Thursday’s itinerary had a lot of driving, as we worked our way more than 120 miles northwest of our cabin to Traverse City, Michigan, one of the state’s more popular tourist destinations. We planned a number of stops along the way to break up the two-plus hour drive, starting with On the Corner Bakery in Hart.
Eilidh’s excitement for the green sprinkle donut didn’t translate to appetite: she ate only a few bites of the admittedly uninspiring pastry.
We stopped at the Ludington Meijer to restock our cooler before driving the remaining 60 minutes to The Cherry Hut in Beulah. The family restaurant had been in operation since 1922, including more than 70 years at its current location. Unsurprisingly, cherries were a focal point of the menu, from the Cherry Ade drink to Cherry Vinegarette salad dressing to Cherry Pie for dessert.
Emmie and Eilidh posed by the Cherry Hut sign.
The Cherry Ade – akin to a cherry-flavored lemonade – was a pretty satisfying lunchtime drink.
I ordered the classic hot turkey sandwich, which proved to be a solid choice.
Emmie and I shared a piece of cherry pie for dessert.
A short drive south of Beulah took us to the Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm, which a last-minute addition to the day’s agenda. We saw a blue road sign advertising the place while driving, and a quick search for Google reviews verified it was worth the stop. Two adjacent shops were filled with super-soft goods made from alpaca fur, but the real highlight of our visit was feeding the alpacas in the back of the property.
Noah was briefly hesitant to feed the alpacas but quickly warmed up to the idea and called the stop his favorite for the day.
Baby goats shared space with the alpacas; however, we were instructed to only feed them a handful of baby carrots (and not the food reserved for the alpacas.)
The alpaca really liked Emmie’s hair.
Next up was the Crystal Mountain alpine coaster. We had fond memories from the alpine coasters we’d ridden in Europe four years prior, so we were pretty excited one of the handful of alpine coasters in the Midwest was within driving distance from our cabin. The coaster was fun, and we made two trips down the 1,700-foot track, but not quite as fun as those in Switzerland and Austria.
The dual concrete tracks allowed for side-by-side riders.
Eilidh wasn’t as interested in posing for a photo riding the lift to start the alpine coaster.
One striking difference? At Crystal Mountain, we had to all sign waivers and were provided detailed instructions before riding the coaster. In Europe, we bought the tickets, hopped on the lift, and were on our way down the hill in no time.
Eilidh rode with Amanda for both rides, but Emmie and Noah each rode once with Gee Gee and once with me.
Amanda and Eilidh, near the end of their ride.
Our next stop was Light of Day, an organic tea shop located just west of Traverse City, roughly on our way following the alpine coaster. It was a cute store with friendly staff providing free samples and explanations of their locally-grown and made teas. It wasn’t the cheapest shop, however, so I limited my purchase to a single tin of green tea.
Even though we were a few days away from the official start of summer, it felt like tourism season in Traverse City. We encountered busy streets, intersections, and parking lots as we zigzagged our way through town to visit a handful of earmarked shops.
Our stop at The Cheese Lady wasn’t quick, as we waited behind a couple of groups sampling and buying a lot of cheese. When it was eventually our turn, we felt a bit rushed, but still walked away with a few varieties of cheese, chocolate-covered almonds, and two new cheese slicers so we could eat our purchases in the van.
Amanda sliced and divvied up the cheese on her laps.
Gee Gee and I walked to the Grand Traverse Pie Company while Amanda fed cheese to the kids in the van. Their pie display was worth a photo.
Emmie and I shared the ABC Crumb pie, made with apples, blueberries, and cherries. I enjoyed it, but Emmie gave a slight edge to the cherry pie from earlier in the day.
I briefly pushed both girls in the stroller on our way to dinner.
After splitting up a bit to shop downtown, we reunited to make the 10-minute walk to Blue Tractor BBQ. Service was efficient but the barbeque just average. The kids may have enjoyed their meals the most, each having a pulled pork slider sandwich and mac and cheese. After dinner, we made pretty good time getting back to our cabin and one final visit to the nearby Lake Michigan beach.
