Experiencing 'Pure Michigan'!

July 27th, 2026, I woke up at 6:30am, rethinking all my life decisions. Then, I remembered that I was going on vacation. I was super excited to travel after a long and productive summer. My parents and I left for the airport at 8 in the morning. However, the day had quite a few surprises in store. My family and I were traveling to Traverse City, and later in the week, we planned to visit St. Ignace and Mackinac Island. Our first flight was a connecting flight to Chicago. Our flight was delayed, and we weren’t leaving until 2 p.m. WI had overpriced airport pizza for lunch. Then, our flight was delayed once again, and all the passengers headed to Chicago were very upset. Later, we found out there was a storm in Chicago, and the airport traffic was chaotic. My parents made the executive decision to take a flight the next day. In total, my family was stranded at the airport for eight hours. After an exhausting day, we were craving for Indian food. As soon as we reached home, all of us went to sleep immediately. It was one of the most chaotic days of my summer. It was quite a start to our vacation. July 28th, it was my dad’s birthday. Today was supposed to be special for him; however, we spent the day at three airports once again. This time, our flight actually took off and was in the air. I enjoyed the first flight because the plane had movie screens, and I watched some movies. We arrived in Chicago and had Starbucks. Then it was time to board our short flight from Chicago to Traverse City. I took a nap after takeoff, and by the time I woke up, we had landed. After landing in Traverse City, it was 8 p.m. My family and I got into our rental car and had Mexican food for dinner. After a heavy meal, we all went to sleep following a long day of traveling.

July 29th, I woke up forgetting that I was on vacation. My parents and I went downstairs to have breakfast. Some hotels have amazing breakfast, while others do not. The hotel I was staying at was somewhere in the middle. My mom had a class to attend for an hour, which led my dad and me to explore the local beach right across from the hotel. The beach was beautiful. I noticed quite a few seagulls on the beach. After my dad and I returned from the beach, we all got ready to explore. We drove to Glen Arbor. Our first stop was, of course, for lunch. The restaurant we visited was called Cherry Republic. My favorite thing about the restaurant was the cool cherry-flavored foods they offered. I tried the cherry lemonade and cherry salsa with chips. I really enjoyed the flavors of both. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. My parents and I loved the sauces and salsa so much that we bought some to take home. To continue with the cherry theme, my parents and I also had cherry ice cream. After a heavy lunch, we drove to the sand dunes. On the way, we traveled along a scenic route that was quite beautiful, and I took many pictures. There was no internet in the woods, which made us feel a little lost, but my dad guided us to the dunes. The dunes were stunning—very beautiful—and the water was a clear blue. After experiencing the dunes, we drove to a nearby beach. It was rocky, but I swam in the water for 45 minutes! It felt amazing to swim for fun and not for training. I tried to learn how to skip rocks, but I could only manage to skip two. Then, we returned to Traverse City and had Indian food for dinner. I really enjoyed this the day! My parents and I were so tired that we went straight to sleep.

July 30th, I woke up feeling refreshed! After breakfast, we packed up and checked out of our hotel in Traverse City. We started driving toward St. Ignace for the rest of our trip. Our first stop was Elk Rapids. My dad and I shared an iced chocolate cherry chai—it was delicious. I wished we had something similar in Columbus. After spending some time in Elk Rapids, we drove to Petoskey. We had lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant, where we shared a Margherita pizza with falafel and hummus. The food wasn’t my favorite, but it filled my stomach, so I didn’t mind but we had the most beautiful view from where we were sitting. My mom was craving ice cream, so we went to Kilwins. We shared a small mango sorbet, which was delicious! Fun fact: Kilwins was founded in Michigan! Then, we drove to St. Ignace. As we approached, we passed beautiful trees and beaches. We crossed the Mackinac Bridge, which reminded me of the Ambassador Bridge I traveled on with my parents to Canada. We finally reached our hotel, which was right on the beach, with a balcony to watch the sunrise. After settling in, I found a pretty boardwalk around Lake Huron that my family and I enjoyed walking on. The waves and water sounded very peaceful. We browsed a local market but didn’t find anything we liked. Finally, we ate leftover Indian food in our hotel room. After an eventful day, we went to sleep.

