Week Two...

It's Monday again, the second Monday that George does not have to work!  He has really jumped into this retirement thing with both feet.  Got on the road fairly early and checked into Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces, NM.  We stayed here a few years ago with California Tom and Pat.  George took me to a new Mexican restaurant, Si Senor, and we both loved it.  The total bill was $30 and we brought home mucho leftovers.

4 hours later we are finally in ARIZONA! Tucson to be exact. It's now  Tuesday and we decided to stay a few nights to decompress. Got in around 1:00 and checked in to Lazy Days KOA.  We've also stayed here before with California Tom and Pat.

There are orange trees on almost every RV space (check out the size of these oranges) so I quickly started picking some for our stay and tripped over the water connection.  Ended up with a huge, purple pump-knot on my ankle.

George took the car to get it washed as you can't see out the windows because of all the West Texas dust. The RV is dirty too but we will stop at the Blue Beacon on the way to Gold Canyon.  I stayed in the RV, iced my ankle and tackled the over-flowing laundry bag. Once George returned, we went to Happy Hour at the Cantina on the property.  Nice to relax and be out of the motorhome for a while. We enjoyed the Cantina so much that we stayed for dinner.

Wednesday we found a great golf deal at the Ventana Canyon Mountain Course so we jumped on it.  It was a perfectly beautiful day and the golf course was in pristine condition.  It's a very hard course with table-top fast greens.  I was setting up for a chip shot on 13 when I noticed movement in front of me, looked up to see a small bobcat strolling by.  Kinda freaked me out.  Wish I had been able to get a picture.  It must be used to people as it sat by the green and watched us putt out.  We also saw a bunch of cottontail bunnies and weird birds that looked sorta like roadrunners.  I really enjoyed the course and its beauty even though I didn't score well.

George was happy as he rolled in a long birdie putt on the last hole.  Back at the motorhome, we ate those Mexican leftovers for dinner.

On the road again....

Ameristar Casino

We left Chattanooga at 8:00 Thursday morning and made it to the Ameristar Casino and RV Resort in Vicksburg, MS for the night.  Then on to Bluebonnet Ridge RV Park in Terrell, TX on Friday.

Magnolia Market

Saturday was a short drive to Waco, TX where we parked the RV in a shopping center, unhooked the car and drove over to Magnolia Market at the Silos owned by Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV's "Fixer Upper".  Magnolia Market is basically a store full of home accessories that Joanna uses to decorate homes.  Since its Christmas Eve, George let me shop.  Bought some vases, flowers, lots of cute little things...

My shopping bag...

The Silos

Next to the market building is a large open area for kids to play ball, run around and have a good time and there were lots of families there enjoying themselves.  A row of small trailers used by food vendors line the back of the property but none of them were open today.  Then there are the silos, well, they are just there as a centerpiece for the complex but serve no purpose.

Last but certainly not least is the Silos Baking Company where you can buy all kinds of cupcakes. Remember at the end of their show when she is decorating the house by herself and Chip and the kids stop by for a short visit and bring cupcakes?  Well this store has tons of cupcakes. When you enter the building, a lady hands you the cupcake menu, you check off which ones and how many you want and, once at the counter, hand your order over and voila!  The cupcakes are to-die-for so we ordered a few for later.  They also had these very large cheddar bacon biscuits so we bought 2 for Christmas morning. What a thrill...been wanting to come here for a long time.  
Check-mark....one more thing off the Bucket List.

Silos Baking Co

OK, now we're hungry so we stopped at Bubba's for lunch and, lo and behold, one of the waiters was wearing a Philadelphia Eagles sweater (in TX no less).  I had the best burger in the whole world complete with Bubba's soon-to-be-famous sauce, then we drove back to the RV and headed on down the road to San Antonio where we stopped at the KOA for the night.  

