Hi all. New to the forum here. I am planning a trip in August 2011 from Northern NJ to Interlochen Michigan (near Traverse City) and back. I will be with my wife and 2 of my kids (12, 8) on the way out, and adding the 3rd kid (14) on the way back. I was thinking of taking a Northerly route through Upstate NY and Ontario one way, and southerly through Ohio and PA the other way. We're thinking to make it fairly leisurely, hopefully no more than 4-5 hours of driving per day on average.
Any suggestions on interesting stops on the way there or back? I'm pretty familiar with upstate NY, but am much less so with Western PA, Ohio, Michigan and Southern Ontario. As far as interests, we all tend to like hiking/outdoors activities, state/national parks, historical sites, unique off the beaten path attractions, local fairs/festivals, and local non-chain restaurants/diners/other eateries.
Hope this isn't too broad a question to generate comment, but I'd be interested in any suggestions from anyone who has driven a similar route or lives in any of the areas we'd be driving through. Thanks!