the times Saturday July 15 2017

34 Travel

Downtown Chicago

Road trip around Lake MichiganFour states, 900 miles and plenty of adventures — from the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago to sleepy towns in Michigan and the wilds of Wisconsin. Tom Chesshyre hits the highways

United States

hot dogs and root beer to drivers who placeorders via a speaker system after pullinginto parking bays. It dates from the 1950sand there used to be 600 in the country;now there are about a dozen. Its motto is:“Where everything’s so dog-gone good.”

I place my order for a “World Famous”Coney Dog and a root beer. Five minuteslater a waitress dressed in red and yellowarrives and attaches a tray to the carwindow. “We used to do this on roller-skates,” she says. The hot dog and the rootbeer are delicious (not bad for five bucks).

I’m staying overnight in Traverse City,an hour farther up the coast. Beforegetting there, however, the landscapechanges. Thick forest emerges. A deaddeer lies in the road. A roadside sign asks:“Where are you going? Heaven or hell?”Pick-up trucks are everywhere and thelocal radio station starts playing ZZ Tophits, as well as patriotic folk songs with therefrains such as: “We’re in America now.”

We certainly are — and in a very certaintype of America. Michigan and Wisconsin,which is soon to come, switched fromDemocrat to Republican at the mostrecent presidential election. It all feels a farcry from Illinois, where almost a millionmore people voted for Hillary Clintonthan for Donald Trump.

Yet Traverse City turns out to be an artyoasis amid all the pick-up trucks with gunboxes. Chilled-out cafés, pleasant restau-rants and bars selling craft beers line MainStreet. A delightful old-fashioned movietheatre has been restored by enthusiasts,including the left-wing documentarymaker Michael Moore (he’s from Michi-gan, although definitely not a Trumpvoter). It’s a lovely old town and a perfectbase for exploring the enormous and quitespectacular nearby Sleeping Bear Dunes— once voted the most beautiful place inthe country by viewers of Good MorningAmerica — as well as the tranquil fishingvillage of Leland, with its restored 19th-century fish shanties.

And then it’s onwards to MackinacIsland. Mackinac is a must-visit on anydriving tour of Lake Michigan, found on a

On a boat on ChicagoRiver, the Windy Cityis more than living upto its nickname. Kevin,the guide for our architec-tural tour, is clutching hisumbrella as rain sweeps

across the deck. Despite the great gusts, hemaintains his commentary, telling usabout the Corn Cobs (twin skyscrapers),the Willis Tower (once the world’s tallestbuilding at 442m) and Rainier Tower (aremarkable structure with a base resem-bling an inverted pyramid). Huddledbeneath an awning, we watch as the boatputters past art deco delights and the shinymirrored glass of Trump Tower — the pres-ident’s name inscribed in giant letters onthe façade — seeing America’s third biggestmetropolis from the river that determinedits location. By the time we return to thebustle of cafés and hot dog stalls on NavyPier on Lake Michigan, we’ve enjoyed anintriguing insight into Chicago’s famoushigh-rises, while Kevin is soaked and hisumbrella a crumpled wreck.

So begins my adventure, starting with acouple of days in Chicago before embark-ing on one of the greatest road trips Amer-ica has to offer . . . although few outsidershave heard of, or considered, the route.

I’m about to head off on a circular tourof Lake Michigan, travelling through fourstates (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan andWisconsin), covering more than 900 milesand passing through some of the country’smost picturesque scenery. You can obvi-ously go either way round, but I’ve chosenthe anti-clockwise option, hiring a carfrom a depot right by Trump Tower.

With new Wow air flights from the UK,via Reykjavik in Iceland, starting thismonth from £358 return, and with Norwe-gian starting direct flights next spring,Chicago and its environs, America’s veryown lake district, are attracting Britonswho might previously have made a beelinefor the skyscrapers and Broadway showsof New York. And what better way to seethe region than on the Lake Michigan Cir-cle Tour, which takes about a fortnight. It

Tom Chesshyre was a guest of Choose Chicago (choosechicago.com) and flew with American Airlines (aa.com), which has Chicago returns from £572. Hertz.co.uk has a fortnight’s car hire from £510. In Chicago, Swissôtel (swissotel.com/chicago) has double rooms from about $186 (£147), or try the Guesthouse Hotel (www.theguesthousehotel.com), a cool boutique hotel; doubles from about $190. In Traverse City, Bayshore Resort (bayshore-resort.com) has B&B double rooms from $250. On Mackinac Island, the Chippewa Hotel (chippewahotel.com) has doublesfrom $110. In Curtis, Chamberlin’s Ole Forest Inn (chamberlinsinn.com) has cosy double rooms from $90. In Green Bay, the Hyatt Regency (greenbay.regency.hyatt.com) has large double rooms from $99. In Milwaukee, the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel (journeymanhotel.com) is a hip boutique hotel with rooms from $239.

even has its own website to plan your jour-ney (lakemichigancircletour.com).

After marvelling over the masterpiecesin the Art Institute of Chicago, watching aCubs baseball game and sampling some ofthe city’s best deep-pan pizza (at Lou Mal-nati’s on North State Street), I go to collectmy Hyundai Elantra. It’s shiny, royal-blueand rather natty. I slip the key in the igni-tion and pull out into the tunnel-likestreets amid the skyscrapers with a senseof anticipation for the journey ahead.

Just a few minutes later I hit Interstate94, heading east through the industrialoutskirts of Chicago amid a steady flow oftrucks, enjoying the liberating feeling oftaking to the road in the US. The I94 is abig four-laner, easy to follow, and theHyundai purrs along nicely.

