July 4th Weekend in Traverse City, Michigan

By Lu

Fresh cherries hanging from the tree

Oh..long weekend, how I love thee. At times, I utilize a long weekend just as time to be lazy and not have to dread the coming of Monday. However, this last Fourth of July weekend was filled with stuff to do and there was no time to be lazy!

Sandrine and I had planned this trip months ago. Traverse City is a destination city in the state of Michigan that is well known for its annual Cherry Festival. The city itself is beautiful, located on the Grand Traverse Bay and set apart from the water of Lake Michigan by Leelanau Peninsula. We definitely wanted to go there because of the Cherry Festival and trying all kinds of cherry related items. This area is the largest producer of tart cherries in the US. I have had their cherries before, and they're damn good! This was my second trip to this area. However, last time I was there with my parents and my sister, Ri, it was late in the season for cherries. Thus why when Sandrine talked about going there for Cherry Festival, I immediately booked the time to go.

Though I went with my girlfriend, this trip felt more like a family trip. Sandrine; her mom, Auntie Karen; her baby son, Brode; and I had tons of fun together. We really made the most of this short weekend trip. Sandrine was the master planner - she got everything down: places to go, restaurants to eat, things to try. It was great as all I had to do was drive. I am a planner myself and thus why I loved it when things are mapped out as we could guarantee that the time we had would be well spent. With no further delay, here are the highlights of our trip:


CHERRY FESTIVAL

Cups of cherries for sale at the festival

The Traverse City Cherry Festival is quite popular in the Midwest part of the country and it attracts hundred thousands of people yearly. I believe it because when we were there, the downtown area where the festival was held was quite a zoo. The festival is actually still ongoing right now as it started on July 1st and will conclude on July 9th. If you want to go, you still have a chance! However, hotels might be a problem. We booked ours back in the beginning of the year and all the decent  hotels were already booked up by then.

The festival itself was held in the downtown area of TC by Front Street and also by the waterfront. There were all kinds of rides and street festival foods - Elephant Ears, Funnel Cakes, Brats, Burger, you name it! However, of course since it was the Cherry Festival, you could find all kinds of vendors selling cherry items from Cherry jelly, preserves, dried cherries, fresh cherries, cherry wines, etc. Sandrine had a cherry burger which was pretty good. I loved the Grand Traverse Pie Company's Cherry Pie a la mode. Sandrine thought it was too tart. Oh well, more for me! We also had fun watching the air show that was going on while we were there. Other than having difficulty finding parking, I thought the Cherry Festival was a great summer fun.

Cherry Pie a la Mode...so good!

SLEEPING BEAR DUNES

Sleeping Bear Dunes, that's Sandrine on top!

When I caught the sight of The Sleeping Bear Dunes, I started cussing, in front of the baby and all! I was so ashamed of myself. Good thing Brode couldn't catch what I was saying but this dune was fn huge! Oups, did I say that again?!

I've never heard of this place before and in fact, I've never set foot on dunes before except the "Dunes" in the Las Vegas Strip, which I am pretty sure didn't count. It is acclaimed as the biggest dune in the country and it is no doubt huge. Sandrine who climbed it before said it took hours and hours to hike it. When you thought you reached the end or the top, more showed up. I didn't attempt to do the whole hike. I just climbed to the first sort of top that I could see and I had a blast taking pictures there. The scenery from that high point was so beautiful. There are tons of things to do here other than hiking. It is a whole national park. Go check out their website by clicking the title section to learn more about what they have to offer. When we went back to town of Glen Arbor, there's also a beautiful beach. It wasn't too crowded and out of state vehicles did not need to pay to go to the beach. I loved the beach here better than the one in town in Traverse City just because it was so serene and clean.

So quiet..

LEELANAU WINE CELLARS

Northern Michigan is filled with a lot of wineries and wine tasting opportunities. Last time I was here, we went to the Black Star Farm which I heard was owned or co-owned by Madonna. It was a nice farm. They offered wine tasting and also cheese tasting. However,  this time, we went to the Leelanau Wine Cellars in the town of Omena. It was probably 40 minutes away from Traverse City but worth the travel. The trip to  get there was picturesque. We had to travel along the coastline of the Leelanau Peninsula, and boy the view was simply breathtaking. Then, we got to the town of Leelanau, and the downtown area was quite charming with little chatzky shops around. We had to go six miles further to get to the Wine Cellars. The place was small, but the view was grand. The tasting room was overlooking the lake and you could see the calm blue water, sail boats floating, sea gulls flying - and you were there sipping wines and cleaning your palate with crackers. Uh, life was just simply good. I actually bought a bottle of their Select Harvest Riesling. I love the sweetness of it and it was pretty moderately priced. I would definitely recommend anyone who is traveling to this area to make the drive here. I could sit on the dock for  hours taking pictures. I really really could.

