The Trek to Traverse City - Week of June 20th

"People don't take trips, trips take people." ~John Steinbeck

"Look at life through the windshield, not the rearview mirror." ~Byrd Baggett

"A bend in the road, is not the end of the road...unless you fail to make the turn." ~Helen Keller

Whenever we have an upcoming event or trip, Cam is all about making lists and reviewing the plans.  He remembers everything needed for himself as well as some choice things sometimes forgotten by his parents.

Prior to departure, he and Ms. Amanda kept themselves busy and went to visit Amanda's dad and dog.

Friday morning, we headed to Grand Valley State University where Cam was scheduled to work with the graduate students. As always, Dr. Lisa told "Professor Cam" to be sure the students were asking the right questions and brainstorming.

After lunch, we packed up the van and hit the open road, northward bound for 2+hours.  Our destination was Traverse City to attend a welcome reception and wedding for our good friends, Molly and Jude.

Traverse City's name is almost self-explanatory- it is named after the Grand Traverse Bay. Indian hunters and French traders were the first people to spend time here, and it was they who gave the region its name- La Grand Traverse, because of the “long crossing” they had to make by canoe across the mouth of the bay.

Traverse City produces more than 75% of the world's tart cherries!

We arrived later in the afternoon and checked into our hotel.  Even with all of our preparatory communication, there was still a bit of a snafu that we finally settled prior to heading out.  The welcome reception party was hosted by the bride and groom from 4-7pm.  We met the groom's family, some of whom had traveled from New Zealand as well as western Canada.  Most of the bride's family and friends flew in from Oregon.  We left the reception close to 6p and drove a short way to downtown Traverse City where we dined at the Mackinaw Brewing Company.  Saturday was an exploring day for our family.  Chris and Jane wanted Cam to see the top of the Indigo Hotel to eat lunch.  It overlooks the Grand Traverse Bay and the view is spectacular.  

From there, we made our way to the Old Mission Lighthouse, about 25 minutes from where we were staying.  The lighthouse was established in 1870 and is located at the 45th Parallel or halfway between the North Pole and the Equator.

After a brief tour of the area, we were on the road again and found a fun place to have dinner, The Peninsula Club.  

Cam agreed to split a dinner with his mom of sauteed whitefish, rice pilaf and roasted asparagus.  Jane was truly in shock when her son declared it was delicious.

The next morning, we enjoyed our hotel continental breakfast and headed to the indoor pool.  Since there was a chair lift for Cam to use, it was easy to enter and exit.  The water wasn't too warm so we didn't linger too long.  After finally finding a spot for lunch in the busy downtown area, we made our way back to hotel to change into our fancier duds.  All of the Haroldson cousins arrived at our hotel in the afternoon and the entire group of us made our way to The Peninsula Room, the wedding location.

The ceremony itself took place outside with a view of Lake Michigan.  The breezy locale was a beautiful setting and Chris was able to use his drone to capture some aerial shots prior to the nuptials.
We all walked around the building where an outdoor cocktail and appetizer hour took place in the warm sunshine.

The remainder of the evening included a fabulous dinner (salad, short ribs, grilled salmon, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus) and dancing until late into the evening.  Molly and Jude couldn't have been happier and we all had so much with them and our cousins.  Cam brought his knee blocks so that he could be in standing mode for the dance floor.  Our son was pretty proud of himself staying awake past 11pm.

Sunday morning, we reminisced at the hotel eating breakfast with our cousins and talking about the previous night's activities.  Our return trip was uneventful and we were happy to arrive home late in the afternoon.  We also (somewhat surprisingly) retained a couple of wedding favors during our journey: Two bags of Cherry Republic Chocolate Covered Cherries!

Camology Quotes:

Jane and her son were checking out the top restaurants in Traverse City prior to leaving.  Cam was viewing the list and when his mom mentioned #7: The Bay Bread Company, his response was:

"Oooohhhh Mom, that could be dangerous!"