What a week it was leading up to our weekend get away! Between my SUV giving me (and Chase) a few fits, finding out my gram had cancer and working; I wasn't sure we would even be able to go! Somehow, things worked out as they always seem to have a tendency to and I was able to get packed at the "final hour!"
Bri and I both worked Thursday and planned on leaving after that. We hit the road around 7:40pm, made a quick stop in Grandville and then pointed the SUV north! I am always happy heading north, always have been! We made a pit stop for "fuel" (Caffeine) at McDonalds just north of Grand Rapids, cranked the radio and drank and sang:) The trip went well; we stopped at the last rest stop on a civilized highway a bit after 10 and soon after plunged into both darkness and some considerably less traveled roads. Let me just say here and now, "I love GPS!" I would also like to petition to have one road re named to the more accurate name of "Roller Coaster Road!" That road twisted and turned and went up and down as much as any very good roller coaster! The only thing it didn't do was turn you upside down. Oh, wait! It did turn a car on it's side! We came up over a hill and around a curve to be greeted by the flashing lights of a patrol car and just in time to see the tow truck pull up. Seems the car, coming from the opposite direction, failed to negotiate the curve, crossed my lane and went off the road into the trees somehow ending up on it's side! Yikes! Good thing we stopped at that rest stop and didn't come around that curve 10 minutes earlier!!! We arrived at the condo we had been lent around 11:30. The condo was so amazing! What fun! We chose a room, plopped our stuff down, unpacked the cooler into the fridge and then proceeded to have a proper and fitting start to our wine weekend with a bottle that my dad and step mom had given to us before we left. Then, zzzzz!
Friday morning dawned a bit overcast and soon turned drizzly. That would not dampen our spirits and besides, we had more coffee:)
Morning coffee in the condo:)
We also had a "Driver" for the day. Yes, we were spoiled! Kathy from Traverse City Tours (I would highly recommend her and her company!) picked us up at our door around 10:45 and off we went. Turns out, Kathy has friends and family in the Holland and Grand Haven area and she is no more shy than Bri and I so we all got along famously and had a wonderful day with no shortage of topics to discuss!
Kathy headed into the Old Mission peninsula and was a wealth of knowledge on both the Vineyards and their history as well as landmarks etc. She drove us to 6 out of the 7 stops we had hoped to make (5 is average) and dropped us off and picked us up at the door each time. Drizzle? No problem! Peeks of sunshine interrupted the drizzle periodically and eventually the sun came out for good. Oh, such Beautiful places we visited!!! We learned so much, it really was an educational trip! Really!
I fell in Love with the charming beauty of Bowers Harbor!
We even got to take a tour at Chateau Grand Traverse, starting at the point outside where the grapes come to the facility straight from the fields across the parking lot. We got to go inside (tho they would not allow photos) and walk through the entire process ending with bottling and corking. Fascinating! Kathy dropped us back at the condo at 4:15. We unpacked our "loot" and Bri went to the pool before we left again. We headed into the "business district" of Elk Rapids and walked and poked around a bit before heading off to Pearls; the restaurant to which we had been given a gift certificate for dinner. Oh my, what a fun place with excellent food! (We did not order wine however, kind of had enough for one day!)
Is it bad when your beverage looks back at you???
By now, we were exhausted and sleep was sounding wonderful!
Sat. morning we hit the road earlier and drove ourselves on a gloriously sunny day with a brilliant blue sky, a light breeze and a few puffy clouds, up into the Leelanau peninsula. Oh so gorgeous!
