A look back at 2011, and ahead to 2012

If you're anything like us, you're kind of wondering what happened to 2011. To be frank, it was gone in a jiffy, or at least it sure felt like it.

In the fast-paced world that is our everyday lives, it's easy to find yourself in this position, flipping the calendar to the final month of the year and wondering what it was that was accomplished in the entirety of the last 11 months.

At Northwest Michigan Second Wave, we have the luxury of looking back and getting to see exactly what was written about. It's a timeline of highlights in the Northwest Michigan region, and we invite you, too, to take the time to peruse our archives and read some of the top stories we published this year. Maybe you'll see some old favorites, or a great feature that you may have missed.

Here are some of the favorites from around the office:

Hillside Homestead offers a step back in time for visitors: Bed and breakfasts, like hotels, can often be measured by their amenities. Wireless Internet. Air conditioning. Movie channels. But what about wood-fed cook stoves? Those are the amenities you'll find at Hillside Homestead, a bed and breakfast that harks back to 1910 for a different type of place to stay while on vacation.

Alliance helps bring back locally-produced beer hops--something everyone can drink to: Something is growing in Northern Michigan that hasn't been seen in the fields since about the time the Civil War was taking place--hops. No, not the kind that bunnies do, but rather the kind that brewers do. Hops are an integral part of the beer-making process, and now they are being grown, processed and purchased right here in Northwest Michigan.

Good Harbor Vineyards showcasing family traditions, quality wines: Good Harbor Winery is making great wines. This family business has a wonderful legacy they're building on. Michael Schafer swirls, sniffs and sips the reds and whites produced at this Leelanau vineyard in this juicy report.

New wave media making a splash in Northwest Michigan: Need some great local news? Well, you can skip the paper publications, if you'd like, and head right for the virtual publishing world on the Internet. Writer Kim North Shine browses the web and comes back with some links in this report.

Acoustic Mead has Northern Michigan all abuzz: t's a fairly new addition to the northern Michigan wine and beer scene, but Acoustic Mead is showing it's got some serious legs with steady growth over the last two years. Second Wave's Kim Hoyum sits down and talks with Acoustic Mead's lead man, Bruce Grossman.

Old school social networking: TC's Gary Howe wants to build a truly connected city: Gary Howe isn't your typical social networker. Instead of looking to make connections via the high-speed lanes of Internet traffic, Howe has made a point of striving to help Traverse City make connections via the slow-speed lanes of community bike and foot paths.

Lake Effect Cooperage: Resurrecting the old art of barrel making: Everyone knows that Michigan has good beer, and in the Northwest portion of the state, that goes doubly for the wine. But two men have helped bring those growing industries to the next level by providing a locally-created product that is integral in the process--the oak barrel.

Green Acres is the place to be: Family puts farm, pigs on the map: There is no doubt about the rapidly increasing interest in farm-to-table products across the country. Luckily for Northwest Michigan, no one has to look far to find some of the best chicken, chevon and pork being produced anywhere in the state. Mark and Jill Baker, with their seven children, are making their Green Acres a shining example of what a small farm can accomplish.

We hope you enjoy all of these features, as well as the many others that are archived on our site. In addition, we invite you to check out our parent company, Issue Media Group, and all of the great regional publications produced by them.

We look forward to seeing you again in 2012 after a break over the holidays and into January. We'll be back Jan. 17, when we'll continue to bring news about the positive growth, businesses and people that make Northwest Michigan so grand.

Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of Northwest Michigan Second Wave and a full-time freelance writer. He was born and raised in Michigan. You can reach him via email.