Accolades continue to mount for Sleeping Bear, Grocers Daughter Chocolate

From staff reports

And the next ‘Best Of’ honor bestowed upon our neck of the woods is … drumroll please … “Best Landlocked Beach”.

Our proverbial hat is sinking under weight of feathers!

American Profile magazine last week named the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore its best inland beach (meaning not on an ocean) as part of its “America’s Best Beaches” issue.

“Beyond the really high dune areas are just miles and miles of lovely lake beach,” says New York City-based travel writer Holly A. Hughes. Towering as high as 200 feet, the dunes of Sleeping Bear offer challenging hikes up—and gleeful slides down. “The top of the dunes is great for ship watching,” adds “Dr. Beach,” Stephen P. Leatherman, who directs the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University in Miami. For more than two decades, Leatherman has released his annual list of America’s top 10 beaches.

In addition, Mimi Wheeler of Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire was recently named the second best chocolatier in America by Complex City Guide. According to writer Victoria Marfan, Grocer’s Daughter “works to create chocolates that use fruits, herbs, and edible flowers grown there to keep her business sustainable. It leads to some offbeat options, sweets like pecans caramelized in maple syrup with a hint of Arbole chile and thyme. Nobody else on this list offers that sort of combination of flavors.”

Enjoy the beaches and the chocolate!

This GlenArbor.com story was sponsored by Ruth Conklin Gallery in Glen Arbor.