Oregon Coast & Portland/ Columbia River area.

I guess I'm lucky in Southern MI because I swim at end of May or early June. But smaller lakes warm up faster. Our lake didn't even freeze all the way after the Jan. thaw this year.

JJ5 - is this the Jeep place you were talking about?

http://www.sandykorners.com/

And if not, do you remember what it is? It sounds really cool.

And where do you live? I'm in Troy now, but grew up in Paw Paw.

Doing my part to pump up the Michigan tourism budget! Maybe it will save the zoo.

Thanks again to all.

trippinkpj, what are the must see places in Oregon? Is the water warm enough and how is the beach sand (white powder of more like California sand)?

Compared to Glacier NP, Yellowstone and Michigan, which one of them would you recommend?

Oh, if you haven't been to Yellowstone, you must! Although, it's a very family friendly destination so if you are trying to avoid kids and have a romantic time, it doesn't quite fit the bill. If that doesn't matter, it is such a unique and amazing destination.

Oregon's water is quite cold and the beaches are like California's-definitely not white sand.

I would rethink only going to Hawaii in the winter. In winter many of the beaches are unsafe for swimming due to high surf. I also find the winter mornings and evenings a bit cool (if I'm in the tropics, I want to be warm all the time). Due to the tradewinds, Hawaii doesn't experience the oppressive summer heat other tropical places do-even August will be very nice.

Thanks christy1 for the information about Hawaii. Hawaii is a very expensive destination (as expensive as Europe) for us out here on the East coast but we still hope to go there someday.

We don't mind having families around us on our vacation, we'll probably miss our kids but we'll get over it

hi mist, 2 thoughts
1- fly into boston and drive out onto cape cod. wonderful beaches, restaurants, take ferry to nantucket a/or martha's vineyard - or stay out there!
2- it is not rainy season in the carib. and it is "low season" so prices would be down. puerto rico might be a good first island. its big, they have a rain forest where you can do a zip line, gorgeous beaches, historical stuff in old san juan, loads of restaurants, old plantations to tour, alot of rum, etc.
so little time so many places to see...

These are great suggestions.

kelliebellie - thanks for such detailed ideas. I may use them myself.

mist - good luck and have a great time. You could consider something in the mid-Atlantic like Washington, DC, Annapolis, St. Michael's, Rehoboth Beach, DE (real beach town with good restaurants), Williamsburg, VA....but, it can be pretty hot and muggy in August. I think Michigan, Oregon, or Yellowstone/Tetons sound fabulous.

All your suggestions sound so good we have to make the difficult decision of choosing one of those nice places.

Again many thanks to all!

kelliebellie, you asked about the jeep tours. Yes, that's the one. They have all kinds of options. You can take their jeeps by the hour or hours on the dunes yourself as well.

But their caravan trips into the Manistee and other various areas are rather unique and I strongly rec.

I'm a IL person with a home at Fish Lake near Marcellus, Cass County. I hope to be a permanent MI resident within 4 years. Paw Paw is right up the road about 15 miles North of me.

JJ, you're a FIP! That was just a term coined by the father of a friend of mine who had gotten very sick of the rich and clueless F'in Illinois People. (your miracle mile sort of set) I guess he'd gotten tired of being a quaint local.

Good luck in your Michigan move. We would drive through Marcellus all the time on our way to my grandparent's house in Sturgis.

Next time you find yourself in Paw Paw, be sure to hit The Bistro for lunch. It is right across the street from the movie theatre. There is a restaurant in the back, but we always eat in the bar in the front or of course the patio in the summer. Wonderful soups and huge plates of food. It is a steal for lunch, but gets pricey for dinner.

Thanks for the Jeep tip. My mother-in-law has a cottage in Indian River right on I-75, so we never get over to that side. We need to make a special trip. I love it over there.

I've eaten at the Bistro numerous times and met up with some long-lost relatives of my guy from Northern MI there last summer.

I'm actually about 1/2 way between Marcellus and Lawton. Lawton has some new interesting places to eat as well. Decoy Duck's was remodeled and is very good now. NOT Big T's. Both my sons and one SIL all have Big T's name on the wall for 100s or 1000s of foreign beers consumed. I don't want to know. I'll go anywhere but Big T's.

There's a new place in Paw Paw called Kevin's attached to the Warner Vineyards tasting center and with terrace on the river or inside seating choices. It's higher end and with smaller menu just now, but extremely good. Try it. All of Paw Paw is getting more upscale, kelliebellie.

Sorry to hyjack the thread, mist. But as you can see, you can wine taste between many wineries over 6 or 7 counties here as well. We go all the way North to Petersons near Kalamazoo ourselves. You can stay near the big Lake (Michigan) with the majority of the tourists, or go inland where all the really GOOD quality living is! LOL!

One year before I owned in MI, I rented a house on Little Fish with a boat and sand beach- tiny little 100 acre spring fed lake. That was a hoot. If you are swimmers or fish and want to access all the big lakefront places and still have unique privacy- consider this option.

They've changed the whole page now but I rented from www.jerdon.net listing link.

Much of this area is surrounded by grape vineyards and small or medium sized spring fed lakes.

It's nothing like the wine country North of SF, but it is extremely beautiful and we would need another thread to go into all the things there are to do.

My parents still live in Paw Paw, so I get back there all the time. They eat breakfast a lot in Lawton at the Breakfast Place. You've probably seen them!

I'm so glad you've experienced the Bistro. The woman that owns that used to be married to Jim Warner and had her restaurant at the same location where Kevin's is now. Imagine those salads in the summer sitting outside under the trees by the river. It was heaven. But then she ran off with the chef (well, they didn't run far) and opened the place downtown. I haven't been to Kevin's yet. I'll save that one for a summer visit. And the Dykeman has been remodeled and the restaurant taken over by another restaurant. That is on the corner in downtown Paw Paw. That place is great too. I would go to the bar there in college. It was a smoky, dingy sort of place. The remodel is amazing!

But I have to giggle at the thought of Paw Paw being upscale. When we moved there in 1977, I was in first grade and none of the stuff out by the highway existed except for maybe one gas station and the drive-in. Mom would take me to the drive-in for 10 cent taco night. My parents adore it there. It truly is one big retirement community. People of all walks of life are forced to be friends with one another because there just isn't enough people to form cliques based on income or race or religion. My parents can't go anywhere without knowing half the people in the joint.

Yes, very sorry to hijack the thread! But you know JJ, you are so right about all the wineries. And the last week of August would be just about harvest time, so winery activity would be high, especially probably in Traverse City. I love driving in the country in late August. If you roll down your windows you can just smell the grapes.

NEW MEXICO!!! FROM ALBUQUERQUE TO SANTA FE , TO TAOS AND ALL OF THE ENCHANTED CIRCLE WE LOVE IT.WE GO OUT THERE OFTEN AND WE FIND GREAT THINGS TO SEE AND DO. MY HUSBAND LOVES TO PLAY GOLF IN ANGEL FIRE AND ALSO IN TAOS.I LOVE THE SHOPPING AND ALL OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY.IN SANTA FE WE TOURED THE OLD CHURCHES AND THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL.IF YOU GO BE SURE TO GO TO THE FLEA MARKET IN SANTA FE.