We took an Orchard tour on Friday. The tour starts with a tasting room where they serve all kinds of things made with cherries, including bread, ice cream, salsa, and muffins. We had 
fun trying a bunch of stuff before heading to the open air wagon for the orchard tour. This land was bought by local farmers and is leased to Michigan State University. The school performs growing experiments with cherry trees as well as other local crops, like grapes. There are 80 wineries in the Traverse City area. They experiment with planting, strains of trees, soil etc. and help the farmers find new strategies for growing crops.
fun trying a bunch of stuff before heading to the open air wagon for the orchard tour. This land was bought by local farmers and is leased to Michigan State University. The school performs growing experiments with cherry trees as well as other local crops, like grapes. There are 80 wineries in the Traverse City area. They experiment with planting, strains of trees, soil etc. and help the farmers find new strategies for growing crops.
That same day we attended the Cherry Grand Buffet. Believe me, it sounds much grander than it was. We’ll try anything once, but we sure won’t be going back to this “grand” buffet 
again. They advertised a live show as entertainment while we ate, and the show wasn’t too bad for local talent, but our sitting of the buffet was scheduled for an hour and a half. The show was over in 35 minutes (Paul said he was fine with that!). The food was just ok, served on paper plates, with only Pepsi or water left to drink by the time we got there. They also ran out of dessert ( chocolate chip cookies) long before we went looking for them. Oh well. It was a different experience, for sure.
again. They advertised a live show as entertainment while we ate, and the show wasn’t too bad for local talent, but our sitting of the buffet was scheduled for an hour and a half. The show was over in 35 minutes (Paul said he was fine with that!). The food was just ok, served on paper plates, with only Pepsi or water left to drink by the time we got there. They also ran out of dessert ( chocolate chip cookies) long before we went looking for them. Oh well. It was a different experience, for sure. 
Other days were spent exploring the area. Carol and Larry came up for a day and we all took off to Leelanau Peninsula, an area that Paul and I have never been to before. The weather was perfect for a drive! We stopped at the Grand Traverse Light house, at the tip of Leelanau Peninsula and wandered around the grounds.
There are several small, interesting villages in this area. We stopped in Leland, a town on the water, with a unique shopping area, called Fishtown. It consists of old shanties along the water, that were rescued from being bought by a real estate developer, and turned into small boutiques and restaurants. We started out with drinks and appetizers outside at the Cove Restaurant. The weather was perfect when we got there, but by the time we got our drinks, the sun was gone and the wind had picked up, so we moved inside to have dinner.
Yesterday we put the dinghy in the water on Grand Traverse Bay. I know I go on and on about how beautiful the water is up here, but it really does look like the Caribbean, and being out there on the dinghy didn’t disappoint. The weather was perfect for a dinghy day- no wind, and it was hot. Really hot. The lake water is not as cold as the ocean back home in MA, but its still “refreshing”.
That brings us to today. Today we left Traverse City, regretfully. I am sure we’ll be back. We both loved it there and want to spend more time in this area. At our campground there we met a very friendly family, staying in the rig next to us. In the course of the conversation, we mentioned that we are getting our new Mobile Suites soon. They wanted to see what our Alpine looks like inside, so we gave them the tour. They liked it so much, it looks like they’ll be buying it. Not from us. We are trading it in tomorrow. They have contacted the dealer and it looks like they may have a deal. It’s a good opportunity for them to get a 2012 5th wheel at a used 5th wheel price. I hope it works out for them!
So, tomorrow, if all goes well, we’ll have our new home.
