The Mille Mitten Recap (Part 1) | #MilleMitten @GM @ChevyLife @Chevrolet

August 21st, 2012 by cliff

Over the weekend I was blessed to participate in the first annual Mille Mitten. To quickly summarize its purpose, The Mille Mitten is a road trip covering 1,000 miles of Pure Michigan. But it’s gets way deeper than that. Michigan has been a state where my myopic familiarity basically exists in Pontiac, Detroit, East Lansing, a few other few suburbs, and a couple summers at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake. This was an opportunity to see so much more that the state has to offer. Thanks to Ben Bator and Matt Ferrel who started the Mille Mitten, along with the good folks at GM, I was able to drive a Chevy Cruze LTZ for the whole weekend to fully experience the state, which I’ll get into in a few pictures…

Before the trip, my homie Tommey Walker stopped by the block…

his “Detroit Vs. Everybody” will surely do numbers……good looks bro

the line up

This was my ride for the weekend….. Christina Aguilera…. ‘Genie In A Bottle’ Christina though.

The interior was too ill….and the seats were comfortable

Driving snack.

The Work documented our experience this weekend…can’t wait to see their visuals.

The prelims…. Michael Savoni of GM, Annalisa Bluhm, and Ben Bator

breaking down the features of our vehicles for the weekend…..nice

They Lovin’ The Crew.

Mount up shawty.

After signing a few papers and other legalities, we were on the way.

I’ma be honest, the first few hours of driving, I was extremely nervous….Getting a brand new car, not knowing how it starts (push-to-start button blew my mind for a few minutes), solo dolo for the first leg, almost driving in the wrong gear (actually doing it before the first stop) etc…..Anyways, I shook all of that as we got to Saugatuck/Holland and stopped for lunch at the Felt Mansion.

Go ahead and read that….learn yourself today, haha.

dope views and beautiful weather.

Lunch by Zingerman’s Deli was clutch.

Trill

uh oh…..

Damn rock.

After lunch came a short hike….

….the trees opened up and we walked out to this…..like on some movie sh*t…..crazy

On the beach with 5′s on……hakuna matata

After lunch, we continued North.

Flex.

Came up to my first scenic turnout ever in life…..crazy

Turn up

On y va…..

….to Sleeping Bear Dunes

Then we reached our campsite…..the final stop for the night….450 miles of Pure Michigan down offtop. By far, the most time I’ve ever been behind the wheel in one sitting driving. I was tired, but glad the ride was comfortable thanks to Chevrolet.

With our cars safely parked and the driving concluded for the evening, we jumped on the bus and headed to dinner.

Red Moon….or Mars……or Aliens….just don’t probe me

The Riverside Inn…….held me down

This is how the meal started……..mind you……..STARTED, haha…..

That evening’s toast was iconic…so official…wait till the footage drops

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan listen….

2 fluuuuuuuuuuuutes.

Scallops

Whitefish wrapped in ham

My plate you asked? I rolled with the Tenderloin like a big dog.

After dinner we headed back to the campsite and pitched tents for sleep. if you were to tell me to pitch a tent or you would kill me, I would probably start writing my will on the spot without even thinking. Thankfully, Phil and Ben got their Master’s degrees in pitching tents in complete darkness…amazing.

My view before the slumber….I wish this picture showed how many star were in the sky….never seen anything like it…as for sleeping in a tent, it was my first time. I figured it how to comfortable and slept like a baby…with the first day in the books, the trip has just begun…….the saga continues…..till next time.