Our Michigan “Home”

May 12 – June 30, 2022

From Shipshewana we drove north on US 131 heading for the Traverse City area of Michigan and our first destination of the trip. So, why am I calling this a destination instead of a stop? Because we intend to spend about 6 weeks here. And where exactly is Traverse City?

Traverse Bay Resort

Where are we staying while we’re here? In Traverse Bay Resort on our very own lot. Yep, we own a piece of Michigan. We purchased a lot to use as a summer home and/or launching point for summer trips. We had visited the resort a couple of years ago and really liked it. The resort is divided into four sections – North and South Loops (Class A only), Center (where we are), and Tiny Homes Estates. Click on the map below to enlarge.

We basically purchased the lot sight-unseen based on the description and a few photos. The lot has pavers surrounding a concrete pad and a 10 x 10 shed with a 10 x 10 extension. There’s a big pine tree in the front and two more in the back. There were tulips blooming in the small planter when we arrived.

Amazingly, it was 91 degrees when we arrived which made unloading and getting set up more challenging. Luckily during the next few days the temperature dropped back into the 50’s and 60’s (with some lows in the middle 30’s). Switching from shorts to jeans and sweatshirts became the norm.

We brought a couple of zero gravity chairs, a patio umbrella, a portable fire pit, and our bicycles with us. We did round out our collection with a small patio dining table and chairs from the local Home Depot and Lowes. That’s about all we need for our limited time here this year. We’ll store everything in the shed when we leave and put the lot in the rental pool.

I did talk Bill into planting some geraniums in the planter once the tulips finished blooming.

Many of the lots were empty upon our arrival. Some had rigs but were unoccupied. That changed as Memorial Day approached. Some are here for the season while others who live nearby come and go.

There are lots of amenities here including a main clubhouse, two additional clubhouses, pool, dog parks, nature trails, and tennis/pickleball courts. Pickleball is big here with scheduled play M, W, F on the four existing courts. New courts are supposed to be added this summer/fall.

There’s a lot to see and do in and around Traverse City. I’ll save those activities for a later post. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some photos of a lovely sunset that a couple of our Pickleball friends took.