I live North of Grand Rapids which is 2 hours & 20 minutes away from Traverse and we go there frequently winter & summer. It is basically a big resort town on two beautiful bays which are part of Lake Michigan. There is so much to do and see and it is a shoppers paradise with quaint little shops, a big mall, a smaller mall, not to mention all the quaint little towns around it like Sutton's Bay, Fish Town, Charlevoix and Petoskey. There are artisan shops and fabulous restaurants. There is snow & cold in winter as is fickle Michigan Winter. A lot of winter sports are available.
Kingsley is a very small drive through town just south of Traverse.
Here is a link to Traverse which doesn't really do it justice:
http://www.mytraversecity.com/gallery/
A link to the surrounding area:
http://travel.michigan.org/locations/
I see that you are from Texas....You will love the changes of seasons-spring and fall are awesomely beautiful!
It is awesome! You will love it there!