While on our vacation up north earlier this month, we made a stop at Romaniks Ranch, located about 15 miles south of Mackinaw City along I-75. The place does an excellent job of marketing themselves with billboards and flyers. We knew going in that some of the items being advertised - the corn maze and pumpkin patch - wouldn't be available, but the promise of ranch animals and a petting farm along with a playground etc was enough to draw us in. While it's not a bad place, we did leave somewhat disappointed. The ranch animals were pretty far off of the trail and hard to see (bring binoculars). The gem panning wasn't available, and the were only a few petting animals. The playground consists of a swingset, two tractor tires with sand, and a wooden tractor w/ trailer. If only the place was as nice as its marketing, they might have something... for now I'd classify it as a tourist trap.
Speaking of tourist traps... we of course had to stop in at Sea Shell City - an I-75 landmark for nearly as long as the freeway has been open in northern Michigan. It had been many years since I'd been inside and if my memory is correct, it's nothing like it was before. I remember row after row of sea shells, stones and such. Now it's pretty much a knick-knack store focusing on sea and pirate items. But hey... the pirate ship in the parking lot was tons of fun for our boys!
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