In Grand Rapids, Benjamin and Tiffany toured the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and the gravesite of President Ford (the 38th President of the United States). After touring the museum, they walked across the Gillett Bridge over the Grand River to take in the views of downtown.
Next, they drove to Lansing and stopped to see the Michigan State Capitol and grounds. Then, in Monroe, they toured River Raisin National Battlefield Park, which was the site of the greatest defeat for the United States in the War of 1812.
At the end of October, we took a fall colors road trip through Michigan. Starting in the southwest corner of the state we drove to Holland State Park to see the Big Red Lighthouse. While at the park, we were able to watch a large group of people kitesurfing on Lake Michigan. We then drove north to Petoskey for the night.
The next day we attended mass at the National Shrine of the Cross in the Woods before driving to Mackinaw City to take a ferry to Mackinac Island. We spent most of the day walking around Mackinac Island and had a nice lunch at the famous Grand Hotel. After enjoying some fudge and purchasing souvenirs, we rode a return ferry across Lake Huron to Mackinaw City where we took in the views of the Mackinac Bridge at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. After driving across the Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula we stopped to see the Father Marquette National Memorial in St. Ignace before continuing north to the Canada border.
The next day we drove along the southern shore of Lake Superior on the Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway. The byway also follows the path of the North Country National Scenic Trail. This drive had the best fall colors of the entire trip. After a brief stop at the Point Iroquois Lighthouse, we followed the beautiful yellow, orange, and red colors north to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. We toured the museum and climbed to the top of the light station where we were able to enjoy the fall colors from above.
We viewed both the upper and lower falls at Tahquamenon Falls State Park. It was the perfect time to visit as there were not many other visitors and the fall colors were on full display. In the afternoon we drove south to Manistique and had lunch at the Big Boy restaurant, just like Ben had done 10 years before. It was raining the rest of the day, but we stopped to see the Breakwater Lighthouse in Manistique and the Sand Point Lighthouse in Escanaba. We finished the road trip by driving through part of the Hiawatha National Forest and then heading south along the northern shore of Green Bay.
Benjamin traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a family reunion. While there, he visited Tahquamenon Falls State Park, traveled across the border to Canada, and stayed in cabins along Lake Michigan at Driftwood Shores Resort. In Manistique he visited the Lakeview Park, Breakwater Lighthouse, and had a meal at the Big Boy restaurant.