In June, my family and I took our first ever family vacation to Michigan. First, we visited Mackinac Island. Then, we drove back down and visited Traverse City. I’ve never been to Traverse City before, so we had a lot of things to cover in three days!
Overview
- Day 1: Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Peegeos, Dylan’s Candy Bar, Tumbleweeds, Beach Club
- Day 2: North Peak Brewing Company, Front Street, Milk & Honey, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Grille Restaurant
- Day 3: Sweetwater American Bistro, Pool, Hot Tub, Indoor Water Playground
Day 1
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa
Naturally, we began our trip by checking into our room. We stayed at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. Our room was amazing and we had a beautiful view!
Disclosure: They were kind enough to offer us the media rate for a two night stay, and as always, all opinions are my own.
The resort had a ton of things to do, including restaurants and shopping, so I’ll go over some of those things later.
I would like to point out, though, that I think they have the most comfortable beds I’ve ever experienced at a hotel before. The mattresses and pillows were fantastic.
I also really loved the shower.
Peegeos
When we got to Traverse City, I wanted pizza. The problem was, that I had never been to Traverse City, so I didn’t know what the good pizza places where.
Luckily, it is 2019 and Yelp exists. Naturally, we went to the place with the most and best reviews. We ended up driving a little out of the way, and the whole time I was thinking, “Wow, this was a mistake.”
But we got there, and the pizza was really good. They also had a pretty decent beer selection, which is exactly what I’m looking for when I’m on vacation, so bravo, Peegeos.
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Dylan’s Candy Bar was one of the shops located inside our resort and obviously, they had LOADS of candy!
It was also a really great place for taking photos, because it was so colorful. Liam loved playing around in there. Then again, he loved playing around everywhere inside the resort.
Tumbleweeds
This was the toy store inside our resort, and luckily, we were able to leave with only a couple Paw Patrol toys and a sand bucket!
Liam loved playing with the toys inside Tumbleweeds, though. He also really loved the mannequins.
Beach Club
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa has their own private beach club! Which is great, because to be honest, I wasn’t very impressed with any of the public beaches.
The resort has a shuttle, and they’ll drive you to the beach club, where you have access to the beach, a pool, and a concession area where they sell drinks (alcohol, yay)!
There were chairs on the beach. They even put up an umbrella for us, which was great since it was so hot and London is/was so little.
Day 2
North Peak Brewing Company
We went here for lunch, and as you may know, I am a (plain, no salad please) bacon cheeseburger connoisseur, so that is what I got. It was delicious.
Afterwards, we all shared this dessert thing. I don’t remember what it was called, but I remember it was more delicious than the bacon cheeseburger, because duh. It’s chocolate.
I tried two different beers, both of which were okay. Cameron and Shelby (that’s my sister, idk if I’ve said her name on my blog before) tried a cider and they liked it.
Liam would be content ingesting nothing other than milk for the rest of his life, so here he is enjoying his dining experience in Traverse City.
Front Street
Like I said, I’ve never been to Traverse City before, but I was sure they had to have some kind of touristy area. For some reason, it was really hard for us to find.
We found it, though. It’s called Front Street. It’s your normal tourist street with shops and souvenirs, so if you’re looking for a Traverse City snow globe, make a stop on Front Street.
Milk & Honey
This is on Front Street, so if you’re walking around and you’re hot, stop in here for some ice cream. Honestly, it was ice cream. It was fine. It wasn’t anything that blew me away.
Then again, I got basic chocolate ice cream because I’m boring and that’s what I always get. It made a good picture, though, because ice cream cones always do.
Sleeping Bear Dunes
If you go anywhere near Sleeping Bear Dunes, you have to go to Sleeping Bear Dunes, so that’s what we did. Luckily, the sun had already started to go down and it had cooled off, so I did not have a heat stroke and die.
We barely went up them, but it really feels like you’ve walked about 72 miles uphill. Then, when you get up to the top of the first dune, you realize there’s just another dune (and apparently more and more after that).
Liam, on the other hand, flew up the dune at record-breaking speeds and kept running back up it when we were trying to go down.
Grille Restaurant
After our strenuous trek up one tiny dune, we went back to our resort to eat at Grille Restaurant. It’s on the golf course and we were able to eat outside.
We got lots of food, as you’ll see here.
They also had kitchen chips, which I’ve recently become obsessed with and will order anytime they are available. These were kind of sweet, though, and I’m still trying to figure out what was on them.
Day 3
Sweetwater American Bistro
Breakfast at the resort! Liam and I both had pancakes and bacon, and now… like always… whenever I mention food in a blog, I immediately want it.
Time to buy some pancake mix.
It is also worth mentioning that the staff at Sweetwater is very nice.
Pool, Hot Tub, and Indoor Water Playground
Apart from our tiny blowup pool, this was Liam’s first time in a pool and he loved it! I think he loved the indoor water playground even more, though.
London has never been in any kind of pool at all, so this was her first time, too!
In Conclusion
Traverse City, MI was a lot of fun and I really loved Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. We would definitely go again. If you’ve ever been to Traverse City, what were some of your favorite things to do/visit? Feel free to link me to your travel itinerary!
