July, 2024
We definitely had an adventure in Manistee! It’s such a beautiful area on the shore of Lake Michigan in western Michigan. There are some unique and wonderful things to do!
One of the first things we did was to go to Fifth Avenue Beach.💦 The white sand and crystal clear water felt amazing! The kiddos had a blast on the playground. We loved sitting on the pier watching the boats sail from the river out into the lake. ⛵
Of course we just had to walk out to the lighthouse, too. 😉 Manistee North Pier Lighthouse has always been a favorite of ours. 😊
One of the places we found that was rather off the beaten path, was the Lake Bluff Arboretum where the World Famous Giant Sequoias are growing. 🌲 Sequoias are not native to Michigan and these are the only ones growing in the state. In fact, the largest of the Giant Sequoias at Lake Bluff is 116 feet tall and is the tallest one East of the Rocky Mountains. Originally 6 trees were brought over from California in 1948, but only 3 of them survived. There’s a peaceful and serene bluff you can take a short walk to on the grounds. This is a nice spot to see Lake Michigan. You cannot go down the bluff safely, but we definitely enjoyed the beautiful view. 😊
As much as we enjoyed everything in Manistee, the true highlight was where we stayed. Joe found the absolute best place ever! Our stay at the S.S. City of Milwaukee was an incredible experience! 🚢 This is a retired train car ferry that still has most of the original design that has been lovingly restored. The original wood paneling, rivets, engine room, and quarters are still intact on this ship that was built in 1931.
Our stay began as we walked up the dock and climbed the stairs to the gift shop. There we were introduced to the pursers Bill & Connie. After we checked in, Bill gave us a tour of the ship and showed us to our rooms. Our family needed to sleep 4 people, so we reserved the Pullman Suite which has 2 adjoining rooms with 4 bunks. 🛏🛏🛏🛏 Not going to lie, this was love at first sight for us! 😍 It was literally like stepping back in time! It was so amazing and even the kids were so excited to sleep in what they called “the ancient ship” and kept comparing it to the Titanic. (Thankfully this didn’t sink, though.) ⚓
During our stay we were able to roam around the top 3 levels of the ship freely. We climbed stairs, explored the Captain’s and Officer’s Quarters, the Wheelhouse (or Bridge), and every nook and cranny that was available for us to see. There were some super cool details that we loved, like the old bottle of Nehi Soda 🍾 in one of the Officer’s rooms, the old fashioned cameras & typewriters, and an old Popeye comic! 💪 We might have taken a million pictures, lol. 📸
I cannot adequately express how it felt to stay in a historic landmark! People, this was cool beyond words! 😎 Now, I do want to point out that there are not bathrooms or showers in your room. The sinks in the room are for looks only. But the bathrooms & showers were conveniently located, so that was not an issue for us. All of the mattresses were new and comfortable, so that was a huge blessing because I’m pretty sure staying on the original mattresses from 1930 would not have been a fun night’s sleep. 😴
If you stay there and have the time, I would highly recommend taking the tour of the engine room and lower deck. 👍 It was informative, interactive, and a definite highlight of our stay. We were able to see the crew’s quarters and common area, then we went into the engine room. It was so cool! All of the crew’s jobs were explained to us and we were able to see how they lived with the uncomfortable and demanding jobs they had. 😳 Although they had such a rigorous job, it was amazing to us that only one sailor perished. Unfortunately, this poor gentleman had a heart attack and passed away which led to some intriguing tales of spectral occurrences. 👻
We always try to make sure people who are kind are recognized and in this case I can’t believe how many people I want to tell you about! First there were Connie & Bill. 🤗 They are so amazing and helpful! From the tour around the ship, answering a million of our questions, and all around making us feel so very welcome–they did an awesome job! Jake was our tour guide and I hope if you take the tour that you’ll be blessed to have him as yours, too. He is a 17 year old ship expert and literally blew us away with his wealth of knowledge! 🤩 I talked to Robbie, the manager, on the phone and he was super helpful, too. Maxwell was another kind soul we were blessed to meet. I cannot believe how friendly everyone was. It was a great experience and we highly recommend staying at this unique, historic, landmark boatel! 🥰
We hope you enjoyed hearing about our Manistee adventure! If you like our travels, we’d love for you to share it with your friends. Thanks so much! Stay tuned for more Traveling with the Trapps!
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Photo of the ‘Night Time View of the Ship’ used with permission of the Society for the Preservation of the S.S. City of Milwaukee and USCGC Acacia
Traveling with the Trapps 