For six years I have wanted to visit Traverse City and this year I finally made it. This tourism hub deserves its reputation. The shoreline is beautiful beaches and I will never forgive myself not packing smarter. I wore skinny jeans of all things and while I wasn’t particularly hot during the day, I forfeited my chance at wading in the crystal clear Grand Traverse Bay. The beaches were more crowded than Ludington and there were food vendors but miraculously there were very few seagulls – as if I could love this state more!
What fascinated me most about Up North in general is the lack of interest in food. It was a warm summer day and I wanted to find the signature ice cream spot. When I asked our waiter at lunch for a referral he suggested Kilwins (a chain we have here) and fro-yo (no explanation necessary)! Appalled by the suggestions, I decided to check out a shop we passed on our brief walk through downtown. I’m so glad I did. Milk & Honey was fantastic! The home-made ice cream was some of the best I have had. I picked the coffee ice cream and even anti-coffee flavor Danny enjoyed it.
The other odd food thing was that Traverse City is known for cherries and yet I did not see one mention of cherries the entire time we were there. When we asked for the best cherry pie in town, we were told the Grand Traverse Pie Company! Another chain that sells their heavily sugared pies in boxes at the grocery store. I hope we simply ran into the wrong people on our trip otherwise, Michigan foodieism has a long way to travel.
For our Beer Scouts we visited Right Brain Brewery. The trio tried nearly everything they had to offer on tap and I tried their waffle burger. It was surprisingly delicious and a little redemption for the north in the area of food.
Here’s a group shot taken by Maddy: Hobbits and Elves.
CarrieDaway 