On the Road Again....

Leaving Mackinaw Island meant leaving the "planned" part of our journey. From here on out we were programming our GPS to roads less traveled and allowing ourselves to be surprised by what we would find.

We found a lovely state park in Michigan that featured some of the most gorgeous waterfalls and scenery. We hiked, we photographed and we loved the feel of the spray of the waterfalls as we got closer to the natural beauty of the area.

We rested and ate a bite of lunch at this gorgeous point that observed a memorial to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

We drove many back roads to enjoy the beauty of Fall and the scenic barns in Michigan and later into Wisconsin.

We met some very pretty sheep, and later we......

....stopped inside the barn which was now an art gallery and bought some of their wool for a sweater I hope to make.

I saw lots of barns that featured quilt designs like this.....

and this....

.....and suddenly I had great desire to visit some quilt shops!!! But that is tomorrow's story, and I will share more about that then.

A Weekend to celebrate.....

So....it was the weekend to celebrate birthdays. Mine and my Mom's and while that alone would bring lots of joy, there were even more things to add happiness !!!!

I got to treat Jilly to a "maternity" shopping day. Who knew that Anthropologie would have such cute clothes to bring a smile to a "Mom to be's" face??? How cute is that bitty baby bump....how excited are we for March????

There was time to spend with our " fur" Grandbaby who is definitely in the toddler stage. Houseproofing is a must !!!

And then the "Parents in waiting" got to hold sweet little Ryan....who was born on September 25th. He is the son of our nephew, and looks so much like his very handsome Dad.

...and how sweet is this? Oma holding her 4th Great Grandchild. How precious and how blessed she feels.

But....there is still some joy to SHARE and I want to thank ALL of you who wished ME a happy birthday and joined in my little giveaway!!!

Not only blog love, but also emails asking me if they could enter too. I heard from places across the US and all the way to Israel ( waving hello). I put all fourteen names in a bowl and drew out......Juanice!!!!

I have your quilt ready for it's new home along with some other goodies to help brighten the giving. Congrats and thanks for participating in my first giveaway.

Back to my travel log tomorrow. XXX

Are you still there????

Are you ready to join me on our stay at the Grand Hotel? Be sure to think romantic and I hope you have a very good appetite.

This is what you see when you walk up to the main lobby of the hotel. An endless amount of seating on a very long veranda. In the evening they provided a band, so if you are inclined to enjoy a bit of waltzing around the porch, please do.

Would you like to come inside? Would you like to see our "home at the Grand"? We didn't know what to expect. We were on the "budget coupon" vacation. The cost included our room , a five course ( five star) dinner and a full breakfast the next morning. We were sure our discounted rate would put us in a room adjacent to the laundry facility.

Instead we were given a suite!!!! Not just ANY suite, but the Esther Williams suite. Full of memorabilia of the movie she was in when she was on the island. How did they know I LOVE Hawaiian quilts????

The room provided a bed ( huge and very comfy), living room area, two dressing areas, a wonderful chaise lounge and even a piano!!!

We had more space than we knew what to do with. The bathroom provided all sorts of "Grand Hotel" soaps and goodies ( that I am hoarding as a memory of our stay).

I will never forget the quiet moments I spent that night on the chaise lounge listening to the horse carriages as they dropped off guests to the hotel.

But that wasn't the only surprise....dinner exceeded all expectations. Five courses of pure deliciousness. Dinner is a bit of a dress up affair. Lots of fun and a very lovely time to feast and toast a wonderful time together.

I had the Prime Rib and Jim enjoyed the Lamb. The evening felt like a very special occasion.

This was Jim's dessert....I think I ate mine so fast I didn't have time to take a picture!!!!

Oh well....photo out of order, but I know you wanted to see my delicious appetizer. There was also a soup and salad course. Did I mention I was very full. Did you guess I ate every bite?

But as full as we were, there was an equally great breakfast the next morning. Be sure to click on the picture to read the full menu. What would you choose?

We started with the basket of pastries....and don't tell anyone, but what we didn't eat, I wrapped in a napkin to enjoy later!!!

We spent the day enjoying a buggy ride past all of the historical sites on the Island. A wonderful tour of carriages and buggies that were part of Island Life was part of the tour, as well as a stop at a Fort.

We went to town to enjoy a bit of Irish libations at the Pub, and walked back to the Grand which gave us more time to stop and enjoy the cottages and views.

I can't remember a place that seemed more enchanting, nor a place that made me sadder to leave. I did find a few moments to knit on the porch....another memory to add to "Baby's First Sweater".

