Exploring Michigan's Sunrise Coasts is a different kind of travel book. One of a three-book series, it is a traveler's companion of fascinating background for the towns, villages, cities, and points of interest contained within its pages. It includes museums, parks, beaches, lighthouses, ghost stories, shipwrecks, stories about the famous or infamous with ties to the shores, disasters that shaped the state, and movies and books with connections to the stops. Exploring Michigan's Sunrise Coasts skips information about lodging, restaurants, souvenir shops, or other listings that are quickly outdated. Today's travelers obtain those types of up-to-date specifics on the internet. The author believed, based on her travels and travel writing experience, that before exploring a new place, a visitor wants a bit of history and a feel for the location. The books follow the cogs of the St. Lawrence Seaway that define Michigan's borders. This first volume, Exploring Michigan's Sunrise Coasts, includes listings from Luna Pier to Mackinaw City. Book Two focuses on Exploring Michigan's Upper Peninsula Coasts. Book Three, Exploring Michigan's Sunset Coasts, takes the traveler along Lake Michigan's west coast.
The journey begins on I-75 in Michigan's southeast corner, progresses along Lake Erie, the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River, and Lake Huron. Book Two picks up across the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan's Upper Peninsula at St. Ignace and takes the traveler along the St. Mary's River, Lake Superior's southern coast, and Lake Michigan's northern shore. Book Three continues along Lake Michigan's shoreline at Cross Village ending at Michigan's southwestern point in New Buffalo. What Royce envisioned was a traveler's companion to add flavor and spice to the travel adventure.