Lynda Wheatley | Author

July 2, 2022

Some women, when they’re pregnant, crave pizza. Plums. Pickles and ice cream. Maybe some Taco Bell.

Emily Stewart, former head pastry chef at Bang Bang Pie in Chicago, craved golden loaves of buttery brioche and whole wheat sandwich bread; Pop-Tarts oozing with tart cherries; … Read More >>

Ryba’s THC-infused Fudge

July 2, 2022

Harry Ryba always knew a smart business move when he saw one. In the middle of the Great Depression, he bet on selling inexpensive treats, opening his first confectionary in Detroit in 1936. He hired the mouthy but charismatic teen who hawked newspapers outside his shop; that kid would go o… Read More >>

A Leg Up on the SUP Competition

July 2, 2022

You can celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, burgers, and a boatload of friends and family. Or you can go independent by shoving off from any shore atop the Mirage iEclipse. Touted as the first inflatable, pedal-powered standup board, the “i” version has an extra-wide stan… Read More >>

Cherry Republic and Mawby’s Sustain Sparkling Wine

June 25, 2022

Talk about perfect pairings. Two Up North companies who’ve transformed some of the region’s sweetest natural bounties into fruitful business empires have partnered up to create a product that truly sparkles. A blend of 60 percent cherry wine and 40 percent sparkling white wine, … Read More >>

Campfire Stories 2.0

June 25, 2022

By most indications, the Rybickis are your normal northern Michigan family of four. Dad Adam works in insurance; mom Tara is a dietician. Daughter Ayla, about to graduate second grade, loves dance. And Calla, a kindergartener, likes to play piano and “do gymnastics moves.”
… Read More >>

Electric Cruising

June 25, 2022

Elk Rapids Marina—and by extension, all of us who love our sweetwater seas—has just received a jolt of good news: Swedish electric boat manufacturer X Shore has named the marina the official Midwest distribution center of its Eelex 8000, a 26-foot electric boat that can reach a … Read More >>

Cool Summer Classics

June 25, 2022

Dairy Lodge, Traverse City
A red and white beacon of Traverse City’s historic Slabtown neighborhood, the Dairy Lodge beams us back to a post-World War II Division Street, a time before dogs were entitled to their own park (up the block, with an even better view o… Read More >>

Heroes of the Cherry Festival

June 25, 2022

You could probably guess that pulling off a weeklong national festival that attracts thousands of people is no small feat. You might even know that a huge contingent of the people who make that festival happen are volunteers. But did you realize that some take a week’s vacation from t… Read More >>

The Post-Pandemic Rise of Up North Pride and Polestar

June 18, 2022

Up North Pride Week in Traverse City promised to be extraordinary in June 2021. Though the pandemic had forced cancellation of the annual event in June 2020, the celebration in 2019 had shown remarkable support from business sponsors and welcomed more than 6,000 attendees.

Adding so… Read More >>

Ursa Major’s Belgian Waffle

June 18, 2022

You know a restaurant can feed your soul when it not only serves breakfast all day but also puts its waffles, pancakes, and French toast offerings under the heading “Syrup Holders.” Our favorite vehicle for the stuff: Ursa Major’s Belgian Waffle, which comes, of course, wi… Read More >>

Leaders Who Have their Priorities Right

June 18, 2022

Tawny Lynn Hammond, owner of Wind Dancer Traverse City Tours, is doing something special to honor Pride Month: She’s donating a percentage of every day-sail in June to local nonprofit Up North Pride, as well as to the Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and cr… Read More >>

Ship Spotters: 5 of the North's biggest, coolest, and oldest boats

June 11, 2022

Perhaps Ratty said it best: “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Like Mole in Kenneth Grahame’s novel The Wind in the Willows, you can consider Ratty’s advic… Read More >>

Bonobo’s Lavender Lemonade Slush

June 11, 2022

We thought Bonobo Winery on Old Mission Peninsula could not surprise us with a better seasonal slushie than their Chardonnay apple cider slush, a limited-edition beauty that melted us in fall 2020. But then we visited on an unseasonably cold day in June and risked our own hypothermia for a … Read More >>

Big(s) Men

June 11, 2022

Hey guys, Bigs Up North—part of the nonprofit Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America—is making a “desperate plea” for 62 men to mentor the 62 boys on the waiting list for a Big Brother in the region. The organization has launched a “Be the Men in MENtoring”… Read More >>

Pride in Interactive Art

June 4, 2022

Up North Pride is inviting folks around the region to think outside the box again. Following the success of last year’s catharsis-themed outdoor art installations, the LGBTQ+ organization unveiled three new interactive art exhibits running June 1-30, all underscoring the ’22 the… Read More >>

Cheese & Co.’s Cheba Sauce

June 4, 2022

This food truck specializes in all things cheese—beer-battered cheese curds, mac & cheese, mac & cheese bites, five kinds of grilled cheese sandwiches—you get the picture. But the item even the lactose tolerant among us love most is its cheese-free Superfood Salad, conte… Read More >>

Pink Pony’s Bourbon Sparkler

June 4, 2022

A few weeks back, we were lucky enough to find ourselves inside Mackinac Island’s famed Pink Pony the night of the equally famous Kentucky Derby. And while the loyal Southerner in our gang upheld Kentucky Derby tradition and chose the almighty Mint Julep (with which the Pony did not d… Read More >>

Let’s Talk Shop

June 4, 2022

As much as we love the tchotchke, trinket, and T-shirt shops of old Up North, our dusty shelves and overstuffed drawers can no longer accommodate. If you’re in the same sinking boat this summer, how about commemorating your trip with something for your walls, your wrists, or your kitc… Read More >>

Faster Horses

June 4, 2022

Back in the summer of 2004, Horse Shows by the Bay was born. The four-week-long regional equestrian show was held on the southern outskirts of Traverse City on a dusty patch of ground somewhere between a forest and a newly-opened Menards superstore. Within five years of its founding, HSBTB … Read More >>