Wow...it's now Christmas morning, kinda cold, so George started up the fireplace and made coffee.  We opened presents then I warmed up the cheddar bacon biscuits.  What a wonderful Christmas....couldn't ask for more.  We wanted to stay another day and go down to the RiverWalk but the weather didn't cooperate so we got on the road and ended up in Van Horn, TX.  Not much to say about Van Horn except it's in the middle of no-where.  Well, there are the Guadelope Mountains nearby and dust...lots and lots of dust.  

Nuttin' but dust

Guadelope Mountains

Happy Retirement to you!

Today is Friday, Dec 16 which is George's big retirement day!  Bless his heart...he has been counting down the days, weeks, months for what seems like forever and he is finally down to ZERO!  We are celebrating by taking a motorhome trip to AZ, something we have been planning since we returned from Traverse City.  So....off we go on another adventure.  WHOO HOO...

We just barely made it out of the State of FL into Robertsdale, AL, a 400+ mile day and we are tired.  I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of my phone ringing....well, I'm awake anyway so I got up to check it, leaving George in bed asleep.  It was Michael (#2 nephew), then I noticed a missed call at 4:18 AM from David (#1 nephew).  Uh oh...something's not right.  Fearing the worst, I called Michael first, then David, and they informed me that my brother-in-law, Hal, had passed away in the night.  Oh no, I thought...I was just up there a week ago and felt he was going to be around for a good while.  I'm so sad. Hal was diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer 4 months ago. David and Cornelia were on their way from their home in NC to Chattanooga.  Then my sister called....and I felt so bad for her.  She encouraged me to carry on with our trip since I had just been there for a visit. Well, there's just no way I could do that.  Poor thing was so upset she didn't know what to do next.  She was talking about waiting until after Christmas to have the burial as she didn't want to ruin everyone's holiday.  I kept her on the phone until her friend Marie got there, then, shortly after that, David and Cornelia would be there. 

By this time George is up and we talked about what to do.  Naturally, I wanted to head up to Chattanooga right then but, since we didn't know what Linda's plans would be, cooler heads prevailed (that would be George's) and it made sense to stay put until we had some solid news about the arrangements.  Meantime, she asked me to call family members, one of which lived in Mobile, AL, less than 30 minutes from where we were staying.  When I called her, she blessed me out for calling so early then insisted we come over for a visit, which we did.  Maxine is my oldest cousin and a very colorful character.  We had a great visit with her and husband Jack and, albeit under sad circumstances, we were able to laugh and tell stories of the past, then she gave me a bottle of wine and sent us on our way.  We drove over to Cosmo's, our favorite restaurant in Orange Beach, and had a late lunch/early dinner.  I had a much needed glass of wine and George had a beer...we relaxed, letting the day's events settle in.

The news came from Cornelia later that evening and, thank goodness, Linda's Pastor had stopped by her house and managed to talk her into going forward with the service, convincing her that waiting would be agonizing for her.  She agreed and started making arrangements to have the visitation and memorial service at their church followed by a military burial at Hamilton Memorial Gardens on Wednesday...4 days from now. We reacted quickly, moving our AZ reservations forward one week.  We spent Saturday night in Robertsdale and planned to get to Chattanooga Sunday, but, George checked the Chattanooga weather forecast and it was expected to be below freezing for all of Sunday night which means we couldn't expose the RV to that kind of weather, so, we spent Sunday in Montgomery, just below the cold front. 

Realizing that we had no "funeral clothes", we went shopping in the cold rain and got our outfits together.  George brought a pair of gray dress pants with him so we bought him a white dress shirt, tie and black socks at TJ Maxx; a pair of black shoes and a jacket at Belk and a dress and shoes for me at Dillard's.  I could borrow a coat from Linda once we got to Chattanooga.  Cornelia and I stayed in constant touch, either by text or phone.  Also talked to Michael and he and Karen were flying in Tuesday evening with Karen's sons, Tucker and Chase.

In the process of calling family members, I found out from cousin Joan that her mother (my only living aunt) had fallen on Friday and had been in the hospital but now in a rehab facility not doing so well.  Oh my...yet another family crisis.  I decided not to tell Linda and Joan decided not to tell her mom about Hal.

