Changes in our Gift Basket shipping policy

I would like to highlight the changes to our shipping policy that are affective immediately. We have not changed our prices for shipping, just the timetable for getting out orders. You can still take advantage of our flat-rate shipping for as low as $8.95. Until this week, all orders that were placed by 1 p.m. EST were shipped out that same day. Our new policy is to ship orders within 24 hours of receiving them.

For Example: If you place your order on Monday before 5 p.m. it will ship Tuesday morning. If your order was placed after 5 p.m. we would see it in our system first thing Tuesday morning and your basket would ship on Wednesday morning.

Most gift basket orders arrive at their destinations within 3 Days (not counting Sundays) via USPS Priority Mail and baskets shipped via UPS generally arrive within 3-5 Business Days.

Most orders shipped within Michigan via Priority Mail and UPS will arrive at their destination in 1-2 days. Remember, when your order is shipped you will receive a confirmation email that includes the tracking information for your gift basket.

Feel free to read our Shipping Policy for all of the details and pricing information.

Free guide to Michigan's State Parks

Michigan has 97 state parks and recreation areas. That makes for a lot of opportunities for recreation that many other states just don't have. It also makes for a lot of information to go through when you try to decide to camp or stop at one of our state parks. Well, I created a lens at Squidoo on the Michigan State Parks that I hope parcels out enough information to help narrow down your search without overwhelming the user. For each of the state parks and recreation areas I provide campground details (if a campground is available) and the recreation activities that await visitors such as hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, and many others.

Each state park listing is provided with a link to a page with even more information about that park. Basically, my guide is a condensed highlight guide that you can scan much quicker than the full detail pages.

The Michigan State Parks are grouped geographically as follows - Upper Peninsula State Parks Northern Michigan State Parks Western Michigan State Parks Eastern Michigan State Parks

Visit the Michigan State Parks lens today.

We are closed for the 4th of July

Just a note to our customers - we will be closed in observation of the 4th of July Holiday. Any orders placed after 1pm today and during tomorrow will ship on Thursday, July 5th. Have a safe and happy 4th!

Still some spaces available at State Park Campgrounds

Surprisingly enough there are still campsites available at State Park Campgrounds. Usually the 4th of July holiday sees 100% capacity at nearly every park. It is one of the biggest (along with Labor Day Weekend) camping dates on the summer calendar. You will be most successful in finding a site if you choose one of the lesser known (but still wonderful) Michigan State Parks. The Detroit Free Press has a list of the current occupancy report and you can visit Michigan.gov/dnr for a list that is supposed to be updated each morning.

Collection of stories and photos of the Mackinac Bridge

Michigan.gov has a great photo gallery of the Mackinac Bridge celebrating it's 50 years of service. You can view them here. I must admit that the photos would be much better if they did not have a large and ugly watermark slashed across each photo. The photos are broken down into three galleries - Scenic, Events (like the bridge's dedication ceremony), and Construction.

The Traverse City Record Eagle has a slew of articles about the Mackinac Bridge in honor of the 50th anniversary of the bridge's completion. The big celebration for the Mackinac Bridge will take place July 27 & 28 in both St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.

Read Big Mac at 50 for links to other articles at the Traverse City Record Eagle.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Mackinac Bridge page at Squidoo.

Video of ex-Marine beating pickpocket

You can view the security camera footage from the convenience store where 72 year old ex-Marine Bill Barnes beat up a would-be pickpocket. Man, I hope I am that agile when I am 72. Mr. Barnes, you can still throw a mean punch.

Watch it at Mlive.com.