Day 1: Friday, October 3, 2025
Travel to Toledo Ohio for our overnight stay at the Courtyard by Marriott. Dinner enroute on own.
Day 2: Saturday, October 4, 2025
Breakfast at the hotel, check out and depart for Frankenmuth, Michigan.
Arrive Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland. Nowhere is Christmas displayed with such exuberance! Christmas Lane, Bronner’s own thoroughfare is ½ mile long and is illuminated with over 100,000 Christmas lights. Inside and out, Christmas lights abound. Bronner’s electric bill averages $1250 per day. Take time to visit the Silent Night Chapel, listen to the gentle sounds of the carol in a picturesque setting.
Depart for an overnight at Thunder Bay Resort, with all the beauty of a Northern Michigan experience.
This evening step back in time as you board a horse drawn carriage that takes you over the Thunder Bay River and into the woods at Thunder Bay Resort to see the magnificent elk and the beautiful Elk Antler Log Cabin deep in the woods with a blazing fire in a massive split stone fireplace. Warm yourself by the fire and savor the delicious aromas put forth by the twin antique wood cook stoves as staff prepares your gourmet meal. Throughout your dinner, sample wines from nearby wineries.
Day 3: Sunday, October 5, 2025
Enjoy Breakfast at the resort before departing for Mackinaw City, Michigan. Meet our guide for a fascinating ride across the Mighty Mac. Hear the dramatic tales of the brave iron workers who built this massive structure. He will provide, in many cases, eyewitness accounts of local history.
Next, we will board the ferry to Mackinac Island and as you step upon the island you will feel like you have stepped back in time. Horse drawn taxi will transport you to the Grand Hotel – For 135 years, the Grand Hotel has overlooked the Straits of Mackinac, a national historic landmark. Now go behind the scenes at this idyllic resort with author Mike Fornes. Travel back to the past as Mike reveals its iconic history and today’s world of Mackinac Island finery. Expect the unusual with behind-the-scenes stories!
Experience the Grand Luncheon Buffet in the main dining room.
After lunch, board a carriage for a tour of the island. For anyone who has seen the movie “Somewhere in Time” there will be moments of déjà vu during the tour of this picturesque island. The tour concludes with your choice of either, the Bicycle Street Inn and/or The Grand Hotel, for a 2-night stay.
Evening activities at the Grand Hotel are available to everyone with no cover charge. Jacket and tie are required for men and appropriate dress (no jeans or shorts) for women. Dinner on your own!
Day 4: Monday, October 6, 2025
Breakfast is included this morning at your hotel. The day is free to explore the Island and choose between its many options. In addition to enjoying the many shops on Main Street, some choices are:
- Visit Fort Mackinac.
- Visit Wings of Mackinac Butterfly Conservatory.
- Since no cars are allowed on Mackinac Island, one of the most scenic ways to take in the natural beauty is by bicycle. It’s a leisurely 8.2-mile ride that takes 60 to 90 minutes.
- Visit the Richard & Jane Manoogian Art Museum.
- Visit the Grand Hotel Stable and Carriage Museum, is free of charge and open to all Mackinac Island visitors, a great way to see the horses up close and antique carriages and sleighs on display.
- Visit the Biddle House. It features the Mackinac Island Native American Museum.
- Visit the Historic Benjamin Blacksmith Shop.
- Visit the Historic American Fur Company Store, which sold a variety of general merchandise.
- Tour Mackinac Island via horseback. Beginners and novices alike will enjoy the ride!
- Play Golf. There are 15,000 golf courses in the United States, yet only one involves a mile-and-a-half, horse-drawn carriage ride between nines.
These are just a few of the many activities available on the island. For more information about these and other things to do on the island visit: https://www.mackinacisland.org/
Day 5: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Breakfast is included this morning at your hotel. Then everyone will meet at the ferry dock to depart for Mackinaw City to board our coach for the Music House Museum, in Williamsburg, Michigan, a unique and enchanting journey through the history of automated musical instruments. Your tour brings some of these instruments to life with demonstrations playing music as they once did.
