TRAVERSE CITY -- Handicap the upcoming tourist season, someone asked downtown candy shop owner Brian Daily.
Daily, who owns Kilwin's Chocolates on East Front Street, looked for a piece of wood on which to knock. The Memorial Day weekend -- the unofficial kick-off of summer -- had him hoping for a healthy mix of visitors and locals, and a good turnout could be a harbinger for summer.
"It's a big dollar weekend for me," Daily said as he and an assistant bagged sticky, sweet caramel corn. "We'll prep like we always do and hope for the best."
The region's merchants are anxious for an infusion of tourists, but they also might get a bump from another source: locals who intend to stay home this weekend.
Several area residents plan to stay put in northern Michigan, opting to avoid highways and rising gas prices.
"We don't have travel plans. We're going to stick close to home in Leelanau County," said Shelly Steimel, of Lake Leelanau.
Steimel plans to do some gardening and her husband likely will go fishing, she said.
"When you live in a beautiful spot, you don't have to travel. People come from all over the world to come here," Steimel said.
Steimel and others should enjoy decent weather over the long holiday weekend. After an early chance of showers, skies should clear today with plentiful sunshine on Sunday and Monday, said Andy Sullivan of the National Weather Service office in Gaylord. Forecast highs are in the upper 60s to low 70s, he said, with lows in the 40s.
"It's a little cooler than it has been," Sullivan said. "But not a bad weekend, definitely."
Conditions should be perfect for folks like Bruce Ogden, of Gaylord, who plans to entertain downstate friends who headed north for the holiday weekend.
"We'll barbecue and sit around and shoot the breeze," he said.
It's the same for Niki Trubiroha, of Traverse City, whose family occasionally visits Mackinac Island for the Memorial Day holiday.
"I think we're just going to hang out at home, have family over, maybe barbecue. We'll keep it pretty low-key," she said.
Dolores Frever, of Lake City, normally would hit the highway this weekend on a motorcycle with her husband. But a medical condition doesn't allow him to ride for a number of months. Instead, they'll stay near home, she said.
"We'll just relax, rather than run around like fools like we normally do," Frever said.
Not everyone will be kicking back over the holiday. Dr. Mark Mikula, of Traverse City, will work in the emergency room at Munson Medical Center, shifts that preclude any out-of-town trips.
"I have to work all weekend, taking care of the people coming here," Mikula said.
Grace Truax, of Interlochen, also will be busy at her family's gas station and party store.
"We have the business, so we'll stick around," she said.
Truax hopes tourists make it worth her time. She does hope to sneak in a trip to a community garage sale in Benzie County.
Backyard pool time and grilling are in the weekend forecast for Sue Kelly, of Traverse City.
"We're just going to hang out and hopefully the weather will be nice," she said. "Our time in the sun is short, so we want to enjoy it while we can."
Joe Durocher, of Traverse City, will be doing work of a different nature: building a National Cherry Festival float for Central Grade School. That precludes a road trip, he said.
His family takes the occasional jaunt to Chicago, but that's not in the plans this year, since he's already working toward the community's next big summer event.
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