The largest city in NW Michigan and also the largest producers of tart cherries in the United States is this hidden gem called, Traverse City!  The Montmorency cherry or "pie cherry,' is the largest variety here.  Other cherries also grown include the Ulster (sweet cherry) and the Balaton!

We just missed the "National Cherry Festival" which was held in the first week of July!  2014 was record breaking as 500,000 tourists and locals alike participated.  I would have enjoyed competing in the pie eating contest, not with the intention of winning, but, just to eat some cherry pie!  HaHa!

This is one of the centers of wine production in the Midwest!  The sandy soil and sitting close to the 45th parallel (a latitude known for growing prestigious grapes) makes it perfect for viticulture.  Seven wineries on the Old Mission Peninsula and 21 wineries located on the Leelanau Peninsula gives you lots of choices of wine tasting to enjoy!  My favorite was a Chardonnay at Chateau Chantal Winery.

It makes a lot of sense to combine the two products and make some "Cherry Wine!"  This wine was made of the Balaton cherry which is a flavor between the Montmorency and the Ulster cherry.

 Interesting shops lined the many tiny towns along the Leelanau Peninsula which is between the east side of Lake Michigan and the west side of Traverse Bay.

At every tip of the peninsulas was a lighthouse.  Though not in use since technology now uses satellites and GPS, they have become museums with information of it's past.  Even my lamp at the hotel had a "lighthouse" lamp with the nightlight looking like a lit lighthouse!

The western edge of the Leelanau Peninsula contains the "Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore."  I want to show you a trail that takes you to the shores of Lake Michigan.  This video demonstrates that it is a L-O-N-G way down!  Not so bad going down, but expect at least two hours to get back up.  The sand is very loose and every step you'll sink to your knees.  We hope that the people trying to get back up made it before nightfall as the sun was about to set when we took this video!

The TART trail system runs through this part of Michigan and is conducive for road bicycling.  We biked about 18 miles along the Dunes and various towns in the Leelanau Peninsula.

Traverse city, voted one of the "10 best places to retire' in 2012, is also a "foodie" enthusiast capital.  Here we were enjoying a demonstration of  making "spanish coffee."  We were "lit up" in more ways then one!  Delighting our taste buds at the end of an exhausting touring day, was so rewarding.  At "Folgarelli's." I had the most delicious sandwich called, "The Godfather," and have decided that it is the best sandwich I have ever tasted in my WHOLE life!

 As the setting sun ends the day, we had to end our stay here to move on to new places.  Awash in wonderful memories and the hope that we might return sometime in the near future to the 45th parallel!  A Hui Hou! (Until we meet again!)