Traverse City Travel Blog

This could be the year for full travel recovery in Traverse City following the pandemic according to the President of Traverse City Tourism, Trevor Tkach. Tkach made his pronouncement recently during the inaugural airing of the program “The Road Best Traveled” on radio station WTCM AM.

The new

A Norway-based television production company came to Traverse City last year in search to find the most beautiful wine regions of the world. The program named Wine First on PBS attempts to find local ingredients that can be matched with local wines to create a food combination prepared by a local chef. Ultimately the program puts the primary emphasis on wine.

The morning rains drifted away. On this spring day, it left behind the soft fragrance of blossoms and the sweet smell that follows a northern Michigan rain shower. The clouds gave way to sunshine and a gentle breeze. It was necessary to close your eyes and let other senses take over. I listened to the sound of the birds who embarked on a frantic frenzy while flying between tree limbs. In the distance, you could hear the faint sound of traffic that rushed along US-31 near Grawn.

Perched above Lake Michigan at 460 feet (140 meters), just one-word escapes from your lips — “Wow!” This can’t be a lake; it must be an ocean. Under the clear summer sky, the sparkling deep blue hue stretches as far as the eye can see. But this is Lake Michigan, one of five majestic Great Lakes that house 20 percent of the world’s fresh water. This inspiring view is part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which was voted by ABC Good Morning America viewers as “The Most Beautiful Place in America.” When you stand along the scenic overlook, you will fully appreciate the majestic beauty of this lake.

Step…by step…by step, she takes. Somewhere near her London, Ontario home, in the cold of winter, or with the warming promise of spring, Heather MacEachern-Tarasick is on a lonely quest. This forty-something mother of two is on a quest that is measured by every single step she takes. Every step brings her closer to being ready to run her first-ever marathon. After five years of running and training, this is the year she plans to run a marathon. She will travel from Canada to Traverse City to run in the Bayshore Marathon on Memorial Day weekend. 

Traverse City Whiskey lights the flame of the outdoor heater on their patio when the cold weather hits, but customers are looking for something else. Something to warm them up from the inside. This is the time of year when Traverse City distilleries see their customer's tastes change from fresh, light summer drinks to something more robust, something that takes the chill out of the air and gives them warmth.

The “Blue Light Special” at this shutdown K-Mart has been replaced by “the house.” There are still “buttons,” but not in the clothing department, they are on a sheet of ice. And you can still find “brooms” however, they are not in the Housewares Department but in the firm hands of players that have come for a game of curling. 

The Traverse City Curling Club is in the final stages of opening a new 28,000-square-foot Curling Center. It’s located at the old K-Mart building at Cherryland Center and features five sheets of dedicated ice. The club had been located at the Centre Ice Arena but found their ice time was too limiting. Plus the type of ice needed for curling is different from what hockey players require. 

The shadow box sits at one end of the northern Michigan garage under an American flag. In it contains the relics of 22 years of Ron Smith’s life. They include medals and a list of Navy duty stations that started in June 1974 and ended in July 1996. It was 22 years of honorable service to this country that started as a parachute rigger and ended as a survival training instructor and counselor. 

With a simple turn of the key, it springs into life. Creating a guttural sound that seems to emanate from the toes, vibrate through your core, and tickle the primal nodes of the brain. This is a rumbling engine that not only speaks of the car, but it also speaks of an era. A time when big, heavy cars ruled the road. It was 1968 when this Ford Galaxie convertible came off the assembly line with untarnished vibrant red paint. Today the car shows some of its years on the road, but it has a classic beauty. It welcomes passengers to a spacious, leather-clad, back seat. The driver views the road over a sea of the red hood. 

The 2022 Ironman 70.3 Michigan in Frankfort was notable for many reasons. It brought about 1,500 of the top athletes in the U.S. and ten countries to our little corner of northern Michigan. It was time for Frankfort to shine and demonstrate northern hospitality. But it was also time for women to