In June 2021, I was ready to hit the road again, so my travel companion and I headed north to explore Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Now, let me start by saying that when I initially thought of Michigan, I thought, “Oh, this isn’t going to be fun.”

Boy, was I wrong. This state is absolutely stunning.

We hit the road, and the first stop on our week-long trip was in Rockford, Michigan.

ROCKFORD

This quaint little town sits right on the Rogue River. The downtown area is full of cute little shops and many places to eat.

We pretty much walked everywhere we went, and on the second day, we grabbed a fishing license and made our way to some fishing spots. It was a lovely day full of sunshine, even though we didn’t catch anything.

The next stop on our trip was to Millersburg!

MILLERSBURG

Millersburg is a small American town that sits a few miles away from Lake Huron.

We stopped and stayed with uncle Bob and aunt Annie, two of the sweetest people on Earth.

I know my aunt Sharon and Annie would get along beautifully because they both thoroughly enjoy pickling, which in and of itself is a work of art.

The first night there, we enjoyed Lake Huron, which is stunning but cold. Its water is clear and gorgeous. It was like being on the Caribbean, minus the cold water.

We enjoyed spending time outdoors by a friendly roaring fire underneath the stars that evening. It was perfect.

Running on a few hours of sleep, we got back in the truck and headed to explore the upper peninsula.

Driving along Lake Huron was magical because the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.

As we continue our trip, I can finally say I have dipped my toes in three Great Lakes: Huron, Michigan, and Superior.

MARQUETTE

On our fourth day of the trip, we drove along Hammond Bay then Lake Michigan to explore Marquette, which sits right on Lake Superior.

We had a not very good steak in Marquette, but an excellent dessert. We stopped off at Frosty Treats, which I am thrilled we did. The ice cream was glorious.

We walked around downtown for a bit, which has its cute little shops and fun things to take pictures of.

We then headed back to our hotel to get some shuteye so we could get up early the next day and head to Chicago.

WISCONSIN

On the fifth day, we began our way back to Oklahoma, traveling through Wisconsin, then stopping off for the night in Chicago.

Once in Wisconsin, we made a quick food stop in Green Bay at Plae Bistro. It’s tucked away in a shopping center, and man, was the food good.

The town is home to the Packers.

As a sports nut, we made a stop off at Lambeau Field, which was pretty cool.

We took a few photos and then headed off to spend our last day on vacation in Chicago.

CHICAGO

We spent two nights in Chicago, a beautiful city to get lost in.

While there, we ate dinner at two phenomenal places: Gilt and Chicago Firehouse.

At Gilt, I had the prime rib French dip. My tastebuds were over the moon, and they thanked me for days for ordering it. It was that delicious.

The Chicago Firehouse is neat. They turned an old firehouse into an outstanding restaurant. If you are looking for something unique, this is the place.

Overall, the trip was super fun. Although we didn’t get to do a lot of relaxing (which I am not complaining about), I got to enjoy time away exploring and making memories with my best friend.