We arrived in our favorite Chattanooga campground, Raccoon Mountain RV,  Monday afternoon.  I checked in with Cornelia and she texted me a grocery list for Linda.  We obliged and headed up the mountain to her house.  We hugged and hugged and hugged some more, almost cried then settled in to talk.  She seemed to have it together, thanks to David, Cornelia and the Pastor.  We talked Linda into going out to dinner at Mount Vernon Restaurant just a few miles away.  David, Cornelia and Emma (David's youngest daughter) joined us.  They gave us a quiet, private area off to ourselves and was the first time Linda relaxed a little.  We had wine and a great meal followed by a huge dessert to share.

Tuesday Linda, David and Cornelia met with the funeral home personnel which gave George and I a chance to go visit Aunt A.  She is very frail, 81 lbs and has memory issues.  Fortunately, she did not suffer any broken bones due to her fall but she is weak and will not be released until she gets stronger. I am, once again, very sad.

It's Wednesday already, and we left for the church at noon as I am one of those people that is always early, never late.  Linda, David and Cornelia were already there and Michael, Karen and her boys drove up right behind us.  We rambled through the church until we found them in the basement.  We all went up into the main vestibule to view the body and hugged some more then back into the basement to get ready to receive visitors.  I stood with Linda in the receiving line for an hour and a half until the Pastor rang the bell that the service was about to begin.  The line was still out the door. Hal had so many friends and co-workers in attendance to pay their respects that it didn't seem right not to acknowledge them so we sped up the line as best we could before being led upstairs by the Pastor.  The service was beautiful, his tribute was very nice and David and Michael spoke bringing us to tears.  We proceeded to the graveside service.  Fortunately, it was a beautiful sunny day and not too cold. Hal was a Navy veteran and the military part of the service was very moving, once again bringing tears to my eyes.

Linda arranged for the family and close friends to gather at The Walden Club, a private supper club on the 21st floor of a downtown bank building for which she and Hal are members.  We had a private room with heavy h'orderves, wine, beer and soft drinks.  We left there about 8:30 and the immediate family gathered at Linda's house for a few more hours of talking,visiting and saying our good-byes. Unfortunately, all of us were leaving the next day.  We got to bed at 11:30 exhausted.

I've been calling her every day we've been on the road just to keep tabs on her, being supportive and helping her tie up loose ends with insurance, etc.

More family time...

It's now Tuesday morning and, my goodness, the weekend went by fast!  So, you know what that means.....we had a fun-loving, fast moving weekend.  Next stop - Philadelphia, the last leg of our two month journey....and more family time.  It was a five hour drive and five 0'clock in the evening when we arrived so we sat outside and relaxed a while with wine, beer and cats.  George set up the cats new outdoor playpen that we bought while in Maine and, naturally, the cat we thought would love it (Anna) didn't - and the cat we thought wouldn't love it (Isa) - did.  Damn cats!

We had dinner nearby and stayed home for the evening to rest up a bit (and for me to catch up on my blog!).

George is working "odd" hours this week meaning mornings and evenings so Wednesday, just after noon, we drove down to the in-laws apartment in Bensalem and spent the day.  Donna and Rihannan came over about 4:00 then the three brothers and their families came over later.  Shirley fixed sloppy joe's and pork roll sandwiches with pasta salad, fresh tomatoes, potato chips and brownies.  BAD NEWS:  It was confirmed by the doctor that Dad has another malignancy in his esophagus.  Not sure if it is a new one or one hiding behind the first one.  They are to do another endoscopy Monday to find out more.  In spite of the bad news, we thought he looked great...has good color, a few pounds lighter but, all in all, very well and in great spirits.  He even cooked the pork roll!  He is always smiling and content, and happy being around his loving family.

Thursday we had lunch at the in-laws then went for a drive over to the Veterans National Cemetery where they have chosen to be buried.  This was a bit emotional for George but somehow I think dad wanted us to see it and it is a beautiful cemetery.  Nearby was the 9/11 Memorial for Pennsylvania residents who were killed that day so we stopped and walked around.  Lastly, we went to Sam's where we all needed supplies.  Got home at a decent hour to relax and have dinner.

