Wish you were here. That’s what the postcard reads as you check in to The Grand Beach in Traverse City, Michigan. It’s a nice little way to remind the lucky they truly are on vacation. Smiling faces greet the weary traveler and attend to their every need, including offering a continental breakfast delivered to their door at sunrise.
My group opted to take our show on the road after I enjoyed a brisk walk on the beach where I was the only non-feathered creature and felt as though I had joined a convention of fine feathered friends who were planning their day. Drinking in the sunrise on a Sunday morning made me extra grateful for friends and family as the vast bay offered personal reflections for me to behold on a enveloping lovely beach which is a little slice of heaven.
I walked with shoulders back and head held high as my dreamy pillow allowed for a perfect night’s sleep. My friends had blasted through the waves the moment they hit the Grand Beach and made a little swimming contest out of it. Play, play, play that’s what vacation is all about.
After, we hugged the waters edge, heading towards Sutton’s Bay, when we happened upon a beach front restaurant that was teeming with locals and tourists alike. The parking lot said, “try it” so we did.
My son was named “Sportsman of The Year,” so I leaned in to Apache Trout Grill with gusto! I’m not a vegetarian, yet! And their menu afforded loads of options including good ole’ fashioned “Surf & Turf.” We ladies both leapt at that while the gents went straight for the Tomahawk. That’s brave, I wanted to say, however, he was fresh from the local world-famous horse show, and a fellow equestrian. We riders do have a reputation for showcasing our voracious appetites from time to time.
Traverse City is “the” place to explore in that regard and restaurateur, Jeff Lobdell, knows this well. He has mastered it and his wife; Audrey has done it again peppering her creative juices into the fold. Move over, Massive Mary from Boones Prime Time Pub, make room for the West Bay Bloody Mary.
Both are absolute works of art while the new kid on the block is an absolute show stopper. Diners dropped their forks as our group converged on that puppy. Fresh out of the gait and premature but popping with promise to be the new prom king of the school of restaurants.
Our waiter, Matt was a bit of a showman himself being proudly transplanted from Louisville, and pointed out each and every delectable morsel artfully displayed on this beverage the size of a meal: shrimp, golden Great Lakes perch filets, Michigan whitefish wontons, fried trout nuggets, beer-battered onion rings, to name a few.
The entire place was almost like a movie set with patrons perched at several bars, both inside and out, while date-night couples cozied up in booths. Cat Stevens himself would have been proud of the crooner entertaining guests outside near the boats on the bay. A wonderful evening dotted by a one-man-show affording a relaxing backdrop and songs that soothe.
The next morning, we remembered to bring our appetites and I was leading the pack. My Alma mater is Northwestern Michigan College and the omelette shoppe is my home. I have to have their hashbrowns. It’s not a question, and that coffee is to die for.
Thank God, they offer it for sale or I would have been caught begging for a take-out bag. And, ohhhhhh, those pecan rolls, and did I mention the fresh squeezed orange juice. Ohhh la la.
We all ordered off the extensive menu and went on our merry ways with a song in our hearts and a to-do list: send those “Wish you were here” post cards and make plans to return. Tout suite!
