My guest, Leeann (Leeann Marie Photography), is a photographer and mom of four (ages 3–12) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She and her family piled into their minivan for an epic 14-day family road trip through Michigan and beyond! 

We're exploring charming Bavarian and Dutch-inspired towns, biking around the car-free Mackinac Island, discovering the unbelievably blue waters of the Great Lakes, climbing the massive Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, enjoying adorable Michigan beach towns, and finishing with a few days of big-city fun in Chicago!

Plus, Leeann shares her tried-and-true family road trip tips, including how they organize their luggage, save money on meals, choose vacation rentals, and manage two weeks on the road with four kids!

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Window Room Blackout Roll: https://amzlink.to/az0bkgVdeDzVl
  • Family road trip tips: Packing, organizing luggage, saving money on meals, VRBO rentals, and traveling with four kids
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
  • Cleveland, Ohio
  • DETROIT: Eastern Market, Detroit Tigers baseball game, The Henry Ford Museum, Belle Isle Park
  • FRANKENMUTH, MICHIGAN: Bavarian-inspired town, Christmas shopping, Bavarian Inn, famous chicken dinners
  • ST. IGNACE, MICHIGAN: Farmhouse VRBO, Shepler's Ferry
  • MACKINAC ISLAND: Bike rentals, Arch Rock, Grand Hotel, Pink Pony, fudge shops, horse-drawn carriages
  • Torch Lake, Michigan
  • TRAVERSE CITY: Cherry picking, downtown shops, Traverse City Pit Spitters baseball game
  • Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire Bluff Trail
  • HOLLAND, MICHIGAN: Dutch windmills, wooden clogs, tulip gardens
  • SAUGATUCK, MICHIGAN: Saugatuck Dune Rides, Oval Beach, Mount Baldhead, Kalamazoo River, Unsalted Boat Tours
  • Indiana Dunes National Park
  • CHICAGO: The Bean, Maggie Daley Park, Navy Pier, Centennial Wheel, Chicago River architecture boat tour, Willis Tower Skydeck & The Ledge, Giordano's deep-dish pizza
  • University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana

This episode is available to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kelseygraves

If you’d like to share about your trip on the podcast, email me at: kelsey@triptalespodcast.com

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Trip Tales is a travel podcast sharing real vacation stories and trip itineraries for family travel, couples getaways, cruises, and all-inclusive resorts. Popular episodes feature destinations like Marco Island Florida, Costa Rica with kids, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Aulani in Hawaii, Beaches Turks & Caicos, Park City ski trips, Aruba, Italy, Ireland, Portugal’s Azores, New York City, Alaska cruises, and National Parks like Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Yosemite. Listeners get real travel tips, itinerary recommendations, hotel reviews, restaurant recommendations, and inspiration for planning their next vacation, especially when traveling with kids.

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