On your way up to Bay City for breakfast, make a stop off in Flint for coffee at Cafe Rhema, a moody European-inspired café that offers espresso drinks and a chandelier-lit interior. You can also grab artisan sandwiches, bubble tea, fresh baked goods, and smoothies. Note that the cafe does not open until 10:30 AM on Sundays.

Fuel up for brunch at Uptown Grill, a classic Michigan eatery serving up sweet and savory breakfasts and lunches. A favorite among locals and travelers, the eatery offers large portions that will not leave you disappointed. The menu also offers gluten-free options, including gluten-free pancakes or french toast, and gluten-free bread for sandwiches.

The Fish Point Wildlife Refuge is a large sanctuary spanning seven miles across the bay's shoreline. The area serves as one of the most critical wetlands — a population of over 3 million waterfowl migrates to the region annually. Spend some time driving the roads observing closely for wildlife around you; you may be able to spot owls, eagles, waterfowl, and geese and duck populations. You can either observe from your car driving around the roads or step outside and walk around to view closer. As it is a refuge, the area is quite barren and remote, and cell service is nil.

Head up the thumb towards Sleeper State Park, which has over 700 acres of wetlands, an ancient dune forest, and sandy beach-lined shores. This is a quiet park away from the crowds, and offers a nice balance between forestry hiking trails and beautiful shores. For amenities, the campground on the park offers modern restrooms and a coffee shop outside of the entrance that sells coffee and snacks.
The park is named after Albert E. Sleeper, Michigan governor from 1917 until 1920. He signed into law women's right to vote and was honored with the park name because he signed the statue that helped create and preserve Michigan's state park system.

Drive to Caseville, a small town known for its beaches and fishing, to hop on the Charity Island Dinner Tour through Explorer Charters, a family-owned business that offers tours of the waters and surrounding landmarks, including the not-too-distant island. The dinner cruise will take you on a one-hour boat trip to the island, where you will see remarkable views of the bay and Charity Island. Once on the island, you will eat Lake Perch or steak dinner on the island and hear a presentation about the Charity Island Lighthouse and related maritime history.
You will depart at Caseville Municipal Harbor at 4 pm, returning at approximately 9:30 pm with Captain Tom, a Great Lakes charter captain for over 30 years, as your trusted guide. To book your tour, call the charter directly.

Once the charter reaches the island, you will enjoy dinner and the chance to explore the shores and historic lighthouse grounds that have sat on the island since 1857. Charity Island is a preserved, mysterious, and isolated island sitting in the middle of Saginaw Bay. The island serves as an important and almost completely protected wildlife refuge for over 200 species of migratory birds. There is only one family who inhabits the island, which is the lightkeeper's house that sits next to the lighthouse. In 1992, the family sought to sell the island to build real estate, but they eventually decided the land needed to be preserved. So they sold the land to the Federal Fish & Wildlife Service in 1997 to ensure its natural resources were protected from future development.
The island has an abundant outcropping of limestone embedded with pieces of "chert," a version of flint, a once-important resource to Native Americans for stone-making. For 2,000 years before Europeans arrived in Michigan, Native Americans navigated to the island for chert. Today, the island is heavily littered with the remains of the stone tool-making activity by generations of Native Americans. You can explore the shores yourself to see if you can find any!

After exploring the island, take the charter ferry back to head back onto the mainland in Caseville. You'll get panoramic sunset views of the lake before heading back to the car to go home for the night.
Once you return to shore, drive your way back home and embrace your day's getaway, a lush, tucked-away island that sits not too far from the bustle of everyday life. A visit to this remote vista reminds us of the many other worlds and wildlife that inhabit our earth.