TROY, Mich. – Peter Manos decided to walk to Mackinaw City from his Metro Detroit home. He had no reason for the trek beyond that he loves walking and his house felt empty when his son left for school.
Manos dropped his son off at college in August.
“I came home and the house was so empty. I came home and thought, ‘Now what do I do?’” he said.
Manos walked 18 miles north from his house in Troy to stretch his legs. But, instead of stopping, he just kept going until he reached the top of the state because he had the time to do so. He said his wife was mostly supportive of his adventure.
“She didn’t physically block me, let’s put it that way,” Manos said.
Manos’ journey took him 19 days to complete. He would walk as many miles as he could in a day, would stop at a hotel for the night and would pick up where he left off the next day.
He said he met interesting people and stumbled across an abandoned town.
“It really is about the journey,” Manos said.
He doesn’t have any big walks planned, but he has heard about a trail from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.