Isa

Just took a few snapshots of our girls just to show why they are called "Ragdolls".  They can get into some of the most precarious positions!

Anna

It's Friday and our last day here so I did housecleaning while George worked then we visited the in-laws one last time.  Keeping fingers crossed and saying lots of prayers for dad....

I will be signing off for now and, "God willing and the creek don't rise", we'll be home Monday evening!

Family time....

We left Maine Friday late morning and went back to Saratoga Springs, NY where we dry-camped at the Casino/Race Track again.  Mark (#1 son) and Pauline moved to Clifton Park, a northern suburb of Albany, about a month ago and Saratoga Springs is about 25 minutes north of Clifton Park.  There is one campground about 20 minutes south of their house but George wanted to check it out in person before committing to staying there so that's on the agenda for tomorrow.

Miss Coraline

We went over to their house Saturday morning and it was great seeing them and, of course our granddaughter, again.  Their house is really big, the lot is a huge corner lot and they have a great fenced-in backyard with a pool and swing set for Coraline.  So all is well with this Bell family.  Coraline is 16 months old now and has grown so much....she babbles all the time and she loves shoes.  It didn't take her as long to get used to us this time vs the last visit (thank goodness).  Brett (#2 son) and Nicole came up for the weekend so we had a great family visit. 

Wearing my flip-flops

Later in the afternoon we went to look at Arrowhead Marina and Campground and really liked it; however, they only had a 30 amp site available and only for 3 nights so we took it.  It's located on the Mohawk River with ownership boat slips but no boat rentals (boo hoo...it would have been so cool to go boating with the family).  The majority of the campground is shaded so we were able to open windows and enjoy the breeze.  After we got the motorhome settled, we went back to the house and ordered pizza's.

Coraline and Pappy

We were going to swim in the pool Sunday but it rained and kept us inside most of the day.  In between raindrops, we went shopping for patio furniture (our house-warming gift to Mark and Pauline) but the stores had sold out and/or shipped their remaining inventory elsewhere so I guess we will have to do some internet shopping or go to Plan B.  We ordered lunch from Jersey Mike's then Brett and Nicole left around 4:00 to head back to Asbury Park.

Karen, Aunt Natalie, George

Monday morning we're back over at Mark and Pauline's where George and Pauline worked and Mark and I played with Coraline.  George's Aunt Natalie, who summers in Saratoga Springs, came for a visit.  We haven't seen her in several years so it was good to catch up and also for her to meet Mark, Pauline and Coraline.  Pauline had to leave at 3:00 to go out of town for the week so we took Mark and Coraline out to dinner then came home to pack up for tomorrow's trip to Philadelphia.

Fast Forward.......

Fast forward to Tuesday......today is the 10-day anniversary of my bad cold and I'm finally starting to feel better.  I went to Walmart this morning to refill a prescription and told the pharmacist how I've been feeling and he gave me Mucus-D which is a "behind the counter" drug and it's working like a charm.  At this point in my cold, I have a lot of drainage in my throat causing me to clear my throat and cough a lot....very annoying to me and everyone around me.  The drug is basically Mucinex with a Decongestant.  Why didn't I think of this sooner? 

Antique Shop, Winter Harbor, ME

Anyway, today I finally felt like getting out of the house so Bob, Sue and I went for a drive up to Winter Harbor which is a very small town (not even a traffic light) north of Bar Harbor.  We parked the car and walked the dogs...actually the dogs walked us and we pushed them around in their stroller.  It's about 70 degrees up here with a nice breeze.  We found a yarn shop but it was closed.  On the way home, we stopped at a dock where a boat had just pulled in with a load of lobsters.  We bought some for $4 per pound...Bob had a cooler with ice packs in his trunk so...voila!

