Alpena, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express and more

December 2024, week night, one night

View from king suite 407 in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan
Sitting area in king suite 407 below

Holiday Inn Express, king suite 407

I reserved a basic king guestroom in this hotel.  As a platinum member, we received an upgrade to a suite. Although we did not have a river view, the extra sitting area in the room was great. I also received the opportunity to pick a gift from the Christmas tree in the lobby, and received an extra 250 points. Some of the gifts were worth 5,000 points, so I guess I was not so lucky on that draw. 😁

King suite 407 in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan

This Holiday Inn Express still had Keurig coffee machines in the guestroom. They did not have a fresh brew machine in the lobby, like the location in East Lansing. The guestroom was spacious, comfortable, and very clean. The bathroom shower had glass doors, and a safe was provided in the entry closet.

Breakfast in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan

Petoskey, Michigan: Stafford's Perry Hotel, downtown, shopping, winery, brewery

March 2024, weekday, one night

We had a wonderful stay in Stafford's Perry Hotel in 2021, so we decided to book the spring getaway package for this stay. The weeknight Classic King room rate of $159 included: a $25 breakfast voucher, $40 in Noggin Bucks, and $50 in downtown shopping dollars. We thought this was a fabulous rate!

Views from guestroom 426 in Stafford's Perry Hotel

Stafford's Perry Hotel classic king guestroom #426

This guestroom is located on the top floor in the northwest corner of the hotel. We had a partial view of downtown and of the bay. Although it was not as spacious as the bay view guestroom we had in 2021, and it did not have a balcony, this was still a great room. It was clean, and we appreciated the views. 

Guestroom 426 in Stafford's Perry Hotel in Petoskey, Michigan

The comfortable bed was topped with good quality sheets and pillows. The room was well soundproofed, and the sleep quality was excellent.

Guestroom diagram on back of door in guestroom 426 in Stafford's Perry Hotel
Below: entrance to library across the hall from guestroom 426

Holland, Michigan: Marriott Courtyard, hiking, downtown

February 2024, weekday, one-night

View from guestroom 509 in Holland Marriott Courtyard
Above: sunset           Below: sunrise

Double queen guestroom 509 in Marriott Courtyard

Using points, I reserved a two queen bed guestroom with a balcony. We did not need two beds; however, a king bed guestroom with a balcony was not available. I was glad that we were able to reserve a balcony guestroom using points.

Guestroom 509 in Holland Marriott Courtyard

This guestroom is on the top floor, and overlooks downtown. It was clean, comfortable, quiet, and spacious. Refreshment amenities in the guestroom included a Keurig coffeemaker with supplies, ice bucket, and small fridge.

Guestroom 509 in Holland Marriott Courtyard

Traverse City, Michigan: State Park, Bicycle Trail, Dining, Breweries, Wineries

 September 2021, Weekdays-weekend, 4-nights

Sunset from campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park

I have many other posts for the Traverse City area in this blog, and you can find more info by using the search feature at the top of this page, or by clicking on one of the labels at the end of this post. This is a brief post to share new info and photos from this visit.

Campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park
Bottom photo taken from walkway to overpass

Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park, campsite 100

We chose this campsite because we had noticed how large it is during one of our previous stays at the campground. It is a large site; however, it is also very noisy. Actually, all of the campsites in this park are noisy, although this one seemed even more so. We previously stayed on campsite 467, which is also on the road, and the noise did not seem as loud there as it did from site 100. Possibly, this is because site 100 is next to the road overpass and is a bit more open than the other sites along the road. If you have never stayed in this state park, be aware that it is a town-type park, and not a quiet woodsy-type park. We only stay in this park when we want to visit Traverse City, rather than engage in other activities like hiking.

Campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park

Before this stay, I had not noticed how skewed the campsite lines are in this park. If the people on site 99 next to us had sat on the west side of their fire pit, they would have been sitting on our site according to the lines. This did not matter, as we were not using the area behind our trailer anyway; it was all trees. Additionally, our line on the west side was straight out from our fire pit. It did not seem like the site lines were actually adhered to. We parked one of our vehicles in the area just outside our line closer to the walkway, and no one asked us to move. We noticed similar parking and lines through fire pits in other areas of the park, as well.

