Magical Michigan Trio
Three resort towns with more than waterfront appeal show off another side of the Great Lakes State
The food at Pepe Nero Italian restaurant, including my crab- stuffed ravioli smothered with creamy lobster sauce, is insanely delicious. Which makes sense, given that this Traverse City, Michigan, eatery is housed in the former North Michigan Asylum.
It’s part of the crazy- good fun you’ll find in Northern Michigan. Resort towns you may never have heard of, like Traverse City, Charlevoix and Petoskey, are more than places with Lake Michigan shorelines, art galleries and boutiques. Here there are lofty sand dunes to climb, wines from local vineyards to sample, unconventional architecture and attractions, like a museum filled with restored century- old musical instruments, to discover. Plus, you’ll find plenty of places to relax and enjoy some fine cuisine, with a locally brewed craft beer and a slice of the region’s famous cherry pie for dessert.
Traverse City calls itself the “Cherry Capital.” In spring, cherry blossoms blanket the area, and in July, the National Cherry Festival is held. But at any time of the year, a multitude of vineyards dot the landscape. One winery, with the odd name of Left Foot Charley, is a local hangout in the Traverse City Commons. Hard ciders and white wines from local vineyards are served here. However, Left Foot Charley is not Traverse City’s only sipping spot with a strange name. The Filling Station and Right Brain Brewery are rival beer stops.
A brew pub might be a bit more difficult to find at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. But after hiking or biking around it, a tall cold one would surely be nice. The park boasts the largest collection of fresh water dunes in the world. Formed by glaciers, half of the 71,000- acre park is lush wilderness. “People are shocked that it ( the area) is not flat and urban,”
RESORT TOWNS YOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD OF, LIKE TRAVERSE CITY, CHARLEVOIX AND PETOSKEY, ARE MORE THAN PLACES WITH LAKE MICHIGAN SHORELINES, ART GALLERIES AND BOUTIQUES.
says park ranger Marie Scott. Think of it as “The glaciers are the cake and the dunes the icing.” And what icing it is. The dune at the Lake Michigan Overlook steeply soars 450 feet above the water. From this vantage point, the view of the dunes, islands and lake is jaw- dropping.
The exterior of the renovated barn on U. S. Highway 31 North is no show- stopper, and therefore easy to overlook. But if you do, you’ll be missing out on an area gem. Traverse City’s Music House Museum is filled with huge antique musical instruments. A nickelodeon, jukeboxes, an enormous Mortier dance organ designed in Belgium and a giraffe grand piano with an intriguing vertical shape now cram this former hay and horse space. And how delightful it is to hear an actual recording of Paul Whitman and George Gershwin playing Rhapsody in Blue on the old recording piano. Another surprise is found in Charlevoix ( pronounced Charle- voy). The unexpected architecture of Earl Young ( 1889- 1975) has left its mark on this town. The adventurous architect didn’t care much for the popular Victorian, and classic Greek and Roman designs of his day. He identified more with Frank Lloyd
Wright’s idea that a structure should blend with its environment. His rock houses, with rippling roofs, look like something right out of The Hobbit. Guide Marsha Braun describes his style as, “Frank Lloyd Wright meets Fred Flintstone.”
In 1918, Sears Roebuck vice president Albert Loeb built another stone, fortress- like structure, called Castle Farms. “It was a dairy farm, where families came for ice cream on Sundays,” says guide Kathy Peterk. Although now it is a meeting- and- event venue, visitors can still explore its grounds and garden, and watch its whirling, miniature trains. Inside, the curious find World War I memorabilia and an exhibit featuring old Sears catalogue merchandise, with each item labeled with its early- 1900s cost and its value in today’s dollar.
Just up the road, antiques and a backyard beer garden help retain the look of Horton Bay General Store so it appears as it did when young Ernest Hemingway hung out here.
Hemingway’s parents had a house on nearby Lake Walloon. And, if you’ve ever read The Paris Wife, a 2012 novel by Paula McLain, you know that Hemingway married Elizabeth Hadley Richardson in 1921 at the now demolished church which stood next door. The reception was held at the Shangri- La across the road.
Another old Hemingway haunt, Petoskey’s City Park Grill, was a speakeasy during prohibition. Underground tunnels were used to bring in the booze. It is still a delightful restaurant with tasty food and a fine waterfront view.
Traverse City, Charlevoix and Petoskey all have the resort town prerequisites: good restaurants, cruises, golf courses and water sports. Galleries and boutiques line the waterfronts. Shops like the Cherry Republic and American Spoon have shelves stocked with tasty creations made from locally grown cherries. But the unanticipated finds— Earl Young’s architecture, Ernest Hemingway’s haunts, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and local wineries— give vacationers more than one good reason to visit these lakefront resort towns.