Drop Down MenusCSS Drop Down MenuPure CSS Dropdown Menu

September 9, 2013

Summer Weekend Getaway Reminiscing

I live in a very touristy area of Northern Michigan.  You can find small town quaintness just about everywhere.  I guess that's one reason we don't often travel away from the area in the summer.

As the weekends approach we decide if  Saturday or Sunday will be the better weather day and we take off to some place usually within 50 miles of home.

In July we went to visit the 
Point Betsie Lighthouse in Frankfort
 Built in 1858
Located next to Lake Michigan in an area known as the southern end of the  Manitou Passage.  It was once a vital shipping lane but is no longer used.


 Backside

 Tourist shop

 Of course I had to go in

 A fog rolled in

 It was interesting to see these sailboats floating out there.  I bet it's really eerie to be out in that big body of water and suddenly be surrounded by fog.


 Some of the sand dunes around the area

 A pair of very old rock covered planters

I was intrigued with all the stone work here. 

 A pathway to the beach area next to
the lighthouse

 More of the Dunes at the Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Park
 After we left there we headed to Glen Arbor and I took this picture as we crossed over the bridge in an area known as the narrows off of Crystal Lake.  

Here is an interesting video you can watch if you like about the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park 
In 2011 Good Morning America nominated it as the most beautiful place in America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In August we visited this little town called Alden which is located by Torch Lake

It has one main loop that goes through the town and we always visit the Alden Mill House.  They offer a terrific variety of custom mixed spices and herbs and they also sell a lot of fun decorative and functional things for the kitchen.


I quickly shot these pics with my cell phone.
Some of these places are funny about you taking pictures so I had to be discreet.

The weekend before Labor Day we drove up to Mackinaw City.  They have a ton of small tourists shops.  We mosied around and had lunch at our favorite spot called The Depot, which is at a historic building.

 Inside is interesting.  There is a train that runs around on a track all the way around the inside.

 We always eat outside under the awning and watch the tourists moving about.


 This is a bronze feature I love of children playing.
I would love to own something like this but I know they are terribly expensive.

I found a neat item for the nautical room and we bought some fudge.

  Lake Michigan and the boats to Mackinaw Island arejust through this area!  We opted not to go to the island this year.

It was a beautiful day up there.
We are lucky we can get to so many nice places so easily.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September and things are winding down and I'm thinking about fall.  We made a trip to  Frankfort to Crystal Gardens with a stop over at a favorite spot in the little town of Beulah.

Dan loves a warm meal with gravy. He got a hot turkey plate which he scarfed down.  I am always amazed at how fast he can eat!

Mine was a chicken salad croissant- yum!
This little place called the Cherry Hut will close later in October until next spring.  Some of these towns just aren't busy enough through the winter months and a lot of stores literally close up.

On to Frankfort
 This barn is a store called the Barn Swallow located at Crystal Gardens

I snuck a few more pictures
Rusticated pumpkins

They sell a combination of new and old items and a lot of it is in on consignment.


Every nook and cranny is filled with gems

I amazed myself and didn't buy anything but
I had my eye on plenty!


Over to the garden center
This place is fun to walk around at. They have Peacocks that wander about too.  
Pretty but very noisy!
  
I found a pair of these plant baskets that were emptied and sitting in a greenhouse.  I grabbed them and took them to the register and asked how much they'd sell them for.   The price was right ($5 each) They are now going to be a part of a project I've dreamt up.

It will involve these... 

Hope you enjoyed my summer weekend get-a-way reminiscing!  
Sorry it was a long post!


I'm joining  
Kathe With an E  for
and
Jann at Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for
Share Your Cup Thursday

The Tablescaper for
Oh The Places I've Been 






 

14 comments:

  1. You are living in my all time favorite area of Michigan - lucky! We sat on the patio of The Depot for dinner last summer and it was very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would love to visit all these places, Liz. Loved the post, I felt like I was right there. I have a thing with Lake Michigan, I so want to visit one day. xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great post! You took is along on your adventure and it looked like fun. What a lovely area you live in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Like minds I guess Liz...I was on a little trip to the big lake too just a little further south than you were. Your pictures are beautiful and I think I'll have to take another little trip a little further north. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your pictures bring back memories of our visits to that area. Thanks for giving us a tour!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks like fun easygoing trips! I think I need one or two of those. Bill's idea of a vacation keeps me hanging on by my fingernails and I'm worn slam out when we get home. I love lighthouses though and I try to see them whenever we visit the coast. I'll have to keep the great lakes lighthouses in mind if I ever get up there because they certainly are beautiful. You do live in a wonderful area and your weather is perfect for sightseeing too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Enjoyed your post. Sometimes the best times are near home! We visited the area years ago and I hope to go back again.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How fun to be able to slip away and visit lovely places like these! This looks like a great way to spend the weekends! I'd never want to go home!

    ReplyDelete
  9. How fun to be able to slip away and visit lovely places like these! This looks like a great way to spend the weekends! I'd never want to go home!

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a lovely place to visit Liz! So quaint and gorgeous and it looks like such a relaxing place.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a wonderful place to visit Liz and so beautiful too! I love the historic house, it's great and by a beach, wow! What a terrific and yet serene weekend trip. Thanks for sharing it with us, I love places such as this one. Big hugs,
    FABBY

    ReplyDelete
  12. How nice to be so close to so many wonderful sights Liz. I love all of the rock work also. Would love if you shared this with Share Your Cup.
    hugs,
    Jann

    ReplyDelete
  13. You have so many fun places close enough for a visit. We don't travel in the summer because every place is just too crowded. When I was teaching, we had a one week break at the end of the quarter in October. That was my favorite time for our vacation. No matter where we went - New York, Costa Rica, Mexico - it wasn't crowded.

    You are inspiring me to start planning a fall vacation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for taking us along on your excursions. I love that they are spur of the moment, and all these towns look so charming. No wonder tourists like your part of Michigan! I really like that photo of the sailboat peeking through the fog.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments! I don’t always get a chance to reply but I do read them!




ABOUT ME



Welcome to Home and Gardening With Liz. I have combined my previous blogs “Infuse With Liz” and “Sit With Me In My Garden” into this new blog. I love interior decorating and gardening. I enjoy redefining interior spaces by moving things around and reusing decorative items already found in the home. I also enjoy creating tablescapes and an occasional crafting project. I'm so pleased you've stopped by. I invite you to follow me and I do hope you will keep coming back! Liz
 Follow My RSS Feed  Follow My Google+  Contact Me Follow Me on Pinterest