But as they say "you can't come back if you don't leave".....so back to the ferry we went. We know the Grand will be a destination we will revisit. It did not disappoint....our visit left me with a heart full of memories.

Back to our vacation.....

When Jim and I were newlyweds, we fell in love with this movie. The story touched our hearts and the music filled our souls. It was filmed on Mackinaw Island and we forever held the dream of going there one day.

We were eager to get to the ferry that morning....the only way to get to the island. The weather was crisp and our anticipation was HUGE. Jim had his camera ready and the wind whipped so heartily that it was hard to keep your camera still.

....and then there was that moment when we first glimpsed the Grand Hotel. I was filled with awe at the site of how large and beautiful she seemed.

Our view at the docks did not disappoint. How picturesque, and immediately we felt transported to another time and another era. Like our favorite movie come to life.

Travel on the island is by carriage and the clip clop of hooves became a very favorite sound. So for the rest of our stay, our view of the island and all its beauty began with this and moved on to this......

dreamy cottages ....

.... views that took our breath away.

Gardens that were enchanting and abundant....

...and I wondered if this could all be real and if the Grand Hotel could really be as wonderful as our carriage ride already had been.

There was that moment of disbelief. We were really here and she looked as beautiful up close as she did across the lake. We could hardly wait to get out of our carriage. Would our visit meet the expectations we had held all of these years?

There will be more pictures to come. I could blog for days.....and I hope you don't mind toooo much. Remember you can click on any picture to see more details.....and be sure to check my last post if you would like to have gingerbread men live at your house!

I interrupt this travel post.....

To say IT IS MY BIRTHDAY......but I want you to get the presents!!!! It is also my 100th post!!! Last year's birthday present was for my kids to help me figure out the land of blog. What a great year it has been. So......

I would love for you to win my quilt. Just leave me a post ( say something really nice like "you don't look THAT old") and I will pick a winner by Sunday.

A bit of holiday cheer from my heart to yours. Thanks again for the Blog love and leave me a message if you want the Gingerbread Men to come live at your house (G)!!!!

and then.....

....we left Wisconsin for the leisurely drive to Michigan, where we saw the beginning of Fall color like this and

like this......

and beautiful old homes that made me want to peek inside!

We ended our drive at St. Ignace which was just so lovely. We had a great bowl of clam chowder for dinner, and a taste of the famous fudge for dessert !!!

When we got to our hotel room, we looked out at Mackinaw Island and wondered if it would be as beautiful as we had hoped. That story will begin tomorrow!!!

Home is a lovely place to be......

We are home again.....filled with the memories of a wonderful week and restful vacation. I will be spending my next few posts documenting our trip. I apologize to those I bore (G), but for the rest who would enjoy traveling along I say "welcome to the best of the Midwest".

Be sure to click on any picture to see the details. Enjoy the vacation....I sure did!!!

We flew into Chicago and even for this white knuckle flyer, it was a nice enjoyable flight. We quickly found our rental car and we were on the road to Wisconsin. Wasn't much to see as it was getting dark, but we did find our way to the Osthoff resort....and it was amazing!!!!

We rented a three bedroom condo with our friends Don and Laura. The town was a charming collection of Victorian homes and cute shops. But the lake was the highlight.....serene and breath taking.

I did manage to snag a few cute things in this shop/museum. The town was small and cozy and it was a perfect start to our vacation.

The boys had their destinations....and we girls had ours. While they went to a car race in Elkhart Lake, we went to Kohler. Yes the LAND OF TOILETS built the most wonderful town that I can imagine. There is an incredible Five Star hotel, with gorgeous gardens to visit. A bit of shopping and I packed away some delicious Wisconsin Cheese and breads for my picnic that night.

Laura had to return to Chicago after some interesting text messages that brought her to the conclusion that it was NOT a great idea to leave her teenagers at home by themselves. So the boys were off to the GreenBay/Bears game and I had the resort ALL to myself!!

I thought this had to be the best place ever to begin my vacation. Quiet and peaceful....just what I had hoped for.

I spent the day barefoot and knitting on Baby Dease's sweater. Lots of memories are being knitted into this project. When I got hungry, I brought out my feast and happily enjoyed the best of Wisconsin's cheese and a Snapple to wash it all down.

Then I got the brilliant idea that maybe I should just sit on the dock and put my feet into the lake. Pure heaven!!!

And that was my home til the sun went down. Can you imagine any day being better than this?

As the sun disappeared, I talked knitting with the lady who kayaked by me. She was knitting some socks and when she heard about MY project she congratulated me on being a "Grandma" in waiting. It was a memorable first day.....