Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States. I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning. Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 26th state to be added to the Union: Michigan
State: Michigan
Joined the Union: 1837
Visits: 5
Despite its proximity, The Mitten has been an infrequent place for me to visit. Nearly all of my visits can be attributed to one of two things: baseball and ice skating. The one outlier came during the COVID lockdown, when travel options were limited.
My first trip to Michigan came in 1999 in an effort to see a game during the final season of Tiger Stadium. Along with my mom and my sister, we took the quick flight and then took a bus into Windsor for a pre-game meal, the first time any of us had left the country. After some slight difficulties getting back across the border, we headed to the game, where rookie Kip Wells made his major league debut for the White Sox and picked up the victory against the Tigers. We flew back home the following day.
Nearly a decade later, I returned to Detroit in 2010 for a Labor Day weekend clash between the White Sox and the Tigers. This time, I booked a hotel in Windsor, so I drove from Chicago to Canada, checking in to the hotel before catching a bus back across the border and to Comerica Park. The next afternoon, I drove back and took in the afternoon tilt before driving home with two Tiger victories under my belt.
Six years later, the synchronized skating championships were held in Kalamazoo. The family travelled north to see Angelina and her team compete.
In 2019, the family traveled to Ann Arbor, where BU was competing in a synchronized skating competition.
My most recent visit to Michigan came over Labor Day week in 2020. With everything locked down thanks to the corona virus, I was looking for a chance to get away and found a nice Airbnb in Holland close to Lake Michigan. Other than a couple of trips to the lakes (both Macatawa and Michigan) and a day spent in Saugatuck, I didn’t see much of the sites, as the rona was still very much a concern.
Will I return? I imagine so. Neither of the boys have been to Comerica yet, so a future visit is not out of the question.
