A Quick Trip "Up North"

In April, hubby was invited to a conference held at a resort "up north." In the winter, the area is known for skiing, but as is typical in late April there were only small piles of brown snow scattered about so it was pretty quiet. To say this is the 'off season' is an understatement.  Many retail establishments take the month off - some the entire winter - showing up sometime in late May to get ready for the busy summer "up north."

For those of you not from Michigan, I should clarify. Where exactly is "up north?" Well, basically anywhere in the top half of the lower peninsula. It's where people who live in the lower half of the peninsula go during the summer to stay in a cabin their family has owned for generations. Or if your family (like mine) was not bright enough to plan ahead, it's where you rent a cabin, cottage, hotel room or condo so you can enjoy the beauty of the area.

Do not mistake "the UP" (pronounced You Pee) as an abbreviation for "up north." The UP is a frozen tundra all it's own and refers only to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. When going to the UP, we do not say we are going "up north." We say we are going to the UP. If you live in the UP, you are affectionately known as a Yooper, a special breed that loves this beautiful, wild, unsettled, frozen-toes-most-of-the-year peninsula. The Mackinac Bridge sits between the upper and lower.

Yoopers affectionately refer to those of us in the lower peninsula as Trolls. Not because we sport long, bright colored hair and a jewel in our belly button, but because we live below the Mackinac Bridge. Get it? H-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s.

Geography lesson over, we can now move on to our quick trip 'up north."

The conference was held on a Friday and Saturday morning at Crystal Mountain Resort and hubby invited me along so we could explore the area in the evenings and into the weekend. Apparently he was concerned that staying at the resort may result in a pile of spa receipts so he found a cute VRBO above the retail strip in the little town of Beulah. 

We enjoyed a slow trip up north along M-22, which follows the lake Michigan shoreline. Stopping for lunch at Luddington and then a beer in Manistee, we reached Beulah in the late afternoon. The town is situated on the shore of Crystal Lake, one of many gorgeous lakes that bring people up north. The town features only a handful of retail shops and restaurants, so the great outdoors is the main attraction. The Betsie Valley Trail runs through Beulah and my intention was to walk a good portion of it while hubby conferenced on Friday. Unfortunately, the 50 degree temperature and 25 mile-an-hour winds convinced me that it was a better idea to take a drive somewhere.

A friend told me to check out the Gwen Frostic studio and store in town, so I headed there first. I had checked hours on their website to make sure I didn't arrive too early for retail. Jumping out of the car, I ran to the door excitedly, where I was met by a cardboard sign saying "closed for winter, returning sometime in April." Apparently, not by April 21st, though, so now what?

I opened my up north Michigan map - yes the paper kind that folds back and forth and fits in the side pocket of the car door. Interlochen popped out at me! I've always wondered what the Center for the Arts was all about so I decided to head there and take a look.   

Interlochen Center for the Arts offers arts education programs for students in grades 3-12 and adults of all ages and hosts hundreds of concerts and events. Twenty minutes later I was walking the campus that was pretty much void of students. As you can imagine, many of the buildings were some type of performance hall or art studio. The 'dorms' were small bungalows circling the perimeter of the camp. After grabbing a bite to eat, I headed back to Beulah to check out the retail shops.

I picked hubby up at 5 and we headed to Manistee to try out a seafood restaurant, called Blue Fish Kitchen. It was a gorgeous drive and delicious dinner! The fresh walleye I chose melted in my mouth and hubby enjoyed the Penne Bolognese.  

On Saturday I made a running stop to boot hubby out for his morning training and headed to Traverse City to meet a friend who recently bucked tradition to RETIRE up north. About halfway there, I realized the car was nearly out of gas so I had to make a bit of a detour to find a gas station. They are few and far between up north! I arrived right on time and we had a fabulous brunch at Patisserie Amie and enjoyed catching up on each other's busy, retired lives. 

Swooping south to grab hubby, we turned back north toward the Leelanau Wine trail. We stopped at 4 wineries along the Sleeping Bear Loop, sampling some very nice dry whites and reds. The wines from this area continue to achieve national and international accolades. We purchased a bottle of red. 

Moving along to Fish Town, we picked up smoked salmon, some cheese and fruit and combined it with the bottle of red as dinner back at our little nest in Beulah.  

We could not head home without a visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Sunday we arose early, donned our tick-resistant gear, enjoyed breakfast across the street at Ursa Major and headed north to The Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Center in Empire. There, a park ranger morosely monotoned the closing of a popular lookout point due to a recent wind storm. When pressed she said, "100 trees still down on the road." Silently, she pushed a quarter-sheet of paper toward me. It listed the half dozen trails nearby. 

We chose Empire Bluff and doubled back a bit to find the trail head, then took off into the woods. Only 1.5 miles in length, the trail was not challenging but did get our hearts pumping as we trudged over hill and dale. The payoff was a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. 

Sadly, it was time to head home, but not before stopping at Stormcloud Brewing Company in Frankfort. Recently named the #1 new craft brewery in Michigan by Mlive, Stormcloud certainly lived up to the title. I loved the Darkstar Porter, Belgo-American Porter brewed with tangerine zest, star anise and Michigan hops. Hubby chose a Belgian IPA, called Whiled Away. For lunch, we ordered the specials of the day: Elk Bolognese, Veal and Bean Soup and Broccolini Flat Bread. Yumo - there were amazing!

Up north - we will soon be back to enjoy your beauty, libations, food and fun! 

Salut!

Miriam