Need Midwest suggestion
 

40th birthday coming up and I need to find a place in the Midwest - OH, MI, IN, PA, upstate NY - that has great food - at least at breakfast - tennis and hopefully some biking trails.

I have no idea about where to look and I would love your suggestions!

Thanks!

In Michigan, my vote would be for Traverse City or Mackinac Island.

How about the Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island? You can fly into either Traverse City or Pellston, drive to either Mackinaw City or St. Ignace, and then take a ferry to the island.

Since there are no cars on the island, it's a biker's paradise. Mission Point is located on the east side of the island with plenty of land, a tennis court and other activities. Here's a link:
http://www.missionpoint.com

And here's a link about the island:
http://www.mackinac.com/

For breakfast, the Mission Point has a good restaurant, and the Village Inn is also good.

For Traverse City, go here:
http://www.mytraversecity.com/
Good places there for breakfast would be Mabel's or the Omelette Shoppe.

Let me know if you need more info about either place.

And happy birthday too!

Also in Michigan I would suggest Petoskey. You would have to research to see were the Tennis Courts and Bike Trails are, but, I'm sure there are some. It's so beautiful along Lake Michigan.

Famous breakfast buffet on Sundays at Staffords Bay View Inn is wonderful.

First of all, none of the states you list are in the Midwest. Get out your atlas and look at the middle part of America...you'll find KS

Pumpy - LOL - I had the same thought, and hoped OP named Pilot has a good navigator!
Well, IN is considered midwestern, maybe the western parts of OH and MI.

All of MI, OH and IN are considered to be in the Midwest.

Funny that Pumpy is so adamant about KS. It's barely in the midwest itself.

PA and NY are not midwest, but the others are.

Those states are Not in the Midwest! I am amazed by what east coast people think is the Midwest. Go a little further west and have a great time in the true Midwest. MN, WS, ND, SD, NB, IO, MS, OK, and AR.

Who says, Jorr? I've lived in Michigan my whole life and everyone is always referring to us as the midwest.

(truthfully, I don't care either way - just wondering who makes up these rules anyhow!) :)

Regardless of if these states are in the Midwest, she specifically asked for help in those particular states. So, how about if we help her instead of criticizing?

If there's a Wal-Mart between two churches its the Midwest. Found it in Webster's Dictionary.

LOL, Jorr, we certainly qualify here then! (Grand Rapids, MI is known as the city of churches!)

"Those states are Not in the Midwest! I am amazed by what east coast people think is the Midwest. Go a little further west and have a great time in the true Midwest. MN, WS, ND, SD, NB, IO, MS, OK, and AR."

Ok, ignoring the obvious abbreviation errors, how in the world can anyone say (with a straight face) that Oklahoma and Arkansas are midwestern? Take a look at a map, Jorr. Not only are they not midwest, but you left out Kansas, which is directly between Nebraska and Oklahoma (both midwestern states by your reckoning). I think you may want to apologize to your geography teacher now.

I grew up in the middle of the midwest so I think I know what I'm talking about, but feel free to look 'em up to confirm my list.

As for the OP finding help, she/he may want to repost with a better title. Anyone with suggestions for PA and/or upstate NY wouldn't even click on this thread.

I grew up in the midwest too, where I still live Weasel. Sorry about forgetting Kansas. I hope the people of the great state of Kansas are not ticked off! I love that incredible vast grass praireland along I-35 between Emporia and Wichita. One of the most beautiful places in the midwest and the area I always look forward to traveling through from Texas to Minnesota.

Uhhhh, certainly no one can argue that Illinois is in the midwest...certainly more so than Arkansas (or Kansas for that matter?) Or did Chicago finally shake that reputation as the great "midwestern" city?

Back to the OP's question - I recommend the west coast of Michigan. Check out Whitehall / Montague. There is a 30+ mile bike trail that begins there and lovely restaurants, etc.

Midwest Living Magazine counts all those states (ecept PA) as in the Midwest. I grew up in the Midwest and we always considered Ohio, Indiana and Michigan as part of the Midwest along with many other states. I live in CA now and everyone who is a native says to me "you're from back East" and I say "No, the Midwest" as back East is along the Atlantic Coast to me. All depends on your perspective I guess.

Since I live in KS, I like to help out my east coast friends who seem to think OH, PA, and Michigan (almost a part of Canada) are midwest states. However, having lived in California, I realize west coast geography is just as bad. They consider everything between Las Vegas & NY City the midwest.