Then we stopped for lunch at Ruth and Wimpy's on the way home and had their soon-to-be-famous lobster bisque. I bought a carton to-go for George since he is back to work today.  Once home, we boiled the lobsters outside on our grill, then cleaned them and froze the meat for later.



Wednesday Sue and I drove over to Blue Hill to Three Sisters Yarn Shop.  I met Karen, the owner, when we were at the Stitches Conference in Nashville and had bought some yarn from her while there.  Also bought more yarn from her today to make a really cool shawl.  I'm gonna have to come up with a new name for "shawl" because that sounds so old-fashioned and shawls have changed soooo much.  Anyway, loved her shop.  She hand-dyes all of her yarn along with cotton shirts, scarfs, etc.  Had a really nice time visiting with her.  On the way home, we wandered through Rooster Brothers, a really cool kitchen store in Ellsworth. 

George and I met the Chaisson's for dinner at Blaze in Bangor.  Had one of Janette's expensive bottles of wine and a great dinner.  Downtown Bangor has a quaint old downtown area...wish we had gotten there sooner to walk around a bit.  We also made plans to cookout Labor Day weekend back in Florida.

Thursday Sue and Bob decided to drive over to Bangor for the day and I stayed home, did some house cleaning and knitting then George got off early so we went golfing at Lucerne GC in Bucksport.  It's a 9-hole course and we were behind a 4-some so we decided to play 18 by hitting 2 balls.  Very interesting.  Got a rainshower on #3 so we hid under a tree until it passed.  George shot an 86 and I'm not saying....

The four of us grilled out tonight, built a fire in the firepit, stared at the most beautiful full moon, reflected on our week, then said our "good-bye's" as we are pulling out tomorrow.  They are headed back to Florida and us to Albany, NY.

Maine it is......

Tiny House

We got into Forest Ridge Campground in Ellsworth, ME about 2:00 Tuesday.  Sue and Bob were able to get in yesterday due to a cancellation.  Shortly after we got set up, a "Tiny House" rolled in and everyone in the park came out to see it and greet the young couple from Dallas, TX.  It took them two years but they did it - they built it themselves and are going to settle in Oregon after visiting the East Coast.

We went out to dinner at Union River Lobster Pot in Ellsworth.  Bob and Sue shared a lobster, I had a lobster roll and George had lobster mac and cheese...yumm!

After dinner, we enjoyed a nice fire in the fire pit between our two RV's.

Wednesday was our first full day here and Sue has already found a nearby yarn shop so George drove us there and patiently waited outside while we checked it out.  He pretty much told me that, if I buy more yarn, I'm going to have to walk home so I obliged, remembering all the yarn sitting in the coach that I've already purchased.  On the way home, it started raining which I think it's supposed to do  off and on throughout the weekend.  We went to dinner at Ruth and Wimpy's, a local restaurant that the park owner recommended.  Sue and Bob each ordered a lobster, George had some great lobster bisque, which I helped myself to, and I had shrimp.

Stewman's

Lobster Roll at Stewman's

We went into Bar Harbor on Thursday.  Had a really difficult time finding parking.  It was busier than we've ever seen it.  First stop was Stewman's, my favorite restaurant right on the harbor.  George missed out on this one last year so he tried one and said it was the best he has had.  We walked all over town as it was a perfectly beautiful day, then headed home as the crowd swelled to new heights.  I bought Janice some popover mix to make when we get home.  We grilled burgers for dinner and sat out by the fire pit til the bugs ran us inside.

Friday we drove over to Acadia National Park and was able to get in on the first seating at the Jordon Pond restaurant.  We had popovers, of course, and Sue bought some popover mix at the gift shop after.  In case you are not familiar, a popover is baked in an elongated muffin pan, rises up high with a big puffy top and is hollow inside.  While hot, you cut in half, slather with butter then strawberry jam and enjoy.   Everyone either had lobster or seafood stew except me and I had their chicken salad, which I love. 

Schooners

There were two tall ships in Bar Harbor.  The larger (white) one with 4 masts is the Margaret Todd, 191' long and the black/white one with two masts is the Rachael B. Jackson, 91'  long.  They both run day sails out of Bar Harbor.  That's Misty in the foreground, Bob and Sue's dog.