July 31st, I woke up to the beautiful sunrise in St. Ignace. We went to breakfast, which was similar to the previous hotel, though I think this hotel’s food was better. Then we prepared for a day trip to Mackinac Island. We took a shuttle from our hotel to the ferry site. The ferry ride lasted about 16 minutes. As I disembarked, I knew this was a tourist-heavy place! I was also surprised by the size of the horses. Fun fact: there are no cars on Mackinac Island—the only transportation is by bike or horse. First, we took a two-hour tour of the island by horse. There were three stops, and the guides shared facts I wasn’t paying attention to. Our first stop was a butterfly garden. At first, I felt comfortable, but then the butterflies started flying closer to me—I’m not a big fan of bugs. One butterfly wouldn’t leave my leg, and I was super scared. I thought I was going to panic! Our final stop was Arch Rock, a natural arch along the beach. Afterward, we returned to downtown Mackinac Island for lunch and then had ice cream at Kilwins again. However, this time I couldn’t finish my ice cream, which was a bit disappointing. We explored some shops, bought a magnet, and visited a cute store called Pink Pony Club. It was very pink and aesthetic. I liked a bag there, which led me to buy five scrunchies for myself and my friends. Finally, we took the ferry back to St. Ignace. The ride was very windy, and I held on tightly to my belongings. Afterward, we relaxed at the hotel, ordered Mexican food for dinner, and went to bed early.

August 1st, I woke up to a cloudy morning, which blocked the usual sunrise. We ate breakfast, which was better than previous mornings. Then we packed up to explore the Upper Peninsula. A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by three bodies of water. The drive from St. Ignace took about two hours. The scenery was stunning, but there was no internet at all. First, we visited Wagner State Park, which was a short walk to see beautiful waterfalls. Next, we drove to another park, but it was closed due to being slippery from the rain. For lunch, we had leftover Mexican food. Instead of wasting the day, we hiked the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore trail. It was very beautiful but quite high up. Then we drove to Pictured Rocks Cruises, which offered a two-and-a-half-hour cruise. I regret wearing shorts that day because it was freezing on the boat. The rocks were breathtaking, but I couldn’t focus on anything but the cold. After the cruise, we enjoyed hot coffee, which felt amazing. Then we headed back to St. Ignace, where we had pizza and nachos for dinner. I’ve eaten so much pizza on this trip that I probably won’t have it again for at least a week! Later, we got ice cream at Molly Moo’s, and I finished my cone this time. While eating by the beach, we discovered there would be fireworks at 10 p.m. The fifteen-minute display was beautiful, and I loved watching it! After a long day, I fell asleep as soon as I got back to the hotel.

August 2nd, I woke up on my last day of the trip. We had to check out by 11 a.m., so we packed quickly and left the hotel. My mom wanted to visit the beach one last time, but I didn’t want to get sandy, so I stayed on the outside. Then we drove back to Elk Rapids for lunch at Masala Magic, an underrated Indian restaurant I highly recommend if you’re in the area. Afterward, we returned to Traverse City and visited the beach near our old hotel, enjoying the water and fresh air one last time. Soon, we headed to the airport, returned our rental car, and flew from Traverse City to Chicago. The flight was short and smooth. We had about a three-hour layover, which we spent relaxing at the United Lounge. I’m grateful for the lounge experience, though I’ve been to better lounges. Finally, we arrived in Columbus, Ohio, at 12 a.m. All I wanted to do was sleep!

I am very grateful for this trip, and I can’t wait to explore more with my parents! I already miss the beaches and cherry lemonade! This trip was a great way to transition back to school. Thanks for reading! I’m looking forward to another trip soon!