Traverse City: Day One

 Julia and I visited Traverse City more than ten years ago with the kids on a family vacation. We really liked it then but thought that it would be fun to experience the city as retirees without the family this time. While the trip to Traverse City was a camping experience with solitude, campfires and nature, our stay at Traverse City State Park was an urban experience with tight, crowded camping that was not ideal. 

The young couple across from us created some excitement when they let their large trailer slide off of the little plastic tongue holder being used, which resulted in a large crash. A handful of us elders stood around offering advice and tools, which did get the trailer upright. Immediately after that, the young man drove his $100,000 truck into a sturdy post, punching a hole in his front bumper, all in front of his two wide-eyed young boys. Dad was having a bad day.

We went off in search of a beer at one of Traverse City’s many breweries. First stop was Right Brain.

Mine was a nitro milk stout and mighty fine.

I wanted this tshirt, but they didn’t have one in my size (and Julia says this color looks horrible on me anyway).

We went to dinner downtown at Taproot, a ciderhouse with live entertainment. We had french onion soup and shared a pizza. The guitar player was fun and took the edge off the travel day.

Callie stayed behind in her crate to spare herself this embarrassment.