West bathroom in Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park

The bathrooms in the west end of the park had been recently rebuilt. I loved the way they had been built with a maze type entrance, rather than doors. It was sad to see that the new restrooms were not being taken care of. The floors were covered with stains and sticky dirt residue that was never cleaned during our stay. In fact, it looked like the floors had not been washed since the restrooms had been built less than a year ago.

Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park
Campsite 56 above, campsite 458 below

Several concrete pads had been added to sites during the park remodel, and we are planning to choose one of those sites next time we visit. Some of these sites are 30 amp, and some are 50 amp. I have uploaded a couple of photos above.

Duncan L Clinch Park and marina downtown Traverse City

Bicycle trail, downtown, dining, breweries, wineries

The bicycle trail is located right behind the park, and is accessible between campsites 46 and 47. There have been several new additions to the trail, and construction was still happening in some areas at the time of our visit.

TART trail along 8th Street above
Boardman Lake Trail from Right Brain Brewery below

Northern Michigan Breweries and Activities

February 2021, Weekdays and Weekend

We try to go out on less busy days, so most of the following visits were on weekdays. Our Saturday visits were earlier in the day when places are usually less busy (with the exception of Walloon Lake at the bottom of this post).

Grayling, Michigan

We visited three breweries in Grayling: Paddle Hard Brewing, Rolling Oak Brewing Company, and Dead Bear Brewing. All of these locations are within walking distance of the Bed & Breakfast where we were staying, although I would not recommend walking to Dead Bear Brewing after dark in the snow. That location is on a busier stretch of road, whereas, the other two are in the downtown area.

Rolling Oak Brewing Co

This was our first visit to Rolling Oak Brewing Company, which also happened to be our favorite of these three locations. We learned about this brewery because they are in the Hop Passport. We liked all of their beers, and if we had known they were having discounted growler fills ($12), we probably would have stopped in the car to fill ours. They have inside and outside seating. We got the last table inside, we thought, until we went to the bathroom. The bathrooms are located down a couple of steps near the entrance. There is a fireplace and a couple of tables in this area before the restrooms. 

I got the flight sampler at Dead Bear Brewing, which is a great value with the BrewVine Passport. I liked most of their beers when I got this a few years ago; however, this time I did not like any of them. They were out of their IPA, which is probably the one I would have liked best. Their bar seating area is spacious and comfortable.

Keg urinals at Paddle Hard Brewing

Boyne City and Petoskey, Michigan: Water Street Inn, Hiking, Passport Visits

October - November 2020, 2-nights, weekend

We originally had a reservation at Water Street Inn for April of this year that cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, we had planned to bring our bicycles, and were going to bike the trail from Charlevoix to Petoskey. After that trip cancelled, we rescheduled for the end of October. Part of the trail we had planned to bike had washed out from high water levels this year, and it was cooler in October, so we decided we would hike instead. We were glad we changed our plans, because it was snowing and cold when we left Sunday morning!

Deadman's Hill Overlook

Hiking/nature

We stopped at Deadman's Hill overlook on the way to Boyne City. I cannot even imagine how amazing this view is near the middle of October. It was still beautiful at the end of October, even though it was an overcast day and the leaves had already started to turn brown. The second overlook parking area is about two miles off US-131 at the end of Deadman's Hill Road. The first half of this road is paved.

Deadman's Hill Overlook
Jordan River in the distance on the left

We did not hike much at this location, as it was late in the day, and we wanted to get settled into our condo before dark. Jordan River, which we had kayaked near Mancelona and East Jordan this past summer, is barley visible in the photo above.

The Hill Nature Preserve
Lake Charlevoix in the distance

In the Boyne City area, we hiked The Hill Nature Preserve just outside of town off Charlevoix Road. This was an easy and beautiful hike, although the view was not as good as I had expected.

