During the summer of 2014, we created a driving trip to Chicago, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan about two weeks before the trip. Why a driving trip and why those states?

Let me back up. We had flown for the Boston/Maine trip and the Seattle/Vancouver trip, but had driven for the Washington DC/Shenandoah NP trip. The cost differential between flying and driving was significant enough that we wanted to drive somewhere again. But where should we go? I looked at our map of the US and drew a circle around places within 12 hours from home. Chicago was one of the cities that had popped up.

Since I was missing Wisconsin and Michigan from my visited states list, I wanted to incorporate those as well. A brochure I ordered from Wisconsin highlighted beautiful lighthouses in Door County. From there, we realized we weren’t far from the Upper Peninsula and could swing around and see Mackinac Island. (more…)