My girlfriend and I are doing our first extended weekend bike tour starting this Thursday. I bought maps from League of Michigan Bicyclists and they have the trip broken down into 60 mile days. I have a couple questions for those that know this area:

If we're only able to do a couple legs of the trip, what would be your favorite route? Options are:
Montague to Ludington:60 miles
Ludington to Frankfort: 64 miles
Frankfort to Traverse City: 61 miles
Old Mission Peninsula: 40 miles


Also, what do you guys do with your car when you leave it for a few days? I ask because we have to drive up to our starting point and have to get back to it somehow. Ideally, I'd like to ride straight north for 3 days, rent a car and drive back to my car at the starting point. But that's proving to not be as easy as I originally thought.

Any advice for a noob?