After about an hour the highway crossesinto Indiana, where I stop in the city ofGary. Not many people go to Gary, Indi-ana, on holiday. It has a dilapidated,

before pausing at the lakeside town of StJoseph, with its large sandy beach, carou-sel and shops selling collectibles.

The joy of driving the eastern shore ofLake Michigan — the world’s fifth largestlake and the biggest entirely within Amer-ica’s borders — is calling in at places suchas St Joseph, a long-time favourite withChicagoans seeking R&R. The Victorian-era streets are quiet on my visit, though,and it’s a pleasure to sit on a bench, soakingup sunshine in sleepy, small-town USA.

On the outskirts of St Joseph I pass theworldwide HQ of Whirlpool, the homeappliances company, and continue alongthe coast, pulling up at a collectibles fair inGrand Haven. Flea markets seem to be therage in these parts, and this one is especiallywell-stocked. All sorts of Americana is onoffer: old cowboy boots, 1960s Coke andPepsi adverts, vintage Budweiser mirrors,plates featuring portraits of former presi-dents, great piles of baseball cards.

Unable to resist buying an amusing orig-inal Schlitz beer advert from the 1940s pro-moting revolutionary new “pop top” cans— “The whole country’s poppin’ this newtop!” — I drive on. But not for long. Abouthalf an hour north I stop for yet anotherblast of America as it once was.

Dog n Suds is a “carhop” chain serving

I slip the key in the ignition and pull out into the tunnel-like streets amid the skyscrapers

Need to know

impoverished look, with half-collapsedbuildings, boarded-up shops, NormanBates-style motels and a handful of Baptistchurches. It also happens to be home to thelittle-visited birthplace of the “king of pop”,Michael Jackson. Along Jackson Street,naturally, I come to the small whitewashedclapboard house — beautifully main-tained, unlike many neighbouring proper-ties, and behind a metal fence with a stonememorial to the troubled singer.

For those interested in Jackson’s inaus-picious roots, it’s worth the detour, butthere’s no time for dilly-dallying. Back onthe highway, I cross into Michigan and fol-low a pretty section by the waterfront

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the times Saturday July 15 2017

Travel 35

My drive takes me round the top of thelake into Wisconsin. I pause for lunch at agas station at Cedar River where bumperstickers with messages are sold: “Prayer isthe best way to meet the Lord. Trespassingis faster.” And: “Baiting deer is illegal. Thiscorn pile is intended for squirrels. Any deerfound eating this will be shot.”

Afterwards, I stop for a night in GreenBay, home of the American football teamthe Green Bay Packers. The city is Packers-mad. I do what everyone does and go to seetheir enormous, amazing home stadium,before checking out the locomotives at theexcellent National Railroad Museum.

Then I reach Milwaukee. What an inter-esting place. This working-class city,which became home to many Germanimmigrants in the 19th century, has longbeen a centre for brewing — MillerCoorsis based here and there are loads of micro-breweries. Happy Days was filmed inMilwaukee; there’s a downtown bronze ofthe Fonz. There’s also a brilliant Harley-Davidson Museum — the motorbike ismanufactured here — the Milwaukee ArtMuseum and an upbeat atmosphere;many millennials who cannot afford to livein Chicago are moving in.

All that’s left from here is the drive toChicago, via my first traffic jam on a fly-over. It feels as though I’m coming home asI drop off my car by Chicago River and gofor a final pizza at Lou Malnati’s, just roundthe corner from the Magnificent Mile ofupmarket shops. For a taste of so many dif-ferent aspects of America — a slice ofmodern-day USA, if you like — hit thehighways round Lake Michigan. It’s an ad-venture . . . and it’s also a wonderful drive.

Pot-bellied guys with baseball caps andstraw hats line the bar on ‘Taco Tuesday’

smiling faintly as she does. I seem to havebeen — just about — accepted.

Later I talk to a local man who asks notto be named and who describes his politicsas liberal. “When I came here I couldn’t getanyone to service my Toyota because it’snot American,” he says. “I put up an Ob-ama election sign two elections ago andnow I’m still nicknamed ‘Obama’.” He addsthat if he is talking politics to a like-mindedperson in the post office and anyone elsewalks in, they have to change the subject tofishing. This really is Trump-land.

Lighthouse on the north pier at St Joseph

strait that connects to Lake Huron. Nocars are allowed, so you must park andcatch a ferry, landing at a dock by a row ofVictorian buildings dominated by themassive hillside Grand Hotel. The island isfamous for its history (it was captured bythe British in 1812), its many bars, its horse-drawn carriages, its biennial RepublicanParty leadership conference (held at theGrand, which has an extraordinary 200mporch) and its fudge. You can’t avoid thelatter, which is sold in shops by the dock.

After an enjoyable night out accompa-nied by the manager of my hotel (the Chip-pewa) and his friend Megan, I walk aroundthe island in the morning — a very pleas-ant, peaceful and car-less eight miles.Then I hit the road to “UP”. This stands forUpper Peninsula, which is still in Michi-gan. People from UP are known as “Yoop-ers” and they have a reputation for doingthings their own way. They’re also knownto be suspicious of outsiders, and as I rollinto the little town of Curtis, with itscouple of grocery stores and single bar, theShipwreck Inn, I sense eyes upon me. I’mjust about the only person not driving apick-up and I stick out like a sore thumb.

This is where I’m staying the night, at acreaky little hotel on the edge of town(population 400). After dropping off mybag I go to eat at the Shipwreck Inn. Pot-bellied guys with baseball caps and strawcowboy hats line the bar along with ahandful of women drinking Bud Lights.Their voices drop when I pass (although Icatch a snatch of conversation that in-cludes “those sons of bitches”). It is “TacoTuesday”. A waitress in a tight pink T-shirtdelivers a tasty plateful, along with a beer,

SUSANNE KREME/4CORNERS IMAGES