The brick-and-glass exterior of the Haworth Hotel & Conference Center on the Hope College campus in downtown Holland conceals a stunning surprise. While this lakeshore community boasts a variety of architectural gems — in styles ranging from the traditional Dutch influence to Neoclassical and Queen Anne to Tudor — this newly renovated hotel delivers a refreshingly colorful look and feel.

A love of Michigan’s great outdoors and a nod to an early promotional travel slogan were the inspirations behind Wonderland Distilling Company in Muskegon’s Lakeside District.

Detroit sports a rich and colorful heritage. The entertaining stories, spirited legends, and notorious characters of the Motor City’s past are the foundation upon which Bailey Sisoy-Moore built Detroit History Tours in 2014, followed by the Detroit History Club (which boasts nearly 10,000 members) in 2016.

Michigan is blessed with some great stargazing locales, but how often – as you look up at the aurora borealis, Milky Way, Perseids, constellations and other celestial wonders – do you think about what else might be floating out there in space that isn’t quite so spectacular? Unfortunately, over the years the solar system has been gathering an excessive amount of debris that can cause havoc for satellites, space stations and other equipment – not to mention the fallout back to earth should a cosmic collision occur.

Did you know that Michigan ranks #3 nationally (#1 in the Great Lakes region) for the number of public golf courses. More than a few are found within close proximity to those shoreline areas providing unique experiences and unparalleled views.

The quaint harbor towns along the Lake Michigan coastline have attracted Chicagoland travelers for generations. Once well known as the West Michigan Pike (est. 1911) and following Michigan’s lower peninsula leg of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, US-31 provides direct access to a wealth of experiences and memories.

In recent years, several Michigan-based retailers have dedicated additional shelf space to locally made jams, sauces, condiments, chips, cookies and the like – sometimes even dedicating prime aisle space with special “Made in Michigan” signage.

When it comes to sharing Michigan history, Candice Smith brings it to life like no other. She’s been soaking up a wealth of knowledge about her own family as well as notable figures in the state’s history since childhood. She was raised in the small town of Perry (Shiawassee County, population about 2,100), where her paternal great grandparents, William and Ida Smith, lived.

For those who enjoy the great outdoors, Michigan is a vast playground full of waterways, forests, state parks, national lakeshores and the largest section of the 4,800-mile, eight-state North Country Trail (which stretches from North Dakota to Vermont, with about 1,150 miles running through Michigan’s two peninsulas). Michigan is home (and home-away-from-home) to paddlers, bikers, hikers, campers, anglers, stargazers, birdwatchers and others who are eager to escape the noise of the world and find ways to connect (or reconnect) with nature in the simplest of ways.