodations

• Day 1: Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, Milwaukee
• Day 2: Comfort Suites, Stevensville, Michigan
• Day 3: Days Inn & Suites, Traverse City, Michigan
• Day 4: Baymont Inn, Mackinaw City, Michigan or Optional Overnight Package at the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan
• Day 5: Holiday Inn & Suites, Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Day 6: Holiday Inn, Manitowoc, Wisconsin