After lunch, we drove around the park loop, and up to Cadillac Mountain.  That's when I started feeling bad so I stayed in the car.  I caught a bad cold Sunday and it has finally got me down. 

Acadia NP

Saturday I stayed home all day, napping often and taking medicine.  Had to cancel golf with the Chaisson's but it ended up being a cold, rainy day so no one really wanted to be outside anyway.  In between napping, I paid bills and did a load of laundry.  I sent George to the store for more meds and he brought me a bag of cookies.   Sue and Bob went for a drive and visited a couple of yarn shops and she brought me a bag of candy.  Wow...not such a bad day after all!

How would you like to live here?

Weekend Travels

We sadly left Traverse Bay RV Resort on Friday and travelled down I-75 South to I-90 through Cleveland, OH and spent the night at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, PA.  This is the third time we have dry-camped at a casino and we find it much better than Walmart, etc.  The parking lots are huge and you are generally not right next to another coach.

Saratoga Springs Casino

Saratoga Springs Racing

Saturday we travelled I-86 to I-88 to I-87 and spent the night dry-camping yet again, now the fourth time, at the Saratoga Springs Casino where we spent the evening watching harness races....which was a first for me.  What fun!

Harness Racing

Harness Racing

Sunday took us to Twin Mountain, NH.  We tried to get into our campground in ME but they were booked solid so we are staying at Twin Mountain Campground until Tuesday.  They only have 30 amp service available but, the weather is so cool, we opened up the windows and enjoyed the cool air.

Mount Washington Hotel

Monday was our 10th Wedding Anniversary so we celebrated by having a relaxing lunch on the outdoor balcony of the Mount Washington Hotel where we reminisced about our wedding on Catalina Island and other great adventures we have enjoyed.

As grand as the history behind it, the Mount Washington Resort is gracious in ambiance and generous in amenities. A favorite New England retreat of presidents, poets and celebrities, the hotel delights every sense with enchanting music, refined dining and luxurious décor. The resort boasts a classic Donald Ross-designed golf course, award-winning alpine and Nordic ski center, luxurious signature spa, decadent dining facilities and nine high-flying zip-lines.

A grand masterpiece of Spanish Renaissance architecture, the resort was a two-year labor of love for 250 master craftsmen who took on its restoration. Conceived by industrialist Joseph Stickney, this National Historic Landmark opened in 1902 and has been attracting generations of families ever since and is now owned and operated by Omni Hotel Resorts.

The picture below is Mount Washington and part of the golf course as viewed from the outdoor balcony where we lunched.  The mountain soars to an elevation of 6,288 feet and the summit is still in the clouds.  It mostly stays in the clouds due to its enormous height.  George hiked this mountain as a teenager with his friend Jeff. 

Mount Washington

It's Official....

We are officially Michigan land owners.  We pulled the trigger yesterday and closed on Lot 97 in the Traverse Bay RV Resort so we can now call Traverse City our summer home and we couldn't be more excited.  Our friends and next door neighbors, Jan and Tim Fox, had us over for cocktails then took us on a surprise dinner last night at the Jolly Pumpkin on Old Mission Peninsula and it was indeed a jolly place.  Jan, Tim and I had the walleye which, along with the perch, is the fish of the north.  It's a white, mild fish similar to our orange roughy or tilapia and was served on top of a mixture of lentils, onions and peppers and was quite tasty.

Lot 97

Jolly Pumpkin

Afterwards, we walked around the building to take a look at the hydrangeas which have massive seed heads.  They were so beautiful as was the evening. 

To top off the evening, we stopped to watch the sun set over the lake and enjoy some Moomer's ice cream.  This ice cream thing is becoming a bad habit.

Thursday we finished off our week with golf at Elk River GC with Jan and Tim then lunch at LochenHeath on the way home.  It was hot today and we were pretty tired so we are staying home tonight to rest up for our drive tomorrow.

