Inspired by the Humans of New York project, I took the time to walk around my own area — Muskegon, Fruitport, and Grand Haven — to talk to strangers about their favorite parts of Michigan.

Here are their photos and stories:

What is your favorite place to relax?

Nita: “Heritage Landing, you get a chance to look at the water, sit down and
be, and just walking is great.”

What is your favorite place to vacation?

Florence: “Probably Traverse City. It’s a real cool town.”

Where is your favorite place to eat?

Homer: [pointing at wife] “Her house… haha, but I like Hennesey’s Pub. I gave up drinking a while back, [but] I wouldn’t mind chugging a few scotches there.”

Where would you like to be right now?

Diane: “Detroit. I have family out there.”

Where is your favorite place to eat?

Michelle: “Mr. Scrib’s. My favorite pizza!”

What is your favorite fall activity?

“Road tripping – like a fall color tour. Checking out all the color changes and
stuff.”

What is your favorite part of where you live?

Austin: “The lakes are just beautiful. For me in particular, being around water
just makes me feel calm. It’s where I go when i’m pissed off.”

Where is the best place to vacation?

Steven: “Honestly, the west side of Michigan is just my favorite place to be”

What would you tell someone to convince them to come here?

Misty: “Nothing… haha, just kidding! I would say the Mackinac Bridge. I would tell them to come during Labor Day to take the walk across it. I actually just did it.”

What is your favorite fall activity?

Dakota: “I love fishing for Rainbow Trout in the rivers.”

Where is your favorite place to eat?

Cameron: “Pronto Pups. Pronto Pups is the best.”

What is your favorite fall activity?

Donna: “Biking. I’ve just biked all my life, and my parents never let me have one until I was 12 years old. Once you got one, you just couldn’t get off!”

What is your favorite thing about Michigan?

Deondre: “I like the land, man. It’s full of trees and water — pretty nice.”

Where is your favorite place to relax?

Karen: “That would be Mt. Pleasant. It’s very pleasant there!”

What would you tell someone to convince them to come here?

Ayla: “The water. There is so much of it.”

Where is your favorite place to eat?

Linda: “There is a great place I tried in Grand Rapids and I had a gyro. It’s called Zesty Gyros. They are family owned.”

What is your favorite place in Michigan?

Kevin: “The falls — Tahquamenon Falls.”

What is your favorite Michigan activity?

Karen: “Let’s see, they have beautiful beaches, but… oh, Grand Rapids Art!”

What is your favorite thing about Michigan?

Reuben: “The weather and how it changes so much.”

If you could be anywhere right now where would you be?

Brian: “Living Water Bible Church!”

What’s the best thing about Michigan?

Dave: “Everything. I live on the lake, and my house is the best place to be.”

Where do you want to be right now?

Lori: “The U.P. My grandmother is from there, and my whole family used to log up there. There are so many places up there I love. They live on a ranch and my whole
family heritage is up there. We are actually planning a trip to go up there.”

How could you convince someone to come here?

Chris: “To try and be as close to the lakes as possible. The water is the best.”

What is your favorite thing about Michigan?

Kenneth: “I would say our summers and seasons. We go through extreme weather. It’s good — we get both extremes, and we get all of the seasons and get to do summer things and winter things so quickly. So many opportunities.”