By mid afternoon we headed back into the Old Mission Peninsula to go to Chateau Chantal, a must see we had been told and it was the one we missed the day before. I must say, it had the most beautiful panoramic views tho I favored the smaller Bowers Harbor for it's beauty and sweet dogs. I would add that it would be hard to pick one favorite for one reason. They each had something special! Next stop, the Old Insane Asylum:) We headed into Traverse City to find this location and our last winery/tasting room for the day; Left Foot Charley's. What a day! After skipping lunch 2 days in a row (who wants to take time out to eat when there is so much to see and do?!?!) we went in search of food. Gluten Free food. Thanks to a great app on my phone, we were led to another wonderful restaurant and it turns out it is a "sister" restaurant to Pearls:) Fortified by food, we went into downtown Traverse City and browsed among the crowds and then left for "home", stopping at a grocery store for a few goodies. Back at the condo and after Bri managed to push all the right buttons in
some mystical and magical combination, we watched the DVD I brought, My
favorite movie, Somewhere In Time. Such a great movie! Then, bed
time.
Sunday morning Bri found her way back to the pool while I cleaned up and packed up. On the road by noon and in need of gas, we stopped in TC and then headed west towards Sleeping Bear Dunes. We found the visitor center and then needed to choose a trail to hike. Bri had done this before so that was some help:) What a beautiful area! I quickly decided that just a few hours there would not be nearly enough and am already dreaming of when I can go back and spend more time there, hiking and exploring!
Hiking at Sleeping Bear Dunes
After hiking, we sadly admitted it was time to head back towards our reality and the real world. I think we may have been getting tired too. If you haven't noticed, I don't relax too well and when I go somewhere I want to see everything and do everything! No time to relax! We had decided to take the "scenic route" home and even at times ignored the GPS concluding that as long as we had the lake in sight to the west and we were headed south, we'd get home at some point:)
And then, I remembered! A little piece of paper, tucked away in a cubby in my SUV. Written by and placed there by Jeff quite a few years ago. A cryptic note containing directions like, "just after the scenic turnout, turn on Joyfiield road and drive maybe 5 ish miles til you see a small white church on the south west corner. Turn south. There will be a couple of hills, if you get to the curve you are too far!" Well, it seems we were both up to one more adventure even if we didn't know what it was! And so, off we went. Well, finding it wasn't all that difficult as it turns out. Knowing why we were there, well that was the mystery. Nothing but trees and an run down orchard. I'm pretty sure that's not what he wanted to see. Our only clue; Jeff had written on the bottom of the paper, "bring a level." oookaaay? Well, this being the age of technology and great cell phones, we parked on the side of the road, got out and started googling! Now, let me say, we were not the only ones there! Another couple in a truck, looking slightly sheepish was there when we arrived. 2 more cars passed us, turned around and did it again while we were "researching". Then we hit pay dirt! Turns out, we were at a spot thought to be a "Gravity Hill". We did "play" around with this, SUV in neutral, going in both directions as did yet another vehicle at about this time. We laughed, rolled down our windows and had a chat right there on the road. Fun adventures:) I'm not even going to try and explain a "Gravity Hill", just google it if you're interested. Or, better yet, take a drive one day:) BTW, we did not have a level but, there is a app for that too!
We headed back south, taking time to stop at the Scenic Turnout and climbed (I actually ran 3/4 of the way!) up the 124 steps to the top. (My knees protested vehemently!)
At the very top of the Arcadia Scenic Turnout!
Now in need of nourishment after skipping lunch for the 3rd day and all of our exertion, we once again used my handy app for GF food and found a Mancino's not too far away. After food, coffee was the next important requirement and lacking any Starbucks within a 75 mile radius (what do these people do???) we found a McDonalds (I do like their coffee too!) and then started on the last leg of our Wonderful Wine Weekend!
We made it home by about 7:30, almost exactly 3 full days from when we left. We were tired but, we had so much fun! We learned so much also. About wine, vineyards and even the process of making wine. But we learned other things too. Always trust "Gertie" (my GPS) and I do! We learned that Bri and are are adventurous, love to learn and don't mind not knowing what's around the next corner! And, we certainly indulged in our motto; "Make Every Moment Count!"
A HUGE Thank You to our co-workers and friends who put this together for us; you are amazing! We can never Thank you all enough for this amazing gift!
{{{Hugs}}}
Brenda
P.S. So many pictures, could not possibly put them all here! Nearly 120 I think. Check out my Facebook, go to photos and click on the Wonderful Wine Weekend album to see more if you'd like:)
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