Today we had a relaxing sort of day in Traverse City, mainly due to the weather.  It has been raining on and off for the last couple of days and was heavy at times today.  So we weren’t too keen to venture out if we didn’t need to…

But that doesn’t mean we didn’t!  After a leisurely morning relaxing at the hotel, we headed into Traverse City to check out the city/town.  It is a beautiful place, with the main street lined with trees.  Its no Old Quebec as Chris says, but not too bad for little old America.

We parked up and had a wander around the town, quickly finding a place for lunch when the rain came again.  The slogan for the place we found was, “come in for the pie, stay for the food” and it was true.  The food was really good and the slice of pie amazing! 

Once the rain eased again, we headed back out, along the main street and came across a Trains and Hobby shop.  Chris really enjoyed this shop, which offered all sorts of little hobby making supplies.  We suppose it is a good thing we have to fly home and are weight restricted by luggage, if not we would have been walking out of there with quite a few things.  There was also a model town, complete with trains, buildings, people etc.  It gave Danielle some ideas for her Christmas Village.

When the rain started again, we decided to head for Grand Traverse Lighthouse which is up the peninsula about an hours drive. Here stands one of the local lighthouses, erected in 1858 across Lake Michigan.

The history of the lighthouse and the area was fascinating, and we spent some time exploring. You could even go up the tower to the top of the lighthouse. It was a tight fit (people were shorter and smaller in those days) but still very cool to look out over the lake.

I think we most enjoyed our wander down to the waters edge.  Because of the size of the lake, there are waves, and you would almost think you were in a sort of bay on the sea coast.  It was very cold though, with the wind blowing, and there is no sand.  Only rocks and pebbles down to the water.   Give us Tokerau Beach any day!

We returned to the hotel for a relaxing evening and a late swim and spa before bed.

Until tomorrow

Chris & Dan