2011/246: Adult Souvenirs
The best kind! And please… keep your minds out of the gutter! 😉
Our little souvenirs from our Michigan vacation this summer…
Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from Free Run Cellars and Ice Wine from White Pine Winery. These two we will most likely save for our anniversary and Christmas.
Black Currant from Round Barn Winery and Razz Berry from Mackinaw Trail Winery
White Briarwood and Red Briarwood from Fenn Valley Vineyards
Harvest Rose from The Fox Barn Winery and Forbidden Fruit Sweet Red from St. Julian Winery
Blackberry and Velvet Red from St. James Winery (in Missouri)
Cranberry and Blushing Bare from McIntosh Cellars
2011/218: Summer Roadtrip, Michigan Part 8
Thursday, July 14 was our last day in Michigan, and before leaving Holland, we stopped at Holland Harbor Lighthouse, which we viewed from Holland State Park.
About 45 minutes south is South Haven South Pier Light, our next stop.
We did some wine tasting and shopping at McIntosh Winery in South Haven. Not only did we sample wines, but we got to sample cheeses, too, and bought a basil flavored cheese (along with blueberry barbecue sauce and some kind of spicy pickled asparagus – I didn’t try either one of those), and the kids got to taste some juices.
We were in St. Joseph around lunch time and wanted to stop at one more winery before looking for a place to eat. Traffic was a nightmare, and there were no parking spaces to be found. After driving around for what seemed an eternity, we finally found a parking space several blocks away and walked to the winery in the downtown area, then ate lunch at a sub shop before heading back to the car. Of course by then, there was almost no traffic and plenty of parking! Must have just been the lunch time rush.
Forget naked…. I’d be asleep!
We had one more place on our list of things to see, St. Joseph North Pier Light, and we almost skipped it because there was a $5 fee for parking (is that really wort it, to spend about 30 minutes there?) and no other public parking nearby. It was either private property or marina parking. In the end we did pay the fee, because it was the very last lighthouse.
2011/210: Summer Roadtrip, Michigan Part 1
As my persistant stalkers faithful readers know, we had planned to head to Maine this summer, but because of rising gasoline prices we’ve had to change those plans and choose a destination that was a little closer. That lucky destination was Michigan.
On Thursday, July 7th, it was time to pack our suitcases, load up the car, and head to Michigan. We stopped at the Welcome Center just across the border to pick up some brochures. We kind of knew where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see, but you just never know what else you might find.
Our first stop was Saugatuck for some wine tasting at Fenn Valley Vineyards (they had an amazing icewine, but they were completely out of stock) and the combined tasting room of Free Run Cellars and Round Barn Winery. I even talked Greg and Melissa into posing for a picture or two at Fenn Valley Vineyards.
For lunch we stopped at DDD featured Rosie’s Diner in Rockford, just north of Grand Rapids.
We found another DDD restaurant just south of Lansing, that Greg wanted to try for dinner, but because Lansing isn’t that far away from Grand Rapids, we needed to find something to do between lunch and dinner. The Lansing travel brochure I picked up at the Welcome Center really came in handy, and I found two free things to do.
We went to Cooley Gardens first. It was such a peaceful, beautiful place, with plenty of flowers to photograph… although the mosquitoes were a little annoying to say the least! We were almost the only people there, too.
Next on the list was Frances Park, with great views and a beautiful rose garden. I will bore you with rose pictures some other time, instead, here is one of the view of the river. … and one of Sara, trying not to smile. She was standing at the edge of the circle in the photo below.
When we all started to get hungry, we made our way to Joe’s Gizzard City in Potterville for dinner. Yes, they do serve gizzards, and NO, I didn’t try any! Greg did, though! I can’t remember what I ordered, but it had nothing to do with gizzards! *shudder*
We wanted to get a hotel near Flint, but actually made it to Frankenmuth. Our first hotel choice was completely booked, but thankfully we got a room at the second hotel we tried.
To be continued…..
2011/178: Good Thing….
… we’re leaving on vacation soon, and can bring back some new friends for those lonely three wine bottles left in our wine rack 😉
These are all from last year’s vacation.
Kick And A Pat, Sweet Lady Red, and You’Re Making Me Blush from Southern Hills Winery in Osceola, Iowa
Edelweiss from Two Saints Winery in St. Charles, Iowa, and Peach Wine from Vetro Winery in Sullivan, Wisconsin
Blackberry Wine, White Cloud, and Raspberry Wine from Summerside Vineyards in Vinita, Oklahoma. These were my favorites, along with The Good Life
The Good Life, and Live For The Moment from Whispering Meadows Winery in McAlester, Oklahoma
The Daily Click 