Ever since Wednesday, August 17, Northern Michiganders have both embraced and grappled with the news that the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and surrounding region are considered the “most beautiful place in America” — at least according to 22 percent of 100,000 voters who participated in the ABC show Good Morning America’s online competition the second week of August.
It’s a quiet evening in The Village at The Homestead. Months of heavy equipment excavations and re-shaping around the parking area at the base of the ski hill are nearly complete, and four days of constant rain have settled the dust and painted the hillsides the lush green of a cool, wet June. But inside the elegant eatery called Nonna’s, it’s warm and welcoming.
What’s remarkable about the Baremans’ work is that, wherever possible, they’ve used reclaimed and refurbished materials to improve their home, which they call the HalSeaOn House. Mark, who together with his brother owns a commercial construction business called Bareman & Associates, believes he’s saved 75 percent of the cost of buying new materials. Using reclaimed materials has cost him time, but that he writes off as a hobby.
On Saturday, May 14, the Glen Lake Fire Department conducted training exercises across from The Homestead resort main entrance on M-22 north of Glen Arbor.
The national wedding magazine, The Knot, has named The Homestead resort north of Glen Arbor as the 2011 Best of Weddings pick among wedding venues nationwide. The Homestead, as well as other northwest-lower Michigan wedding destinations including the Inn at Bay Harbor in Petoskey, Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville and Mission Point Resort and the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island were featured in a story today in the Grand Rapids Press.
Glen Arbor, Michigan, has a lot going for it. Lake Michigan, the Sleeping Bear Dunes, friendly locals, a vibrant art scene … and here’s a new notch for the belt. BroBible.com (“Every bro has a story”), an online fraternity-spirit lad mag, has named Glen Arbor among the most “Bro Towns” in the United States.
This cozy, family style pub in the village at The Homestead offers pizzas, paninis and salads in a warm setting with live entertainment along with multiple flat screen TV’s to view the big game.
Along a great inland sea within the confines of a spectacular national lakeshore lies The Homestead. It’s on the shore of Lake Michigan’s Manitou Passage across the bay from Sleeping Bear Dunes, the largest moving dunes in the world. When you visit, you’ll discover beaches on which you can walk for hours without interruption.