Turquoise water in the middle of Michigan: Grand Traverse Bay first surprises with its colour, a gradient of blues that seems borrowed from the tropics. The ship advances between two peninsulas covered with orchards, as the region harvests most of the tart cherries in the United States and has made them a complete identity, from pies to fruit wines. Expedition ships sailing the Great Lakes, including Viking's, drop anchor in the bay; tenders then land passengers on the shore, just a few minutes from downtown.

From the shore to Front Street

Your first steps follow Clinch Park, where a pale sand beach borders the municipal marina. You'll meet families, kayakers and sailboats gliding out to open water. A short walk then leads to Front Street, the main street: a row of 19th-century brick façades occupied by bookstores, coffee roasters and food shops offering cherries in every form, dried, candied, in jam or in salsa. The former 1892 opera house, carefully restored, recalls the days when the lumber trade made the town rich. The area is best explored with no set plan, following the shop windows, terraces and art galleries, in the relaxed atmosphere of a summer resort.

The Commons, an unexpected neighbourhood

About three kilometres from the shore, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons occupies the Victorian buildings of a former state hospital, recognizable by their spires and long galleries of yellow brick. Cafés, wineries, artisans' workshops and bakeries now share these vaulted corridors, surrounded by a wooded park crossed by trails. The place is surprisingly peaceful and ranks among the most successful heritage conversions in the Midwest. A taxi or shuttle is all it takes to get there.

Old Mission, the peninsula of vines

In the middle of the bay, the Old Mission Peninsula stretches for some thirty kilometres, fringed with orchards and rows of vines running down to the water. The wineries dotting it open their tasting rooms to travellers, and the road ends at the Mission Point Lighthouse, set on the 45th parallel, exactly halfway between the equator and the North Pole. Several excursions combine two or three gourmet stops with this photogenic finale, in a setting of gentle hills.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

To the west, about forty kilometres away, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore raises its walls of sand above Lake Michigan, more than 100 m high in places. From the lookouts along the scenic drive, the eye plunges down golden slopes falling into clear water, with the Manitou Islands in the background; the silence is broken only by the wind and the laughter of those attempting the descent. The round trip takes half a day by motorcoach. Those who prefer to stay near the ship will enjoy the bike path that follows the shoreline on either side of downtown, between beaches and lawns.

Port call highlights

At the end of the day, many passengers return to sit on the Clinch Park beach to watch the light change over the bay. The sailboats come in one by one, the hills turn from green to gold, and you understand why Michiganders consider this corner of their state a privilege. You return on board with a bag of dried cherries in your pocket and the urge to see these shores again in blossom season.