TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN

Traverse City has become one of our favorite places to go – especially for a long weekend getaway. Personally, Fall in TC is one of my favorite times to go. It’s chilly & the air is crisp.

With the 2020 quarantine coming to an end & as I prepared to go back to work, we thought it would be nice to go up to our favorite place for one last hoorah before life gets busy again. Usually when we travel, Jeff does most of the planning – it’s something he enjoys doing. So, he booked our stay at the hotel we usually stay at – The Baywatch Resort. It’s a newer hotel that we came across a couple years ago & really enjoy staying here. We always get a room looking over the lake (because, duh!) It’s beautiful waking up to the sunrise over the lake.

Once we got to TC, our first stop was a must visit – BLK \ MRKT. It’s a cute coffee shop that has bomb lattes & quick bites. Jeff got a maple latte & I got a vanilla latte. We got checked in & situated at the hotel. Since Northern Michigan is beginning to open slowly, the hotel, restaurants & stores required masks to be worn – it’s a very strange time we’re living in.

For dinner, we drove up to The Boathouse – another must try. They were offering a special – Takeout Dinner for Two which included an appetizer, 2 side salads or seasonal soup, 2 entrées, a featured dessert, & a bottle of wine. They also included a table cloth, napkins, silverware and wine glasses “The closest we can get you to dining at the boathouse”. We called in our order & they had it ready for us. We drove to Haserot Beach & enjoyed our little picnic in the back of Jeff’s truck bed overlooking the lake. It was perfectly romantic & the food tasted just as good as if we were dining in at the restaurant!

Sunday, all we had planned was a wine tasting at our favorite winery we’ve been to so far – Bower’s Harbor Vineyard. We started our day off at the Red Spire Brunch House. We had never been, so we shared a cinnamon roll to start, Jeff got the Eggs Benedict & I got the Farmer’s Omelet. Everything was very good! When we finished, we went to downtown Traverse City & walked around. Even though a lot of the shops peaked our buying interest, we ended up buying the majority of our take home souvenirs for Arlo! The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold & the sun was out with a few clouds in the sky.

When we got to the Vineyard, they had the seating spread out throughout the vines. We ordered our wine flight & shared it while looking over the breathtaking view of the vineyard – it was so beautiful. We always grab a bottle of our favorite wine – Bower’s Pinot Grigio. This time it was a gift to thank Jeff’s mom for watching Arlo. Afterwards, we went back up the opposite side of the peninsula to visit a brewery we love – Hop Lot Brewing Co. There is nothing better than enjoying a cold kettle sour overlooking their woodsy setup. Finally, we came back to the hotel, laid by the lake & just enjoyed the up-north beauty.

Before we hit the road Monday morning, we stopped at Cuppa Joe Café. It’s a drive thru coffee shop with all the drinks & the best croissants. We got our lattes along with a spinach & feta croissant & a cinnamon croissant. This was another first for us that will become a go-to when we’re in TC.

Overall, we had another really enjoyable weekend in Traverse City. If you have not been, I would highly recommend going! Summer is a great time to go & of course Fall is another great time to go.

I will leave a list of places Jeff & I love when we visit TC below:

Baywatch Resort https://www.thebaywatchresort.com/

BLK/MRKT https://blkmrkt.coffee/

Boathouse Restaurant https://www.boathouseonwestbay.com/

Red Spire Brunch House https://www.redspirebrunchhouse.com/

Bowers Harbor Vineyard https://www.bowersharbor.com/

Hop Lot Brewing Co. https://hoplotbrewing.com/

Cuppa Joe TC http://www.cuppajoetc.com/