THE SHORES OF LAKE MICHIGAN
Spoiler Alert, this article will be of more interest to golfers.
Last summer the Sorrentos and the LeBlancs took a great road trip. We started from our home in Oakville, Ontario and the
Sorrentos from Grandezza. We met up at Arcadia Bluffs, found on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Arcadia Bluffs is a golf
resort that I had heard about for years as a must visit place.
However, I never had occasion to go to the west side of Michigan. Well, the Florida State Golf Association changed that. They offered a great deal on a golf getaway to Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
Arcadia Bluffs offers great accommodations, food and two good golf courses. Each evening a piper plays on top of the Bluffs at dusk. Adirondack chairs crest the 18th hole green. It is the place to sip your favorite beverage and watch the sunset.
After three nights there, we drove to Ludington, Michigan where we boarded the ferry to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. It was a four-hour ferry trip although only three hours on the clock, thanks to the time zone difference between Michigan and Wisconsin. Lots of
entertainment (Bingo) and food was available during the crossing.
Once docked in Wisconsin we had a short drive to Erin Hills, site of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open Championship. A word of warning, it is a walker’s-only course with elevation changes and great vistas. There are accommodations on site which felt cramped after the spacious rooms at Arcadia Bluffs.
We spent one night there and then moved onto the main event at Whistling Straits. This was four rounds of golf on two properties (Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits) plus a Par 3 course. Of the four courses two were walkers only (The Irish and The Straits). The walks were exhausting but the exhilaration of birdieing the 18th hole of the last round (The Straits) made the trip even more memorable. The Florida State Golf Association hosted two cocktail parties with heavy hors d’oeuvres. Lots of other dining options available in and around Kohler, Wisconsin.
After a week together it was time for our respective drives home … and time to start planning our next trip …to Italy!
