Traverse City, Michigan
2023 July 4th Holiday (7 days)
Sandy dunes. Sunny beaches. Cherry orchards. World-class wineries. On the northwest edge of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, the small town of Traverse City is a hub for foodies, wine connoisseurs, outdoor enthusiasts, and cherry lovers. Surrounded by water, towering forests, and gorgeous beaches, this Lake Michigan beach town is the perfect destination for a summer or fall getaway!
You'll be in awe of the crystal clear waters and the wind blowing through your hair on a large lake that feeds into Lake Michigan. You can't feel more patriotic during the 4th of July than The Cherry Festival, Thunderbird Airshow, Grand Traverse Bay, riding bikes along the water, visiting botanical gardens, historic tours, wonderful food and a visit with friends from the opposite coast of the US.
SATURDAY
SPICER ORCHARDS
The drive from Ohio to Traverse is about 7 hours. What better way to break up the trip than to pick cherries at a U-Pick cherry farm! Mom and I arrived at the orchard before Paris and Dylan so we took the opportunity to grab a glass of cherry wine and sit on the back porch of the winery and enjoy the weather while we waited for them. We were perched over ripe cherry trees, strawberry fields, a petting zoo, antique farm items and people watched over several acres in front of us. Once Paris and Dylan arrived, we took our picnic lunch and ate in the cherry orchard for a beautiful view on our way to go cherry picking ourselves. Luckily, we have a 14-year-old boy who's quite limber and strong with us. So we could put him up in the tree to get the red ripe cherries. He also sat on Paris's shoulders to get some "unreachable", ripe cherries. 🍒
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| Dylan and Paris inside the U-pick cherry orchard |
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| Reaching for the dark red, ripe cherries to put in the bucket |
Airbnb - QUAINT DOWNTOWN TC GETAWAY
This is the first time we chose a place connected to a home where people have their residence. The location was perfect and the price was spot on for us. It came with bicycles, coffee, refreshments, home made cookies from the family and a bubble wrap couch (😂 ). Grandma pulled out the couch to test the mattress and it clearly had bubble wrap on it still. Or maybe she tooted! We all laughed so hard! There is a garden by the main road and we enjoyed looking at all the growing veggies and milkweed - its so beautiful! Smells like a big lilac ball and the butterflies LOVE it. |
| Stop to smell the Flowers - Milkweed |
APACHE TROUT GRILL
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| Apache Trout Grill Patio with West Traverse Bay behind us |
BIKING AROUND TRAVERSE
"Ding, ding ding" we were laughing with our predictions that Grandma would just ride through the intersections without stopping and that we may need to clear the way for her! Grandma hasn't been on a bike for 15 to 20 years, but she did so well considering her tires were completely flat! We didn't realize it until halfway to breakfast when she was so far behind but pedaling so fast! She finished the entire ride round trip with no complaining. She did a great job but was happy to be back in the air conditioning afterwards. It was a nice morning with a clear blue sky, no humidity, and a nice ride for the rest of us getting to breakfast.
SUNDAY
SUGAR 2 SALT
We want to come back for every meal! This breakfast and brunch only place was absolutely AMAZING. Seeing all of the food come out made us want to try a little of everything on the menu. Although it was hard to decide, we settled on and tasted a variety of items. Risotto, salad, Porridge with pear and strawberries, cherry juice, cherry limeade, iced Chai, scrambled eggs, and whole wheat toast with home made blueberry jam . We sat at the bar and watched the kitchen and everyone coming and going, order to go coffee, purchasing pastries (which are sold at many other coffee shops in town) and enjoying the rare sumac strung from the ceiling.
TRAVERSE COMMONS
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| Grand Traverse Commons with the red spires |
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| Storefronts inside the Mercado area |
We kept our bikes at the rack and walked over to Historic Mental Assylum across the street. This is the old state hospital that has been renovated and several more buildings in the complex are being worked on as well. It will be neat to continue coming back to see the growth and development of this area, considering how charming it is already. Its fun to explore the grounds with shops, galleries, cafes, bakeries, breweries and wine tastings. "Historic 1884 hospital complex now a sprawling shopping & dining spot with arboretum & hiking." Dylan found a sweet Detroit Lions shirt (since we are in Michigan, and lots of fun shops, "Ope" we learned that Mid westerns say this and we never recognized it in ourselves. We needed it explained to us, and not one minute later, Mom dropped something and instantly and unintentionally said Ope! Id like to take the tour of the property when we come back in the future.
