Fall Break Trip - Day 1 (Ann Arbor - Traverse - Mackinaw City)

After more than an exhausting month of studying, I finally got what I deserved – a break! For this break, I went for a short but fun two day-one night trip to Traverse City and Mackinaw Island. Five of us (Mike, Pohyi, Jinye, Kaikiat and I) were in this trip.

The journey started early in the morning. It was still 5.15 am when I dragged myself out of my bed. Mike rented a car earlier, and he drove us around most of the time during the trip, with me taking over only when he was tired. As promised, Pohyi fixed us some sandwiches for us to eat on the road. So, cheerfully, (fortunately not studiously, as no one study stats 426 in the car ) we headed to our first destination – Traverse City.

It was a four-and-a-half-hour drive before we reached Traverse City. The scenery on our way was picturesque, as it was fall and the leaves of the trees had all turned to an orangey color. Upon reaching Traverse City, we went to the visitor’s information center before going to a farmer’s market. There was a variety of goods in the farmer’s market: pumpkins, apples, walnuts, flowers, honey, meat, and so on. I had never known that visiting a market can be that fun. The reason of my appreciating this visit was probably because the market somehow reminded me of the pasar in Malaysia.

We proceeded to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes after that. It was a national park where one can see desert out of nowhere. We went for a “hiking trip” up the dubbed (by me, because can’t find another way to describe it) cliff of sands and another scenic drive in the area. The stop at the 9th and 10th station of the scenic drive was particularly memorable, as wind gusting from the lake mercilessly rained us with sands when we tried to go to the lakeside. However, the “ordeal” proved to be worthwhile as the view there was simply breathtaking.

We went for a late lunch at a nearby town. After that, we went to a winery before heading for Mackinaw City, where we would spend a night there (too bad that I was underage and could not taste the wine there). In Mackinaw City, we explored the town a bit at night and took some pictures of the famous Mackinaw Bridge that connects Michigan mainland to the upper peninsular. Wearing just two sweatshirts, I was almost frozen to death at the lakeside…Called it a day after having dipper (dinner + supper, a word “created” by Jinye) in KFC.