My family and I take an annual trip up to Michigan to visit family. The mild summers and beautiful lakes make this area a perfect spot for family vacations up north. This trip, in particular, we had a vacationer’s nightmare. Our rental house was a disaster. What we thought was a nice, quaint bungalow in the hills ended up being a bug lovers paradise. We rented through a company called Northern Rentals, who after our experience, I would not recommend to anyone. Their customer service was less than ideal. But we didn't let that ruin our trip!
Despite the minor setback, three days to be exact, we made the most of our trip by eating and exploring our way through the Traverse City, MI. A bustling beach town set right on Grand Traverse Bay.
The Little Fleet
Our first stop was The Little Fleet, a food truck haven. The concept of the fleet is awesome -- independently owned food trucks set up camp for the summer each serving a variety of unique snacks, drinks, and sweets. Right in the middle of the food truck lot is the coolest little bar called "The Big Squeeze" which serves up all kinds of fun, summery drinks.
Sparks BBQ
We happened across a small BBQ stand not far from The Little Fleet called Sparks BBQ. There we picked up this delicious brisket sammy.
Since it was so nice out we ended up wandering up and down the main street. They were setting up for the Traverse City Film Festival which was being held at the end of that week. The festival is designed to bring great cinema to Michigan. It's a nonprofit organization that brings film lovers and filmmakers from around the world up to Northern Michigan.
What I love about the town is its artistic flare. Each year it's fun to see the art scene develop. We found a handful of murals hidden on the side of buildings.
One of my favorite parts of our annual trip is watching the sunsets over the lake. It reminds me why we make an effort to come up year after year.
I would definitely put Northern Michigan on your list of places to visit!