Well, well, well; w-e-l-l. You know, that’s one of those phrases I picked up somewhere along the way that I return to again and again, but for which the source material is lost to the ages. Where the hell did I get it? Just like the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know. But can you guess what the world is about to know? That’s right! The deepest, darkest, most intimate thoughts, recollections, and reminiscences on the year that was right here on All Things Wanderful.
Read MoreWintertime can feel like a slog, especially once the holidays have come and gone. If you’re not much of a winter sports person, whether we’re talking skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, or the like, it can be even more of a drag. That’s where winter festivals and carnivals come into play, injecting a bit of brightness into the cold, shortened days of the bitter season. As far as these frosty affairs go, it doesn’t get much bigger than the weeks-long World of Winter Festival held in West Michigan every January, February, and March.
Read MoreMichigan is full of majesty, mystery, and might, each of which comes in many forms. This three-part series highlights just some of what the Mitten State has to offer, county by county. Welcome to Part Two, which covers 32 counties alphabetically, from Hillsdale to Muskegon.
Read MoreMany people mourn the end summer — especially those who live in colder parts of the country — but I’ve been convinced for a long time that autumn is the best season of the year, and there’s nothing you could say to me that would make me believe otherwise. Fall means football, the leaves putting on their color-changing parade, and the start of the holiday season.
Read MoreWhile regular movie theaters and cinemas are going through the financial ringer during the coronavirus pandemic, drive-ins are seeing a good old-fashioned renaissance. When you consider that drive-in theaters come with social distancing essentially baked in to the movie-going experience, this makes perfect sense.
Read MoreAt the start of 2020, national travel publication TripSavvy declared Michigan an “underappreciated outdoor playground,” naming it the year’s top travel destination for outdoor enthusiasts. Provided this planet is full of all kinds of natural wonders, anyone unfamiliar with the Great Lakes State might balk slightly at such a designation. But those of us “in the know" aren’t the least bit surprised.
Read MoreThere are a couple reasons it was time to move on from Logan’s Run — the primary one being so that I would no longer be competing with the 1976 film of the same name when it comes to the Google machine. Beyond that, though, I feel the new name does a much better job of capturing what this site is all about: the wonder, and the wander, of travel.
Read MorePerpetually out shined by a certain southern city of the same name, Nashville, Michigan, has probably never been on your radar. Like a number of other Michigan communities named after much more recognizable places (e.g. Athens, Holland, Moscow, Paris), the village, which is located in the eastern portion of Barry County, is a tiny, tiny community. But that doesn’t make it any less interesting.
Read MoreThere are plenty of beaches worth a visit along Lake Michigan, not the least of which would include those found in Grand Haven, but just south of there, tucked in between some absolutely gorgeous homes on Lakeshore Avenue, is a little spot called Kirk Park.
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