Today we’re going to talk about one of the Butterscotch Sundae family’s favorite vacation destinations: Mid-Michigan.
OK, so Michigan might not be the first location that springs to mind when you think Summer Vacation. But I spent every summer of my first 15 years there and at least a week of the last 15 summers there,[ref]What about the five years in the middle? I was working at jobs that didn’t come with a summer vacation. Otherwise, I’d have been there![/ref] and you can go ahead and trust me when I tell you this: Michigan is a top-notch place to spend your summer vacation.
(A lot of Michiganders would agree with me, I think, although they’d probably tell you to go Up North when you visit. That’s the lovely, lake-filled, adventuring part of the state. It’s also the part I’ve spent the least amount of time in, so I’ll leave it to someone else to tell you what you ought to do up there.)
You probably won’t be able to get a reservation for my favorite Mid-Michigan “resort” — my dad’s house, home of the Greatest Backyard in the History of Backyards — but you can visit some of our “Middle of the Mitten” favorites.
The Henry Ford
As you may have surmised, The Henry Ford museum is heavy on transportation-related displays. The museum explores how the automobile has shaped America, from the way we work to the way we eat to the way we sleep. The museum also has a lot of items from American history, such as George Washington’s camp bed, George Washington Carver’s microscope and — of special interest for aficionados of the macabre — both the chair in which Abraham Lincoln was sitting and the car in which John F. Kennedy was riding when they were assassinated.
Other points of interest at the Henry Ford:
The Henry Ford Museum
Cost: $18 for adults, $13.50 for kids and $16 for seniors.
Address: 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI
The Rouge Factory
Henry Ford wanted the Rouge to be an “ore-to-assembly” complex that was entirely self-sufficient. That didn’t quite come to fruition, but it’s still an impressive factory. The Rouge first produced farm tractors; now it’s where they make Ford F-150s.
The first part of the tour includes a couple of short movies about the history of the plant and the company. I expected to see a lot of Henry Ford hero worship, but they didn’t gloss over the less savory aspects of Ford and his company. It was a pretty balanced presentation.
After the movies, visitors can wander around on walkways suspended above the factory floor. While it felt a little weird watching people work, it was really cool to see how huge and intricate the assembly line actually is.
The Ford Rouge Factory Tour
Cost: $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and $11 for kids
Address: 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI
Great Lakes Loons
Our family loves to go to baseball games. We’ve never gone to a major-league game, though, because they’re too expensive. The minor leagues are where it’s at.
I’ve been to a number of minor league baseball games, and Dow Diamond is definitely the fanciest minor league park I’ve seen. It’s the home of the Great Lakes Loons, and it features a playground, a lovely lawn seating area and pretty good food at decent prices. And it was $1 hotdog night and there were fireworks and Rockford caught a foul ball when we were there! That’s tough to beat.
The Great Lakes Loons
Cost: $6.50 for lawn seats; $9.50 for reserved seating
Address: 825 East Main Street, Midland, MI
Junction Valley Railroad
Junction Valley Railroad is the largest quarter-size railroad in the world, featuring 75 different types of cars and more than 865 feet of trestle and bridges. We took the kids there a few years ago, when Pete was 4 and Poppy was 6. They were both thrilled to ride the little train, which lets visitors off at a small playground where the kids can run off some steam before riding back to the station. There’s also a nice hobby shop at Junction Valley, where grandfathers may, hypothetically, be tempted to buy a model train for their grandchildren.
Junction Valley Railroad
Cost: $7 for adults, $6 for kids and $6.75 for seniors.
Address: 7065 Dixie Highway, Bridgeport, MI
Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square
We went to the Saginaw Children’s Zoo a lot when I was a kid, and it was the site of one of the greatest self-inflicted terrors of my young life. The reptile house was in a boat in the middle of a little pond, and you had to cross a bridge to get to it. I was deathly afraid of snakes, but for some reason I forced myself across that bridge and into the snake boat every time we went. Then I would scamper back across to the safety of the mainland, where I’d reward my bravery with a visit to the prairie dogs.
(I’m sure you’re not surprised to learn that I was an odd kid.)
The snake boat is no longer there, but the prairie dogs are, and they’re just as cute as they were back then. The zoo also still has a great carousel, a petting zoo and a bunch of free-range peacocks that love to have their pictures taken.
Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square
Cost: $5 from March 29 through April 30; $7 from May 1 through October 11.
Address: 1730 S Washington Ave, Saginaw, MI