When the idea came to write about the quality of life in Michigan I have to admit I was leaning towards believing that things were worse than the already bad it has been for some time.  Thankfully I’m surprised this is not the case. Sure, to the casual observer, my hometown seems to be in decline, which I’d wager would be the report from other small Michigan towns.  The auto industry is in decline and along with it the scores of manufacturing jobs. For those who haven’t been able to adapt to the change, they have been feeling their lifestyle slipping away for the past decade or two. For others though, Michigan has plenty to offer for great quality life experiences, with the added bonus of it being rather economical to take part in because it’s pretty much in our backyards.

This past weekend a decision was made to get away on a day trip. The rules were simple, one tank of gas and just go.  We choose to head south down highway 52 from home and that shortly found us stopping in Chelsea Home of Jiffy Mix and possibly one of the cutest towns in southeast Michigan. With a downtown full of history and art not forgetting the friendly people, we enjoyed a peaceful walk around, checked out the Purple Rose Theater and all the little shops. Unknown at the time, our stop at the New Chelsea Market set the rest of the days adventure.  I’m can’t claim to be any sort of expert on wine, in fact I’m as close to a newbie as they come, but the staff was so pleasant in helping us select a few bottles the whole experience is one we’ll be repeating again.  After saying goodbye to Chelsea we found ourselves over in Saline and ready for lunch.  The Brecon Grille, modeled after an English pub was the perfect choice for a quiet relaxed lunch for two, with the bonus of serving local, naturally raised beef and buffalo from TMZ Farms that made for some tasty burgers.  After lunch we walked on over to Spotted Dog Winery where we enjoyed tasting some delicious wines. While chatting with the owner and purchasing a few bottles to take home, we knew what the rest of the day was to be.  We decided to back track down US-12 to Tecumseh where we visited the Boulevard Market for some artisan cheeses before heading to the Pentamere Winery.  At Pentamere we tasted more wonderful Michigan wines, my personal favorite being their wonderful Harvest Apple.  Also we received further education on wine tasting and the range of wines Michigan has to offer along with a suggestion to visit the Cherry Creek Winery down the road in Brooklyn, which, of course, we did.  By now it was getting late in the afternoon and when we arrived at the old schoolhouse it was nearly closing time. Hoping for the best we went in and asked if it was alright for us to take a quick look around, not expecting to repeat the experiences we’ve been having throughout the day. We couldn’t have been more wrong, they we super friendly and allowed us all the time we wanted to look around and even asked us if we wanted to taste the wines.  After purchasing a few bottles of the most enjoyable wines we thanked the woman at Cherry Creek for her time and wonderful help, said our goodbyes and headed for home.

Without having any ideas or plans laid out before leaving home we managed to stumble upon one of our most enjoyable, relaxing days in a long time.  We learned about a region of Michigan, more about local wines and the great people producing them.  Even if we had set out at the beginning of the day to do a tour we couldn’t have visited each of the eight wineries found in the southeastern part of Michigan in a single day.  Touring wineries is not about how many you visit in one day, according to http://www.michiganwines.com there are over 60 in the state all together. No, touring is about the time you spend at each one in a relaxed atmosphere and the good people you meet.

Outside of the cost for all the wines we purchased, the expense was nothing more than lunch and a tank of gas, but the quality of the experience just as well could have cost so much more.  It’s obvious to me now that not only are there people in Michigan living a quality life but they are thriving and sharing the best this state has to offer.
This is just a small taste of all that Michigan has to offer someone looking to “live the good life” without the advantage of an investment banker’s salary.  Summer is almost here and I’m already planning future stories about other hidden (or not so hidden) gems our state has for those of us looking for something more than the gloom and doom of a bad economy.  Some links of interest if your wanting to explore the places we visited and Michigan’s wine culture on your own..

http://www.purplerosetheatre.org
http://www.newchelseamarket.com
http://spotteddogwinery.com
http://www.boulevardmarket.com
http://www.pentamerewinery.com
http://www.cherrycreekwine.com
http://www.michiganwines.com