Eat local wherever your "local" is at the moment

Juicy, red raspberries, wild blueberries and oh-so-fresh lobster. Dorothy, we're not in Michigan anymore. A two-week road trip to Acadia National Park included dining on mussels, freshly boiled lobster, wild blueberry pie and, eaten by my daughter, the local favorite, "Whoopie Pie." On the return trip home, we ate Vermont cheese, chocolate and maple syrup, took in the Ben & Jerry's icecream tour and stopped at two farmsteads where local cheese, raw milk, maple syrup and granola are produced, and grass-fed cows and free-range chickens pluck at lush, green hillsides. (Incidentally, the creamery owner is from Marquette, Michigan, and a graduate of Ferris State University.)

Apparently, we are not the only Michiganders to travel to Maine this summer. In addition to running into my daughter's schoolmate twice, and Chelsea resident and Yellow Door diner Kathy Mueher and her husband on a whale boat tour (sorry if I butchered your last name, Kathy!), we ran into Michiganders at every point of interest. We Michiganders love our outdoors!

It's fun to experience other local foods and points of interest (anyone been to the world's largest nickel before in Sudbury, Ontario?). It's so, so, so nice to be home, though. After touring several eastern states these past two weeks (and having experienced many western states before), I can honestly say Michigan is one of the most beautiful states in our country. We're surrounded by rich agriculture and four of the five Great Lakes. Chelsea is a charming gem of a community. Give thanks for all the goodness surrounding us!