Lynda Twardowski's Blog (8)

The Cheese Throw Down Afterglow (and a Trip for Tastebud Travelers Who Missed the Party)

It’s been a few days since I’ve attended the Wisconsin Cheese Throw Down at Bowers Harbor Inn, and I apologize for the delay in the post-party blog. But you see, I’ve been in a cheese coma. This is what happens when a cheese lover attends an event showcasing a thousand-plus chunks of fine cheese and a dozen cheese-inspired gourmet dishes, all of which is washed down with her favorite local beers and wines. Judging by the turnout (Bowers Harbor Inn, its fabulous new outdoor patio and spiffy new… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on May 11, 2009 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

I am the cheese.

Living now in Traverse City, a place I consider a food lover’s paradise, it sometimes shames me that my three favorite foods haven’t changed as I’ve become an adult. They are, exactly as they were at age six: pizza, ice cream, and cheese. These are my deserted-island three. My last-meal trifecta. My go-to, triple-time-healer of a broken heart, bad hangover or even slightly irritable episode of P.M.S. I eat the big three, I feel joy. It’s very simple. They don’t have to be high-end either. In… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on May 5, 2009 at 9:11am — 3 Comments

Shop—in the name of Michigan State Park System love.

O.K. Three things I wildly, fiendishly, shamelessly love: a sweet deal, Michigan State Parks and, um, the sales racks at Macy’s. Let’s start with the most respectable of the bunch: our state park system. Michigan’s such a dang pretty state—I mean, come on, 10,000-plus miles of shoreline, 31,407 islands, rolling hills, deep forests, wildflower meadows, four fabulously gorgeous seasons, and rivers and inland lakes everywhere you look—we Michiganders luck out wherever a state park decides to plop… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on April 14, 2009 at 7:00am — 4 Comments

Much Like R. Kelly, I Believe I Can Fly.

I like my skis. Actually, I love them. They’re royal blue, with a print of white hibiscus flowers and sprays of bubbles, or maybe snow—something small, white and droplet-sized anyway—splashed across their glass-shiny surface. I suspect they’re part of the reason I look down so much: I like to watch them carve through the snow. The problem? They don’t actually carve. They “sort of” carve. So says Ron anyway. At first I am disappointed at this news. My slick, pretty, perfect azure-as-the-Norther… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on February 24, 2009 at 7:00am — 5 Comments

Rodent skiing: not cool.

Ron tells me not to look down at my skis. Feel the mountain under my skis, he says. Feel the slope, he says. Feel the pressure of my ski edge cutting into the snow as I swoosh (my technical term, not his) down the mountain. He stops at the top of the run to point out the endless acres of evergreens that roll out like a carpet unfurled at Crystal's feet. He reminds me again on the way down the mountain. "Look around," he yells as I zip past him, chin to chest. "Check out the scenery!" I glance… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on February 9, 2009 at 12:17pm — 4 Comments

Lynda Learns to Ski Crystal Mountain: Lesson One

So there I am, barreling along in my beat-up, road salt-covered Hyundai—downhill skis, poles and boots rattling somewhere in the backseat pile of snowshoes, cross-country skis, poles and boots, running cleats, various hats, mittens and insulated cups. And it occurs to me: I don’t need another winter hobby. My active outdoor calendar is filled up. I’m busy. Work’s crazy. It’s … cold. But it’s also too late. I’m bound for a ski lesson at Crystal Mountain.… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on January 26, 2009 at 4:30pm — 5 Comments

I ate dinner with Warren Miller.

Maybe that's a wee bit of a stretch. Let me come clean: This weekend I attended a dinner celebrating Boyne Mountain's 60th anniversary, and Warren Miller was there. Not at my table, but I swear he looked at me once while he was giving a speech. So of course I used my pushy reporter skills to corral him to a quiet corner for a quick interview. More on that later. Who's Warren Miller, you say? Well, if you're one of the estimated, um ... two Americans who do… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on January 13, 2009 at 1:04pm — 2 Comments

Confessions of a Travel Writer: Hot (and Lost?) on the Jordan Valley Trail

I call myself a travel writer. On the surface, it doesn’t seem very farfetched. After all, I travel. I publish articles in Traverse Magazine. Those articles are about my travels. And the bigwigs here at Traverse even gave me an official travel-y title a couple years back: Travel Editor. It would seem a simple, forthright equation. But it isn’t, because I lack an adherence to something that I suspect is essential to other travel writers’ toolkits: maps. Which is how I found myself lost with my… Continue

Posted by Lynda Twardowski on October 8, 2008 at 5:58pm — 5 Comments