People sometimes ask me about the small M-22 charm I wear on a chain around my neck.
It is a very special present Tim got me last Christmas as a souvenir of one of our favorite places on earth!
It was no surprise to us when more than 100,000 viewers of ABC's "Good Morning America" television show named the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as the "Most Beautiful Place in America" because we've traveled many times over the years in this area.
It's beautiful no matter how you get here, or what time of year you visit, but our favorite way to see the area is by taking a road trip along Michigan's highway 22!
I've written many stories here about our travels along this scenic road, and I'm finally gathering the stories together for a multi-part series of suggested stops along the road:
Traverse City
Traverse is the largest city along this route, and it's possible to spend an entire week or so in town without seeing or doing the same thing twice, but we actually tend to spend very little time in Traverse City itself as we're anxious to get on the road and explore M-22!
Shoppers love downtown Traverse City with its huge selection of trendy gift, home decor, clothing and other stores. We always make sure we stop at Horizon Books, a great indie book store in downtown Traverse City, and I've got a soft spot for the city's vintage Ben Franklin store a bit out of downtown.
The city also has a great foodie scene, with interesting choices like Red Ginger with its elegant pan-Asian menu and a place called Georgina's, which we first tried late last year because we couldn't resist the idea of a place that describes itself as an "Authentic Asian and Latin Taqueria"! We find it best to check out the restaurants during the off-season as the city is busy with hordes of tourists during the summer months.
We watched over the past decade or so, fascinated, as the city tackled the historic preservation and development of the old Traverse City State Hospital (a.k.a the Northern Michigan Asylum) into a stunning mixed use campus featuring homes, restaurants, stores, recreational facilities and a favorite coffee shop, Higher Grounds. Work on the development, by the way, still continues today.
Seek out a little of the hospital's old history tucked away in a corner of the campus by Honoring Traverse Colantha Walker at the gravesite of the institution's champion milk cow!
Slip back in time at Sleder's on the outskirts of downtown TC, Kiss Randolph the Moose, eat some fried pickles and enjoy a burger and beer as you learn a bit about the town's history, its nineteenth-century immigrants and the skilled woodworkers and other craftspeople who built Traverse City.
We also love the Dennos Museum Center on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College. Be sure to check out the museum's Inuit Art Gallery, where I scored a small print of an Inuit hockey player celebrating a goal during a game of pond hockey.
Sutton's Bay
If Traverse City has too much summertime drama for you, you might want to visit Suttons Bay as a little less hectic option. Small-town Suttons Bay is just 15 miles north of downtown Traverse City along the eastern side of the Leelanau Peninsula, so it's a fairly quick ride into Traverse City for a special event, or to check out TC's foodie scene. But Suttons Bay has its own shopping and dining scene (try Boone's Prime Time for pub fare or Martha's Leelanau Table for a more gourmet take on home-cooked regional specialties in a homey atmosphere), as well as a nice four-season bed and breakfast inn called the Korner Kottage where we enjoyed a stay a couple of years ago.
Want to learn more about some of the places mentioned here?
Try checking out Beauty is Therapy: Memories of the Traverse City State Hospital by Kristen M. Hains and Earle E. Steele, Traverse City State Hospital (Images of America) by Chris Miller, Northern Michigan Asylum: A History of the Traverse City State Hospital by William A. Decker or Traverse City in Vintage Postcards by C.S. Wright.
And, as always, as much as I appreciate my in-car GPS, I feel nothing really beats taking along a good hard-copy map like the Michigan Atlas and Gazetteer by Delorme.
Come on back later this week as we head further north to the remote tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and begin traveling back down M-22 on the western side of the peninsula towards the Sleeping Bear Dunes and National Lakeshore!
© Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved
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