Ford Holland

places to visit and things to do in Michigan during the long weekend?

been here for 9 years and covered pretty much everything, any sugggestions beyond the following the list of stuff that we have already done:
henry ford museum, holland, tahquamenon falls, sue sault marie, mackinac island, putin bay para sailing, ann arbor summer festival, detroit river front.

outdoor activity suggestions are also good.

I love spending the 4th in Saugatuck. Quaint shops in a village which is non-commercial with many art galleries as well. Douglas is just 5 min away and it has even more galleries plus, if you like to go antiquing, they have one heck of a large antique store. Saugatuck holds an art fair on the 4th; don't know about Sunday though.

Grand Rapids (45 min from Saugatuck) has the Gerald Ford museum plus the Fred Meijer Gardens which is so much more than gardens with many, many sculptures. It has a great inexpensive restaurant with many glass sculptures on the ceiling by Chilhuly. There is also an enormous Chilhuly sculpture in the large hall. I was amazed to read that the Gardens are on the list of the top 10 sites which people must see before they die. Grand Rapids also has a very nice zoo and our downtown, which is beautiful, is very lively at night. We also have the VanAndel Arena - you can find out who is performing and get tickets in advance.

PS: If you haven't been to Traverse City please go. I'm going with a friend in October for a festival plus we'll be enjoying the 3 hr drive there to see the fall foliage. The drive alone is worth it; it's easy to feel as though you're driving in a never-ending forest - it's incredibly beautiful.

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