Leelanau Wine Cellars

NORTH PEAK BREWING COMPANY

Cherry BBQ Ribs

I loved this restaurant/brewery. As soon as we got to the parking lot, we saw they had a patio area, and a guy with a guitar singing and saying about Saturday night is perfect time to make love as there's nothing good on TV. I just laughed listening to it. Alrighty then!

The food was quite good! They started it right by serving a warm soft bread with soft butter that had a hint of something I couldn't make out of. Then, we ordered one of their beers, the Northern Light, which obviously was their lightest weight beer. It was nice, and it helped me sleep at night. I slept like a baby from one glass of beer. They did serve me the beer in a cracked glass but oh well. It didn't tear my lips luckily. Then, we ordered an appetizer, Beer Steamed Mussels, which was quite good. Not sure if I was liking the beer taste better than if it was cooked with white wine, but it was tasty enough. We asked for the add sausage, but we didn't get the sausage. Yet, our waitress was such a doll and nice, so again we let it slide. Next, for dinner, Cherry BBQ Ribs and Fish and Chips. Fish n Chips were just meh, the breading was too thick for me. However, the Cherry BBQ Ribs were yum!! Loved it! We skipped dessert as we were stuffed after chowing down the ribs!


RENNIE ORCHARDS

Brode helping mommy picking cherries

Located in Williamsburg, Michigan about 45 minutes away from Traverse City, Rennie Orchards was a nice place for cherry picking. You can pick your own cherries from the trees, and it was only $2.50 a pound - much cheaper than the store! The cherry trees were lined in never ending series of trees it seemed like to me. I was mesmerized with all the low hanging fruits and wanting to cherry pick them. LOL! That's where all those saying came from! I had a ball taking pictures more than the picking. I just found the farm to be so charming with so many good objects for my camera. Sandrine, Auntie Karen, and Brode were having fun cherry picking however.

Rainier Cherries

FOODS

Cherry French Toasts

Ok, so I told you about the cherry burger, cherry BBQ ribs, and cherry pie a la mode. We also had a chance to consume more cherry foods among others the cherry french toasts at the Omelette Shoppe and Bakery. What we saw online about this place was top shelf. However, I didn't think their omelette was the best I've ever had. It was just okay. We did enjoy the cherry french toasts however. It was made with cherry bread that was dipped in egg then fried, and topped with more cherries. Yum!

We also had cherry ice cream that was made by Moomers - voted best in America. Not sure who voted but it was quite yummy. We had the black cherry ice cream, and the cherry Moo-bilee.

Moomer's Cherry Moo-bilee

Then, black cherry margarita at La Senorita Mexican Restaurant, which I found way too sweet for my palette. Sandrine also bought dried cherries to give to me to make more scones. I bought some cherry sour patch kids candies which are yummilicious. Oh, we also had cherry smoothies at Dish Cafe as well! I saw some beautiful looking Quesadillas there, but too bad we didn't have time to try the food of Dish Cafe.

Cousin Jenny's Pasties

The only local delicacy (and not cherry) that I didn't get to sample is the Pasties. Cornish Pasties are adapted by the locals there as their "original fast food." Pasties are ...and no, Ri, they are not the adhesive stickes to cover women's nipples. Ok, let's try it again..pasties are the British version of Empanada or a Calzone. It is usually consists of dough as the outer skin, and filled with beef, diced potatoes, onions and turnips. Then, the filling will be encased inside the dough with the edges crimped so it does look exactly like an empanada or Indonesian Pastel even. In fact, maybe Indonesians got the name "Pastel" from "Pasties." We went to two different places for this, and they were both closed. I was so intrigued with this restaurant "Cousin Jenny's" that serves Pasties and Tea Pastry. It will be a sure stop when I come back to this area.

Hole in one!

Auntie Karen also had a chance to participate at the "Million Dollar Hole in One" golf contest at Bay Meadow Golf Course. She didn't get the hole in one, but she was the third best for the day! That was not shabby at all! Go Auntie Karen!! We also spent more time at the beach. The second day we were at the Traverse City Beach Park, and this one was busier than the one by the Dunes. It was still pretty, and the sun was shining hot, though the water was still chilly.

I also need to thank my friend, Peggy, who pushed me to bring my camera with me. Though she lives in Auckland, New Zealand, distance didn't hinder her from encouraging me to put my camera to good use, practice, and hone-in my skills. I almost left my camera bag at home and would just travel with a pocket camera. I was so glad I listened to her as I had an absolute blast taking pictures. Thanks, Peg!

Well, maybe this little blurps will inspire you to visit this beautiful little area. If you're in the Midwest, this will be a cheap easy road trip that's so enjoyable and fun. I know Sandrine, Auntie Karen, and I had a great time there. Little Brode had tons of fun too playing and eating sands on the beach. That boy, he puts everything in his mouth! I had a ball playing auntie this weekend and I am still singing the wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round...all through the town!

Lu, Sandrine, and Brode chillin' on the beach

I didn't see one single fireworks this Fourth of July. However, this is what free people do in the weekends, having a great time with friends and family and enjoying this beautiful country we call home. Happy Independence Day, America!