Per the request of my big sis (and her shameless pandering), I present:
The Katie Holland Top 25
Up North Summer Hits
(your summer's not complete without them)
**Made possible by 2 summers as the resident travel expert at Traverse Magazine**
1. Spitting cherry pits in the lake (Better if you just bought the cherries fresh from a roadside stand. Imitation cherries from Washington do not count.)
2. Rummy with grandma and grandpa
3. Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream at Moomer's--while watching the cows who supplied the milk, of course
4. Malts at Don's Drive-In
5. The beaches at Good Harbor Bay and North Bar Lake
6. Hiking to Pyramid Point and Empire Bluffs in the Sleeping Bear Dunes (preferably with a picnic)*
7. The Cottage Book Store in Glen Arbor
8. Driving through the Tunnel of Trees on M-119 to the Good Hart General Store for lavender lemonade or great loose-leaf tea.
9. Sammies** from the Village Cheese Shanty in Fishtown (Leland). Best eaten on a beach while taking a leg-stretch break from...
10. Biking around a lake. My fave: the north branch of Lake Leelanau.
11. Shaved ice--one of about a million flavors, or a combo of several--at the Cosmic Candy Company in Pentwater, in a plastic flower cup, of course. While you're there, pick up some Malibu Coconut Rum-flavored tea. It's awesome.
12. Sunsets over Lake Michigan.
13. Outdoor movies on Grand Traverse Bay courtesy of the Traverse City Film Festival.
14. Kayaking on the Crystal River
15. Driving M-22 around Leelanau. It may be necessary to stop for wine tasting, oh, 10 or 15 times, so it's best to bring a D.D. It's a great drive even without the winery stops, though.
16. Short's Brewery in Bellaire.
17. Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf. I don't care how cheesy and ridiculously-priced it is. I still love it.
18. Driving through a cherry orchard in Leelanau.
19. The Elk Rapids Public Library, home of an ongoing used book sale and a great sun porch complete with puzzles, magazines, books and high-backed rocking chairs.
20. Cherry pie from Altonen's
21. Enjoying the crazy turquoise blue of Torch Lake.
22. The Alden Mill
23. The Cherry Bowl Drive-In
24. Stargazing from the dock/beach/sitting on top of your car where you pulled off the highway just to get a better look at the zillions of stars.
25. Campfires on the beach. S'mores required.***
*Watch out for the cougars that the signs warn about. There is much debate about whether or not anyone actually saw a cougar or if someone just spotted a particularly menacing cat. But in case you do see a cougar, apparently the correct course of action is to hold up your arms to make yourself look bigger.
**aka Sandwiches
***Yes, I know that about half of the things on this list include food. Get over it. Calories don't count on vacay, right?