Bye, bye for now TC!

The Cottage Cafe

Today (Tuesday) our Mah Jongg group is gathering at The Cottage  Café where Peggy has arranged for us to have a private room to play Mah Jongg then have lunch then play more Mah Jongg.  Since this is our last week here, it will be a fitting place to say my "good-bye's" for now.  I will truly miss these wonderful ladies who have sincerely welcomed me into their group.  Safe travels, friends, and see you next year!

We stopped Mah Jongg at 3:30 so I went downtown to bum around while waiting for my hair appointment.  The downtown area is very unique with block after block of wonderful shops and restaurants.  I chose Missy at Allure Salon after reading her bio on their website.  She has extensive training with Aveda and Vidal Sassoon and she did an amazing job on my hair.  Wish I could take her home to Florida with me.  I will definitely see you next year Missy!

The Leelanau Peninsula

Leelanau State Park

Saturday we took M-22 all the way up to the end of the Leelanau Peninsula to Leelanau State Park to see the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.  I think there are a total of 29 lighthouses along the Lake MI coast. 

Grand Traverse Lighthouse

This lighthouse was a bit different in that it is actually just a house with a light on top.  There was also a beautiful white hydrangea plant next to an outbuilding.

White Hydrangeas

 

We walked down a trail to Lake Michigan where I bravely stuck my foot into the very cold water.

On the drive up the peninsula, we stopped for lunch at Knot Just A Bar in Omena where I had a perch sandwich an George had cod.  Several friends told us we had to try the perch before leaving and it was very good.  We sat outside on the patio and looked out onto the water where there were people boating and enjoying various watersports. 

Leelanau Cellars Winery

Leelanau Cellars Winery was on the other side of the restaurant so we strolled through there after lunch.  I like their Pinot Grigio and Sweet Red but today I spied their Pear Wine.  My knitting friend back home, Priscilla, told me there was a winery up here that had a great pear wine but she couldn't remember the name so looks like I just stumbled upon it.  I bought a couple of bottles....one for me and one for Priscilla.

Pear Wine, Leelanau Cellars

45 North Winery

After leaving the lighthouse, we took a different route down the west side of the peninsula and stopped at 45 North.  Why the name 45 North?  Because they sit squarely on the 45th parallel. This is the winery that hosted the wine tasting on the Manitou Thursday night.  We bought a bottle of Chardonnay, two bottles of 45 White and a bottle of Peach Cremant.

45 North

Foot Golf

Sunday we played the Summit course at  Shanty Creek Resorts with Jan and Tim and found out quickly that it would be helpful to have mountain goat qualities to play the thing.  The back nine of this course also sub-ed as a "foot golf course".  This was not good for my game.  If you ever encounter one of these, go somewhere else.  Basically, its soccer on a golf course with big holes for the soccer ball....and I mean a big hole on the green as well.  Unfortunately for us, a big family with lots of kids "teed off" in front of us with their soccer balls and we all stared at each other in bewilderment.  They looked at us in somewhat the same manner then, what appeared to be the daddy, said that they would jump over to hole 3 and get out of our way. 

Okay, so we tee off and all appears to be well except that they clearly did not understand golf etiquette and were very noisy.  At some point, they must have back-tracked and ended up behind us and were "hitting into us"  with their soccer balls and continued the noise.  I realize it was their big family day out but, as any golfer knows, this is a major distraction.  Fortunately for us, once we made the turn, there was no foot golf on this nine plus we stopped for Bloody Mary's and our attitudes greatly improved.  The front nine was even more of a billy goat course than the back (we started on 10) but somehow I started playing better...perhaps the fact that there were no more soccer balls flying around.  Shot a 96 so no more complaints.

After golf, we stopped at a brew pub in town called Short 's.  The guys had a beer and Jan and I had a Soft Parade Shandy which is a beer/ale/fruit/lemonade combo and it was very refreshing.  Once home, we all sat outside by the pond at our lot and enjoyed a nice afternoon breeze.  Did I mention that the weather was perfect today???