Avalanche Preserve viewing platform

Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan: Suttons Bay, Traverse City, Marion/Power/Bassett Island, Northport

August 2020, 8 nights 

I have previously written several posts about all of these areas with information, so this post will not have as much detail. You can click on the labels at the end of this post for areas you are interested in for more details.

Sunset from our slip at Suttons Bay facing west and east (below)

Marinas: Suttons Bay, Duncan L. Clinch (Traverse City), G. Marsten Dame (Northport)

We stayed at Suttons Bay marina for four of our eight nights, as this is our favorite marina. Great staff, great rates, well maintained, and nice beach/park next door. The rate was $2 higher per night than previous years, which is still reasonable. COVID-19 protocols were in place, and we did not encounter any issues. 

Sunset in Traverse City from our boat slip on the walkway
at Duncan L. Clinch Marina

Northern Michigan recreation and breweries: Benzie, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau County

June 2020, weekdays and weekend

Following are some of the places we visited during our 6-night stay at Indigo Bluffs RV Park and Resort in Empire, Michigan.

Recreation: biking, hiking

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is one of the closest trail heads to Indigo Bluffs RV Resort, so we loaded our bikes in the truck, and drove there to park in the national park parking lot. This is just over five miles from camp. The national park entrance fee was being waived due to COVID-19, and I am not sure if there is a place we could have parked for no charge, if this had not been the case. 

View from Glen Haven Historic Village along Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail

We then bicycled Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail to S. Forest Haven Drive in Glen Arbor and back, which was about a 13-mile ride. The trail runs along the dunes, lakeshore, and through DH Day Campground. The route is beautiful, and extremely hilly. There are several nice stopping points along the way. Before we left, I had thought we would be able to bike to Alligator Hill Trail; however, there is no shoulder along Stocking Road where the bike trail crosses at M-109, so we chose not to bike down the road. Back at the national park, there are several hiking trails from the parking lot at Pierce Stocking Drive that travel through the woods, and out to lake Michigan. It is a bit of a hike with a fabulous view. 

Alligator Hill Trail

We drove to Alligator Hill Trail, and hiked that a different day. The location is just over six miles from Indigo Buffs RV Resort. This was another hilly climb with a beautiful view! 

Islands Lookout at Alligator Hill

Scarlet Tanager at the start of Alligator Hill Trail

Traverse City, Michigan: Visiting on a Budget!

January 2020, Weekday-weekend

Traverse City is not always an expensive place to visit, if you pick an off-peak date and watch for deals. We made most of our choices this trip based on discounts we found from places such as, the Visitors Center, WHATSUP, and the Michigan Brewvine Passport that we had purchased before our trip. The passport cost is $31 with tax and shipping, and there is often a passport BOGO purchase special around the holidays. The AAA rate at Hotel Indigo where we stayed, was less than $150 before taxes.

Pulled pork sandwich from Dickey's BBQ Pit in Traverse City

Dining

We had lunch one day at Dickey's Barbecue Pit because we had a coupon for BOGO pulled pork sandwich. We got the no-cost coupon from the local deals section on the AARP rewards site, and you do not need to be a member to join this site. This was probably not one of our better dining choices in Traverse City, although it was acceptable and inexpensive.

Breakfast at Green House Cafe in Traverse City

We were very pleased with our accidental breakfast choice at Green House Cafe. We had planned to have breakfast at Blue Heron with a coupon from the Visitor Center; however, this restaurant has closed. None of the restaurants we passed in town as we walked by looking for another breakfast place had menus posted, and we chose Green House Cafe totally by chance. We had been hoping to find a place that would not cost $10+ per person, and as luck would have it, Green House Cafe fit the bill! The food was delicious, and the cost for both meals was less than $10 total before tip.

Wolverine Flatbread at The Filling Station

We enjoyed a beer and a half-priced flatbread at The Filling Station--the discount came from the Michigan Brewvine Passport. The beer, service, and food were all excellent!

