A Cherry Happy 4th of July in Traverse City! Part I

Many of you may know my boyfriend Garrett, and if you follow my Instagram you know him as #thesweetest. Garrett's parents live in a place that could be described as heaven on earth; Traverse City. When the opportunity came for Garrett and I to go to Traverse City for the Fourth of July, we couldn't resist. Little did I know TC is the perfect place to spend the most American of holidays.

#thesweetest and Olive Eats

Getting off our tiny plane

Delicious cherry pie

After the hour drive into downtown TC we decided on a new restaurant called The Franklin, for dinner. Although the waitstaff was a bit shaky, my local lamb burger with bacon, provolone and mint chimichurri, as well as my good company, made up for it. After dinner we headed down the street to 
7 Monks Taproom for a post dinner beer. I enjoyed a Shorts Key Lime Pie specialty beer. It tasted 
remarkably close to key lime pie. Graham cracker and all. It was the perfect dessert beer to end a perfect first night in TC. 

When I woke up Thursday morning, I had no idea what was in store for me. The Sweets had planned a fun filled day full of  wineries, breweries, bakeries, a creamery, and a five course dinner. That is my kind of vacation. Our day began at 9 Bean Rows in Suttons Bay, where we enjoyed the last four apricot pinwheels of the morning. It was my first apricot pinwheel but it won't be my last! After breakfast we drove up the road to the 9 Bean Rows' bakery where we learned how they make their sea salt fennel bread (yum!) and picked up our 4th of July breakfast; some of the most delicious croissants I've ever had! After stopping to take a few pictures in the cherry trees, we headed up to Tandem Ciders; one of my favorite parts of our trip!

Apricot pinwheel

Sea salt fennel bread

Young cherries

Tandem Ciders is located just north of Suttons Bay marked by a quaint little barn with a tandem bike 

hanging on the front. Bikes + cider = happy Olive! After a few generous, free tastings in the farmhouse, we moved to a picnic table to enjoy a cheese plate with local Leelanau raclette, strawberries, jalepeño jelly and homemade pickles accompanied by our favorite ciders from the tastings. I chose a blend of The GreenMan, made of Rhode Island Greenings and the Bee's Dream made of  Rhode Island Greenings, Northern Spies, Jonathan apples, and wildflower honey. Delicious! And what an amazing atmosphere! I think the selling point for me was their logo; a boy and a girl 

riding a tandem bike, and the girl in arabesque. How cute and how appropriate for me!? I think Tandem Ciders is my new special place. 

The Tandem Cider Barn

The perfect details inside

Enjoying our cheese plate amongst the trees

The Tandem Ciders logo

Story continued in next post...