The US census bureau defines the Midwest as: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Some sources will add a couple states and others will take a few off the list. I guess it all depends on which source you favor.

I was stunded when I moved from Michigan to Kansas and Kansans asked how I felt about moving to the Midwest.

Keith

All right all - Let me clarify - I would love suggestions about any of the Midwest states. I included the small list just in case there were some who didn't consider MI, OH, IN as Midwest. I put in PA and NY because I live in OH and they are easily accessible.

Now that we're all clear - how about some suggestions in any of the Midwest please.

ND, SD, OK are part of the The Great Plains, as is western MN. NE can go either way.

Back to the OP's question, Traverse City and Petoskey in MI are great places. If you like to visit wineries you can stay on Old Mission or Leelanau Peninsulas.

Pilot-Happy Birthday! We are just back from staying at the Inn at Bay Harbor near Petoskey MI and I would highly recommend it. We did not play tennis, but I would imagine it is available and we saw lots of bikers on nice paths. 3 towns close together with lots of good restaurants and shopping too!

A good place in Wisconsin is Madison. There are tons of great restaurants.
I'm not sure about tennis, but there are several country clubs in the burbs.
I know there are nice biking trails. Madison was voted healthest city in America last year because of all of the opportunities for exercise and healthy food.
If in future you want some specific restaurant, I can get you some.
We don't live there, but my son just graduated from UWM. I'll miss visiting there.

Second the suggestion for Madison. We live in the Midwest (yes, I consider St. Louis a midwestern city!) and drove up to Madison for the long July 4th weekend. We were both pleasantly surprised by how nice this city is. There are lots of great restaurants and there seemed to be tons of biking trails along the lakes.

Tracy

I moved to TX from MN for a few years. Most Texans consider anything in "The North" to be the same, as in MN is the same as NY and MA. Some people in MN consider NY and MA the same as Britain separated by a pond.

Minnesota! Even if you stay in "downtown" Minneapolis, you can bike over 30 miles (plus!) of nice paved parkway bikepath, & enjoy our chain of lakes, connected by bike path. Also connects to Minnehaha Falls, where you can do some hiking, & into Fort Snelling for more biking & hiking. Or, bike up & down both the Minneapolis & St Paul sides of the Mississippi river, awesome views. Don't know much about tennis, but, there are some avid tennis players in Minneapolis, & I'm sure there are fitness clubs, or other areas to play, including outdoor courts.

What dates, pilot? As we move toward winter, that becomes a big factor.

Keith

First of all, Michigan is in the Midwest - period.

I agree with tamryn - Inn at Bay Harbor in Petoskey. Beatiful resort in an area with great shopping and restaurants.

Oops - typo - should be Beautiful.

Sorry.

Okay, I am soooo confused. Family is originally from the South (are the Carolinas still considered part of the South?).

Have lived in either Michigan or Ohio most of my adult life. Always thought they was part of the midwest (even though we are closer to the East Coast).

So if MI and OH are NOT part of the Midwest, what do most people call our part of the country? Please help me here...I am feeling very disconnected. Sniff, sniff.

Sorry, that should be there WERE considered part of the Midwest.

I guess my Southern roots are haunting me.

CJBROWN, yes you are correct about Mpls. being a beautiful metropolitan city. My point is that people in MN do not at all consider ourselves to be northerners in the same sence as a New Yorker. New York is a totally different areas and sometimes considered an insult from people in the south who think its all the same thing or the same area "the north".

We're looking at Sept 8-10th. I'm leaning toward MN and the Boundary Waters. But looking at Mackinac Island/Traverse City.

Still haven't found something that jumps out at us...

Any suggestions near Hot Springs, AK?

And Jorr, I can tell you for sure New Yorkers would never consider themselves to be Northerners. They are without a doubt EASTERNERS! They think Vermonters are Northerners (and Minnesotans!) :-D

amaclise, how funny. I suppose people in Georgia don't consider themselves southerners. That's Florida!

I think Southpark should do an episode on this subject. They're all fighting over this then they just give up and throw their anger on Canada.

Jorr, LOL!!!

pilot...Mackinac Island is great! The Grand Hotel is really something special. They do great packages with huge breakfasts and dinners. You can also horseback ride or bike.

You take a ferry out to the island and they pick you up in a horse and carriage. It is really romantic. They do have tennis courts too. Worth a look, if you haven't already.

I was glancing through an issue of Traverse Northern Michigan magazine at the bookstore tonight and the latest issue has an article on biking at Grand Island National Rec. Area in MI. Maybe you could check that out.