Depart for lunch on own downtown. Be sure to visit the Cherry Republic. They celebrate all things cherry, a nod to the region’s status as one of the world’s top cherry producers, sample a variety of cherry delights in the store’s tasting room, enjoy cherry-infused dishes in the café, or browse unique gifts and souvenirs.
After lunch depart with your guide for a tour of the Traverse City area – Learn about its fascinating history and the vibrant community that thrives here today. Next, venture to the stunning Old Mission Peninsula, where rolling hills meet sparkling waters. As we drive along the scenic roads, enjoy breathtaking views of the bay and vineyards that define this region. The first stop on the peninsula will be the Old Mission Lighthouse, a historic beacon with panoramic views of Lake Michigan. Capture the perfect photo and soak in the tranquil atmosphere.
Check in at Sleep Inn & Suites Bay View in Traverse City, followed by dinner included.
DAY 6: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
After breakfast, check out and depart for Sleeping Bear Dunes in Empire, Michigan and meet your guide at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center. World-class vistas will give you a view of Michigan that is simply spectacular! It is no wonder that in 2011 Good Morning America’s viewers voted Sleeping Bear Dunes “The Most Beautiful Place in America.”
Later, depart for Frankfort, Michigan, a charming coastal town located on the shores of Lake Michigan, known for its stunning views, sandy beaches, and quaint downtown filled with shops, restaurants, and galleries. Enjoy Lunch on own.
Depart for Grand Rapids, Michigan and The Gerald Ford Museum – special exhibits, candid photographs, and videos on President Ford’s life and career and the Office of President
Check in at the Drury Inn & Suites Grand Rapids in time to enjoy the Drury “Kickback.”
DAY 7: Thursday, October 9, 2025
A relaxing Breakfast is included at the Drury Inn, before checking out, and departing for Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park – tour begins with a Tram tour of the 30-acre garden & sculpture park. Free time to visit the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory and the Gift Shop, The Tropical Conservatory is a five-story, 15,000 square-foot facility featuring rock landscapes, a waterfall and a variety of exotic plants from around the world, including fig trees from India, exotic orchids from Central and South America.
Later, depart for the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, a self-guided five-part experience that includes:
- Legacy Theater: Learn about the triumphs and tragedies surrounding the Rouge, much of it told through rare, never-before-seen historic footage.
- Manufacturing Innovation Theater: A multisensory exploration of the manufacturing experience, from concept to highway. Filled with jaw-dropping special effects, from “floating” 3D laser projection mapping and high-energy audio to a breathtaking behind-the-wheel finale.
- Observation Deck Tour: View the ground-breaking living roof from our 80-foot-high Observation Deck.
- Assembly Plant Walking Tour: See where the new military grade aluminum-alloy body Ford F-150s are assembled in a lean and flexible manufacturing plant. Visitors will have the opportunity to view the final assembly process from an elevated walkway.
- Legacy Gallery: View five historic vehicles made at the Rouge, hop in a new F-150, and visit our Factory Store.
After your tour depart for Angelo’s Northwood Villa at this genuine “Supper Club.” It’s been around since 1921 and has a long history as a hangout for the Mafia, the Purple Gang, bootleggers, mobsters and thugs. Much of the place is the same as it was in the 1920’s. Still sparkling like diamonds are the crystal chandeliers and tiny white lights throughout the main dining room. Expansive mirrors are set against one wall which covered the hidden doors leading to another room with the crap tables. Be sure to check out their authentic ‘cigar room’ and bar where illegal card games were constant.
Following dinner, short drive to Toledo Ohio and the Courtyard by Marriott for a restful night’s sleep.
DAY 7: Friday, October 10, 2025
Breakfast is included at the hotel this morning before we depart for home.
PRICE per person: THE BICYCLE STREET INN: Single $2,944 | Double $2,265 | Triple $2,176
PRICE per person: THE GRAND HOTEL: Single $3,319 | Double $2,558 | Triple $2,444
