Day Trips for Research

 One of the best parts of writing books about my home state is doing research. My husband and I took a three-day trip around The Traverse City area, then north and back down to Ludington. We had been to many of the small towns before but it has been years. I was shocked to see how much building up had occurred. Those sleepy towns are now filled with big gorgeous houses on bluffs which overlook the Grand Traverse Bay (both arms) and Lake Michigan. Most of our trip was wet as it rained off and on throughout the entire time. It was often difficult to drive with the windshield wipers constantly going back and forth. But we were not daunted one bit; we continued on until we found quaint out of the way places to eat. We stopped to walk in the downtown shopping districts, between raindrops, admiring the local artisans' work. I have to say I was quite restrained as I wanted to buy everything I saw. And of course we had to buy fudge, because how can you ever go Up North, as we say here, without buying fudge?

One of the best lunches we had was in downtown Frankfort at a place called L'Chayim Delicatessen. I had the best Pita filled sandwich I ever had in my life there. In Harbor Springs we stumbled across a cute little Mexican restaurant off the beaten path called Rodrigo's, probably known only to the locals. It was very small and busy but the food was great!

And how could we leave the area without some wine tasting? Besides it was a great escape from the rain. We stopped at Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery on Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City and had a glass of wine high up on the deck which overlooked their acres of grapes. Such a beautiful spot, and the wine was fabulous.

Overall, I picked up some great ideas for the next book or two which was the whole point in going and also to heal from my grief of losing my beloved dog, Teddy. I can't wait to get started on the next book the minute Threatening Skye is published. So far early reviews are great! I'm thrilled as this one was not easy to write. It's coming to you very soon now. I'll make a big announcement here the moment it hits the stands! So stick around.