Traverse City…

Our last day in northern Michigan we took a drive to the west side of the state to visit Traverse City. At only an hour and half drive from Houghton Lake it makes for an easy day trip destination.

Front Street is the main thoroughfare through downtown Traverse City. Here you will find lots of shops, boutiques, jewelry store, galleries and of course a myriad of eateries.

This storefront window caught my eye because the jewelry was all made from native Michigan stones.

The Petoskey stone is one of my favorites…

We arrived around lunchtime, so we decided to find a place that had outdoor seating and was dog friendly. We came across The Little Fleet, a large fenced in courtyard with tables and chairs situated in the middle, the perimeter of the courtyard was lined with food trucks. https://www.thelittlefleet.com/

After lunch it was time to find dessert, I wanted ice cream, so we went to Kilwins (https://www.kilwins.com/location/stores-near-me-traverse-city-mi-49684-0004/). Kilwins is a Michigan original, founded in Petoskey Michigan in 1947, it offers not only original recipe ice cream flavors, but you can also find assorted candies and chocolates, caramel apples and fudge.

Hubby got a single scoop of no sugar added vanilla ripple in a cup, while I opted for a single scoop of chocolate brownie overload in a waffle cone that they make fresh on site!

While I was working on finishing my cone, hubby noticed an older gentleman wearing a naval hat reading a book and people-watching. He decided to engage the gentlemen in conversation, asking specifically if he served on the USS Klondike. The gentlemen lit up and shared about his military career.

He enlisted in 1963, serving on the USS Klondike as a radio operator. He received the report about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and his ship immediately was ordered into “general quarters” mode. In the Navy this term meant all crew were to abandon what they were doing and report to their assigned combat positions until further notice…wow, what an experience! It was delightful to chat with him and hear his stories. If you ever encounter a veteran, take the time to engage in conversation and thank them for their service, it will be a blessing to both of you.

This area is also known for great pies, hubby’s brother wanted to go to the Grand Traverse Pie Company. (https://gtpie.com/locations/traverse-city-original/ ) He bought two pies to take home, a Cherry Crumb and a Dutch Apple. They serve more than just pie here, there is a cafe if you desire a meal before your pie! We sampled the Cherry Crumb later in the evening, it was delicious!

From here we decided to spend some time down near the water and headed for the Duncan L. Clinch Marina. The marina is situated on Grand Traverse Bay, which connects to Lake Michigan. A nice park borders the marina where large white tents were being set up for a wine tasting event to be held later in the evening.

We love to visit marinas to view the many different types and sizes of boats moored in their slips or sailing on the water…we were not disappointed.

We took a stroll along the pier….

…and came across some teens making the most of the beautiful weather before school begins again in September.

Ooops! I’m sure they just didn’t notice the sign…

When we arrived back at Houghton Lake, we had one last campfire, a fitting way to end our stay!