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September 9, 2015

Labor Day Weekend Fun and Family Time

On Sunday we took a drive over to the Arcadia Bluffs overlook rest area which offers a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.  It was a nice day (though hazy) early on but later that evening it started to rain and continued on and off until today when everyone was gone (of course)

  We toured Glen Arbor after that and then dined at Harrington's By The Bay before going home.  I used a picture from their web site.  It's hard to make out but there are a couple of boats hanging above, fishing rods, boat motors and two fireplaces on opposite ends.  It's very lodge like.  Love it!

On Labor Day my sister and her husband drove up from a campground they were staying at and we had a great meal.  Rib-eye steaks, potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, chips, cucumbers, carrots and celery sticks- which we drizzled the dressing of our choice on. My sister Jen brought some pineapple slices and made a Cherry Cream Cheese pie that my Mom made frequently when we had family gatherings.  It's an easy recipe from Eagle Brand as seen "here". Let's just say there wasn't much left!  I kind of ran out of energy so I wasn't too fancy about the tables I set.  My day began at 7 a.m. prepping food so I could be ready to go later on.  You know how it is...


Though it was raining on and off all day Tuesday we didn't let it stop us.  The kids wanted to visit one of the newer distilleries that we have called Grand Traverse Distillery.  We took a little tour and the host explained some details about how they came about and how the process works.  A worker was cleaning out one of the tanks while we were there.  I didn't partake in tasting their products but my son said their cherry vodka was wonderful. 

We drove up on Old Mission Peninsula to visit a couple of wineries.  Bonobo Winery is a very new one and is owned by Carter Oosterhouse and his brother.  If any of you watch HGTV you may know who Carter Oosterhouse is.  He grew up here in Traverse City, wed his wife actress Amy Smart up here and has opened this new winery with his brother.  It's only a couple of years old so they have a ways to go yet to be well established.  I liked a few of their wines because they were very delicate in flavor so I brought some home for another rainy day!

Next we visited Brys Estate Winery
This is my favorite one.  I enjoy their wines and the interior/exterior of their winery.  They also have private tasting rooms one of which has the wine barrels that I snapped a shot of.  In the summer there are tours that travel the area to visit all the wineries in our area.  This link "here" is an example of how many there are now.  Some are quite elaborate and some are very simple but it's fun to tour and see all that's out there.

We ended the day with an evening meal at the Red Ginger restaurant which specializes in Asian dishes and Sushi.  My son,  daughter in-law and hubby went for the sushi but I had a tenderloin steak, potato gratin with stilton blue cheese and applewood bacon, and a shiitake truffle pan sauce- it was fabulous!  The place was loaded which I thought was pretty great for a rainy Tuesday night.  I used a picture of theirs for the restaurant overview but the sushi pictures are from our table.  They ate every bit of it too! 

I hope you all had a nice Labor Day weekend.  This is the first time our son and daughter in-law have been home for 3 yrs. 
 Our daughter came by on her way home from her kayaking and camping weekend.
We packed in as much as we could and it was great.
I'm a happy Mom today!

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10 comments:

  1. Oh my you did a lot of my favorites - love Brys Winery and Red Ginger!

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  2. WOW- you did a LOT of living over your weekend, golly, Liz!

    Oh everything looks like the perfect way to spend the hours with loved ones.

    Carter is adorable, I need to get out of this house soon & get up to those places you visited! I have been busy but not a fun busy! I am itching to do something fun for sure. Glad you were able to do so. I am very happily jealous! : - )

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  3. That was some menu! Looks like you all had a great time together. I'm so glad a little rain didn't ruin your fun. :-)

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  4. Wow Liz, looks like a great time with the family all around.
    You sure had a lot of fun places to visit too.

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  5. What a great trip. It's great when family can meet up. The camping menu sounds awesome. The winery looks like fun, especially that Carter owns it. The Red Ginger would also be a great place to enjoy. Looks like a great way to celebrate. For some reason, I did not get a notification about this post.

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  6. How fun to go wine touring in such beautiful places. We have lots in Texas as well....come on down!

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  7. Oh my goodness Liz! I did not realize how busy you were and how much fun you had. That would be a dream come true for me! We have a few winery's around here and I have to say, I have not been but, I am sure our tour would not be as beautiful as yours and by the way, I would eat sushi because, I like oysters on the half shell. Great post!

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  8. what fun this would have been looks like it was a great weekend
    come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

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  9. That's my kind of holiday, fun, food and great time with friends!

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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
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