Beverages: breweries, wineries, distilleries, Happy Hour...

On Mission Peninsula, we visited Peninsula Cellars, Chateau Grand Traverse Winery, Bowers Harbor, and Jolly Pumpkin. The Brewvine Passport contains coupons for all of these locations. There was no charge for the tastings at any of the wineries we visited, and the Jolly Pumpkin coupons we used were for half off.

Jolly Pumpkin in Traverse City; Brewvine Passports on counter

Benzie County, Michigan: Betsie River Campground, Betsie Valley Trailway, Betsie River, dining, and more

September 2019, Weekend, 2-nights, Campsite 57

Water conditions in Frankfort the weekend of our stay.

Bestie River Campground reservations and check-in

We had hoped to take our boat to Frankfort and stay at Harbor Lights Resort Marina (details in one of my previous Frankfort posts); however, the boating forecast was not good, so we decided to camp instead. Just a couple of days before the weekend, we called, and were able to reserve the last available pull-through campsite at this park to accommodate our 5th wheel. The owner said that the sites along the perimeter against the woods are not large enough for us. I thought the cost was a tad steep; $37 a night for 30 amp with water hookup, and $35 for 20 amp with water. Friends of ours stayed here a couple of years ago, and told us the breaker kept blowing on their 30 amp site. We did not have that problem, although the campground website says the following for 20 amp sites: If ya try to run a toaster, hair dryer, coffee pot and microwave all at the same time while eating pop tarts and watching satelite TV...well ur gonna watch us flip breaker switches. If you can camp without all of the bells and whistles goin' at the same time you will be fine.

We paid one night's deposit when making the reservation, and the balance at check-in. We were allowed to check-in early, as there was no one on our campsite from the night before.

Campsite 57 at Betsie River Campground.

Betsie River Campground site 57

The pull through sites in this campground are set up to face each other (with alternating connection locations), and the fire rings can be placed wherever you want. There were at least six fire burn spots on our site. The alternating hookups are great, if you are camping with others; however, we had hoped for more privacy, since we were camping alone for the first time in several weeks.

Another view of campsite 57 at Betsie River Campground.

Northern Michigan Road Trip ~ Breweries, Wineries, Dining, Casino

January - February 2019, Weekday and weekend visits

Winter in Michigan!
Location: Charlevoix county.

We had a Michigan Brewvine Passport with several unused discounts, which had some bearing on the places we chose to visit this trip.

Four Leaf Brewing Sampler

Clare, Michigan: Four Leaf Brewing

This was our first visit to Four Leaf Brewing, and we only learned about the brewery because of their participation in Michigan Brewvine Passport. We liked all their discounts, and chose to use the coupon for 50% off a flight with our order. My personal favorite was Tiramisu Stout. The service was excellent, and we hope to visit again soon. Pere Marquette Rail Trail runs very close behind this brewery, on the west side of Pine Street.

View behind bar at Dead Bear; photo taken during 2016 visit

Grayling, Michigan: Dead Bear Brewing Co.   

We have previously enjoyed good food and brews at Dead Bear Brewing Co., although our experience was a tad disappointing this time. We split the Rueben appetizer, which we had had before, and really liked. The appetizer had been more like an egg roll last time, and this time it was greasier. You can see a photo of this appetizer in my 2015 Grayling post. Initially, we had planned to just split a pint at Dead Bear with their $2 off coupon, and then dine at Paddle Hard Brewing; however, the morning of our departure, we learned Paddle Hard Brewing would be closed.

Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery

Petoskey, Michigan: Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery, Odawa Casino 

Mackinaw Trail is one of our favorite places to visit in Petoskey! We enjoy visiting their locations in Mackinaw City and Manistique, as well. We love their brews and wines, along with the service and atmosphere. We used their discounted tasting coupon from the Michigan Brewvine Passport, and could not leave without making at least one purchase. My husband and I both liked Hop-toskey IPA and the Imperial Stout best--both delicious!