Linger Travel Co was established in 2023 by us (Erin, Jeremy, and Maggie) during our month-long family trip to Europe. The idea, however, has been growing for nearly 30 years.
Jeremy spent a year in the Loire Valley of France studying the French language and culture. While that sounds serious, he really spent most of his time getting to know people and their culture, hanging out with local college students in taverns and restaurants, parks and campgrounds, and museums and castles.
After returning from Europe, he decided to get to know his own country and spent the next decade circumnavigating the US landscape in a 1970 VW Bus. He lived in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, on the desert edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Reno, in the punk rock neighborhood of Southeast Portland Oregon, in the college town of East Lansing, and as a caretaker for Frank Lloyd Wright homes in lower Michigan.
After finishing his degree in French and Political Science, he found his way back to France, teaching English at a local high school in the Alsace region on the border of Germany. There, he immersed himself in local culture, working on vineyards during wine harvest, mushroom hunting with locals, hiking in the Vosges Mountains along the famous Alsatian Wine Route. He fell in love with France, French people, and their culture of walkable towns focused on artisanal foods.
When he and Erin met, she introduced Jeremy to her Michigan, the one he had escaped for a decade. They enjoyed the lakes and wildlife of Northern Michigan, they spent their honeymoon chasing the waterfalls of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and then created a cool little human to join them, Maggie, who has been along for the ride ever since. Now, they build unique community experiences in their hometown region of Battle Creek, Michigan, focused on local food and tomfoolery.
Together, they are embarking on this new adventure—to show you the world their way, slowly, immersing you in the culture of a region with unrushed itineraries, getting to know locals and their world.
You should come along for an adventure!
Take your time. Go deep, not fast.
Savor. Eat like the locals.
Go your own way.