Esther and I are planning our trips for 2011 and one that we are thinking of is going to visit two of my nephews who live in Michigan.

The younger one lives outside of Detroit and the older one lives in Marquette. If we did this trip it would be a driving trip and I'm trying to decide which way gives me more bang for my buck, so to speak.

Here are my possible routes to and from- leaving from the Trenton, NJ area.

Leg 1 -

Driving up to Buffalo, NY and then the Ontario side of Lake Erie to the Detroit area stopping along the way to see the lighthouses in the buffalo area for sure and any others that are easy to get to. We just did most of the lighthouses on Lake Erie from Erie, PA to Sandusky, OH.

Leg 2-

Option 1-

Driving from the Detroit area up to Marquette along the Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron side of Michigan over the Macinac Bridge and up to Sault St. Marie and west to Marquette.

Option 2-

Driving across southern michigan and then up the coast of Lake Michigan to Macinac Bridge and up to Sault St. Marie and west to Marquette.

Leg 3 -
Option 1-

Leaving Marquette and driving to Escanaba and then back to Sault St. Marie and the driving down the coast of Lake Huron to Barrie and Toronto and then around Lake Ontario and cross over to Alexandria Bay and drive back to Trenton via I-81.

Option 2-

Leaving Marquette and driving to Escanaba and then back to Sault St. Marie and the driving down the coast of Lake Huron to Barrie go to the Bruce Pe ninsula and down to Port Huron / Sarnia and over to Toronto and back home.

Here's what I'd like to know - basically which option of Leg 2 and 3 have the most diverse types of lighthouses and are the easiest to get to without too much back and forth driving.

Thanks in advanc for any info you can give to me- especially if you've driven these basic routes and have ideas on places to stay or eat.

I'm planning on taking 11 to 14 days to do this trip.


Dennis