Traverse City, Michigan

We rolled into Traverse City on the shores of Grand Traverse Bay and had no idea we would stumble into the annual week-long Cherry Festival. This, after all, is the largest producer of tart cherries in the United States. The surrounding countryside also produces grapes and is one of the centers of wine production in the Midwest.

We stayed at the Bayshore Resort with a room overlooking the beach and the bay. One thing is for sure: The water is clear and blue in this part of the country. It’s not only beautiful, it’s peaceful.

Railroad-wise, the Great Lakes Central (GLC) provides freight rail service to the Traverse City area on track owned by the state of Michigan. The tracks were once owned by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (ex-Pere Marquette Railway) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (ex-Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad) but were purchased by the state in the late 1970s and early 1980s to preserve rail service in the area. Current freight traffic includes fruit/perishables, scrap metal, and lumber.

Regular intercity passenger train service ended on October 29, 1966 after the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) discontinued Grand Rapids–Traverse City–Bay View service. Since then excursion passenger trains have operated in and out of Traverse City on an irregular basis.

By the way, here’s one for you. Old Mission Peninsula splits Grand Traverse Bay into two long, narrow arms. The tip of the peninsula, marked by a lighthouse, is equidistant from the equator and the North Pole. That’s too much to comprehend, really. Instead, beautiful Traverse City is worth one last, peaceful look.