Guaranteed Fall Fun In Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan in October is a must see! The leaves usually start to change color in early October so I’m sure you could imagine what the drive up to Northern Michigan is like. Jeff & I like to plan a trip up to the Traverse City area during the month of October because the colors are just SO breath taking! We live in the Metro Detroit area so when we drive up, it takes us about 4 hours – the drive is so worth it!
This year, we planned a trip up with Jeff’s family & our fur baby, Arlo. Jeff was in charge of planning the trip & getting an agenda going. The first day, we got there early afternoon & stopped at Trish’s Dishes for lunch. They are located in Leland, MI & are known for their cherry chicken salad sandwich, so you best believe that’s what I got – it did not disappoint! We then went into Fishtown & walked around. It was a very chilly day that included some hail so this was a quick stop. It was very cute! There were fisherman taking their boats out to fish & people walking around the shops. We checked into our Airbnb & got situated.
Our next stop was Boathouse Restaurant! If you’ve followed me for a little while, you know I’ve mentioned Boathosue Restaurant before. It’s one of our favorite restaurants up north. It’s located about 30 minutes from Traverse City on Peninsula Drive. The drive up there is beautiful. Boathouse is definitely an upscale restaurant but worth every penny. The view there is beautiful, it overlooks the water. There service is great & the food is farm to table so it’s fresh & so full of flavor. Jeff loves their steak & I will switch it up. I have gotten the salmon before, as well as their sweet potato cakes – it depends what is on the menu that day! When we’re heading back to Traverse City afterwards, we like to stop at the scenic turnout. IT IS BREATHTAKING!
Another one of our favorites is BLK\MRKT. It’s a coffee house located in downtown TC. It has unique menu items. When we visited this time, we got a hazelnut latte & a lavender vanilla latte – both were great! We started with lattes from BLK\MRKT & had breakfast at Benedict. They are also in downtown TC. Although, when we were there, the waitress did inform us they were moving to a different location soon – something bigger. The menu here was small but had lot of tasty options. I got the Northerner which included their house biscuit, bacon, tomato cherry jam, poached eggs & hollandaise. It was served with their home fries – it was SO good! Jeff got the fried egg sandwich. That included sourdough bread, bacon, house mayo, micro greens & a crispy fried egg. He ended with some banana bread pudding & I had a little taste of both the sandwich & banana bread pudding & they were delish!
Our next adventure was wine tasting! We started at Bower’s Harbor Vineyard, which is our fave. We sat outside, socially distance, & enjoyed some wine. We walked around & snapped some pictures in front of the beautiful scenery. Next, we stopped at Bry’s Estate Vineyard & Winery. We enjoyed some more wine & they’re charcuterie board – they have the best! From there we went to Bonobo Winery. The scenery here is spectacular! Here, I enjoyed some red wine, I usually do white but wanted to switch it up. I sipped on the 2018 BDX – blackberry jam, black pepper, dark chocolate. The flavors in it intrigued me! It was very good. Our last stop was Mari Vineyards. This was our first time here & it did not disappoint. The ambiance was all there. We felt like we were in Italy – it was beautiful. We sat by the fireplace, the service was great & the wine was divine! It was the perfect winery to end at. For dinner, we ate at Hop Lot Brewing Co. They have lots of igloos set up, with heaters inside. So Jeff reserved one for us – so cool! We got some drinks, wings & fries. They had a very fun set up with some really good food. This is a good stop for something in the fall or winter for a more casual time.
On our last day there, we woke up early & picked up some lattes & croissants from Cuppa Joe’s. This was a find on our last trip up to TC. It’s a drive thru coffee shop that has a decent sized beverage menu & a few food items. Jeff got a hazelnut latte with a cinnamon croissant & I got a vanilla latte with a cream cheese croissant. Simple, but so good! We packed up & were headed out. We like to stop at Gallagher’s Farm Market on our way out of Traverse City for some fresh produce but unfortunately we missed them by a day. They closed for the season on Halloween, so we missed out this trip but there’s always next time! From there we headed for M-22. Even though it’s a little out of our way, we like to take it home, especially in the Fall, for the scenic route. It’s colorful & a nice way to take home. We usually stop at the scenic turnout in Arcadia, MI. This is another must see. Summer, Fall or Winter, it’s beautiful! Once we stopped there, we were headed home. This trip was a trip to remember!
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Here are a couple other ideas for your next vacation:
Also, here are the links to some of the places we visited:
3 Comments
Jacklyn
Such an amazing trip!!
theresa gahman
It was a great family trip !! So many smiles and belly laughs❤️
Yolanda
Hello Natalie and Jeff, This is Yolanda from Jeff’s workplace. I greatly GREATLY enjoyed this post. I was not able to take a fall trip up north this year and your post made up for that. I especially like the detail food and wine pictures and the scenery is spectacular. I’m very glad you were able to go this year as a family…Arlo looked like he had a good time. Kind Regards