This trip is one I’ve been wanting to take for quite a while now. I’ve been to Michigan twice before, but the last time was fourteen years ago. Neither Melissa nor Nancy has ever been, so it was basically brand new for all three of us! Since we did this road trip style, we were able to course our own path and I was able to roll another bucket list destination of mine into our itinerary: Seymour, Indiana!
Most of you are probably wondering what in the world is in Seymour, Indiana, but if you’re a fan of John Mellencamp then you already know, it’s his hometown! I absolutely love John Mellencamp! He has so many jams that I love – my favorite amongst them being “Hurts So Good” – so when I learned his hometown has a variety of art and attractions dedicated to his artistry, I knew I had to go. You already know how much Melissa and I love visiting the hometowns of people we love, so this small town detour was no trouble at all on our way to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
So join me on this photographic journey of our nine day Pure Michigan Vacation. I’ve taken the suggestions of many and have shortened the posts for this trip down to just twenty photos each versus my past thirty or forty, so I hope you all find this more viewable than what I served up in the past! Enjoy and thank you for coming along on this adventure with us!
Rails was the cute little eatery where we had our delicious lunch. I’m horrible at taking pictures of food, BUT I got better as the trip went on and can promise you food pics in future posts! Nonetheless, this place was great and we really enjoyed it.
Taken just outside Rails. Obviously named for being right on the railroad tracks.
They had just had their Fall Festival the weekend before and a variety of Halloween decorations were splattered throughout the downtown area. We found out from the incredibly hospitable owner of the book store that John Mellencamp himself was there this year for the Fall Festival and was taking pictures all day long with fans. Perfect example of the saying, you can take the boy out of the small town, but never the small town out of the boy.
The Werewolf I’m with above was the correlation piece to these little piggies Melissa’s with here. A cute spin on the classic fable.
Give us all the wall art.
Really and truly, this downtown area couldn’t have been any cuter. They did a spectacular job with everything here and really ensured that this destination exceeded expectations.
The variety of art that called attention to John Mellencamp’s art and artistry was just astounding. I loved it so much.
You all know by now I’m absolutely captivated by small towns and this one was doing the most with what they had. I hope the continue to grow in popularity and that many more people take the pilgrimage here to see all that we did. I honestly feel like we could’ve spent even more time here, but we knew we had plenty of hours ahead of us to Ann Arbor.
Adorable.
Of course our resident St. Louis girl had to get this picture.
Mellencamp Plaza featuring the wonderful Mellencamp Mural was the true highlight for me.
Seymour, Indiana was a 10/10 for me.
Mainstreet, USA’s across America have some of the most adorable architecture.
Melissa channeling her dancer days.
My favorite picture of the trip so far. Zoom in on the window and look just left of the frame. See someone there? Give me all the reflection shots.
Love a good mural.
After what felt like an eternity of road construction and one lane interstates, we finally made it to our beloved brand of hotels: The Graduate. If there is a Graduate in town, you can guarantee that’s where we’re staying. They’re the best and we love them.
Cuties in a cute place.
It didn’t take long for Melissa to discover that she could thrive in Ann Arbor. The collegiate lifestyle she never had could most definitely be hers for the taking. We’d never been more certain about anything then the fact that she would do very well living here in this community.
Ann Arbor was even more enchanting than I remembered it. The downtown “social district” was thriving and full of life even late into the night. We loved walking around and seeing all the cute shops, restaurants, and theaters. I think anyone would love it here, but we were wondering after this night if Melissa would be continuing on with us or setting up residence in Ann Arbor. The collegiate life here called to her.
There you have it, the first day of our Pure Michigan Vacation. Seymour, Indiana was like I said, a solid 10/10 and that first night in Ann Arbor gave us an amazing sampling of what lie in store for us the next day! All three of us fell hard in love with that city too, but none of us more than Melissa. She was absolutely enchanted by the university life and all that it had to offer.
As always, THANK YOU so much for viewing! I appreciate you all greatly! Feel free to leave a comment below as I LOVE reading and responding to them! I’ll return super soon with the second day of our Pure Michigan Vacation, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!
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If you ever get the chance to go up to Michigan I would 100% recommend taking it! Keep an eye out for the other posts that’ll be coming in the days ahead! You’ll wanna go even more!
Never been that far north but seeing these here pictures with the other days really makes me want to go and check it all out!
If you ever get the chance to go up to Michigan I would 100% recommend taking it! Keep an eye out for the other posts that’ll be coming in the days ahead! You’ll wanna go even more!
That’s really neat you guys got to see John Mellencamp’s hometown!
I’m so thankful we did! It was the best!