THUNDERBIRD AIR SHOW
We planned to bike a mile or so to the Wester Traverse Bay after returning from Traverse Commons. Paris filled up the tires because they were all a bit low and we took off, just the two of us. BOOM -!!! The bike that Paris was riding had the back bike tire explode! He had to carry the bike (in 85 degrees) back to the house (up the big hill that I couldn't even ride my bike up!) and grab Dylan's. Off we go again!Paris and I went down to the water to watch Thunderbirds along the Bay. Its so crystal clear blue, expansive and pretty to watch this air show along the beach and bike path. The videos are pretty cool onn the YouTube channel. They did dozens of tricks and I was lucky enough to catch a few cool ones like the 6 planes making this heart and the flyover where they all meet up again.
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| Thunderbirds in formation along the Bay |
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| 5 Thunderbirds split from one to create a heart in the sky |
CHERRY FESTIVAL
The annual festival was a bucket- list for all of us. Its held was along the water at public parks on the Bay and we decided to take the BATA free public bus. The stop was a few blocks away but we waited a VERY long time for it. We were looking forward to having all the foods the Cherry Festival had to offer for dinner. We had the cup of cherries, cherry Pepsi and corn 🌽 on the cob, turkey leg, and French fries. We intended to get the cherry pie from Traverse Pie company (the line was so very long) but we were thinking we would hit the actual pie shop in a few days. It was quite disappointing that there was only one cherry distributor, one cherry pie, one tent of cherry vendor items and a very small area for the Cherry Festival items. The Midway of Amusement rides looked fun and Dylan didn't want to ride by himself. We walked back, and skipped the BATA after about an hour. We didn't hit the large beer tent or the concert venue but it's a beautiful location and would really be fun. If we came for a concernt, THAT would be fun and the way to see the Festival. Glad we did it once, don't care to come back for the Festival but DEFINETLY will return to Traverse City (and have a summer home in retirement?)
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| Cups of Cherry's - 3 types Sweet, Tart, Rainier |
We finished the evening by driving around town, unsuccessfully finding bike tires and a tube to repair the bike. ***our Airbnb owners were so kind to replace the tire @ no charge - her SIL owns a bike store and they had TONS of bikes there*** So we played one of our favorite games that we brought with us - Ticket to Ride. It was an exhausting and fun day!
MONDAY
SLEEPING BEAR DUNES
Scenic Loop - letting them all in for free.
Overlook #9 Lake Michigan view
Glen Arbor Cherry lunch (saw a patient)
Glen Haven ⛱️ Rock Hunting and Skipping Rocks Glen Haven
From semi-precious stones to fossil-imprinted rocks, there are endless treasures to be found on the shores of Lake Michigan. See if you can find the up north trifecta: Petoskey Stone, Leland Blue, and a piece of smooth beach glass.
Moomers Cherry Moobilee, Samoa, Grasshopper
Ted Lasso
TUESDAY
Botanic Garden Tour Calea cow? Dairy barns, fairy garden, repurpose buildings. HOT 🔥 🥵. Lunch at Pleasanton Bakery Charcuterie pizza and sodas - ate at the shelter. Trails for Dylan to run. A quick trip to Torch Lake area - 3rd most beautiful lake National Geographic. 1030 dark - skipped fireworks. Played Quixx dice game on the porch - poured rain after unpacking to the house - walked around property. Lake, pickleball, cornhole, RC track, go-carts and golf carts to rent. Running /biking track for Dylans runs. Firepit wierd location.
WEDNESDAY
Pickle ball 11-9 only game - played for 2 hours. Dylan excited to play. Shores arrived @ noon. Lake time, cocktails, Euchre, Inflatables, volleyball.
THURSDAY
Our next visit BucketList:
Paddle and Pints- https://paddleforpints.com/
Perry Hannah House - https://paddleforpints.com/
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