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Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Camping in Michigan's Wine Country


Hubby and I spent last week camping in our motor home in beautiful Northern Michigan.  We had a nice and relaxing trip, and thankfully great weather, too.  No internet connection for the entire week though!
(that's my idea of roughing it, haha!)
So now I will have to play catch up to see what you all have been up to!
Many people would be surprised to learn that Michigan is a big wine producer. While there are wineries all thru out our state, the majority of them are in the north western part of the lower peninsula.  The area is at the 45th parallel (just as much of France and northern Italy are!), making for the ideal climate to grow grapes!
One of my favorite things to do while traveling is visit wineries.  It was so much fun to drive around in the motor home (ok, hubby did the driving, I did the relaxing and navigating!) to various wineries for some tasting.


 The views were just beautiful!  Row after row of vineyards, rolling hills, quaint resort towns, and of course gorgeous Lake Michigan.
Below is one of the first wineries we visited on this trip, Brys Estate.
 I forgot to snap a picture of the inside of the tasting room, so I grabbed this one from its' website.
It was just gorgeous inside!

And so were their many flowers!

 Here's hubby and our little Katie, and our home on wheels!  You can get a glimpse of Grand Traverse Bay in the background.
The grounds were so pretty, with the adirondack chairs overlooking the gardens and bay.



 More lush landscape.  The area is also known for their many fruit farms.  Did you know that we are the top producer of red tart cherries in the world?  So every half mile or less you will see cute little road side stands selling peaches, apples, cherries and more.
 We were super excited to find a dog friendly beach!  Katie loves the water.
 I thought this photo of the rocks in the ripply water was neat.

 One of our favorite wineries is Black Star Farms. They have three separate tasting rooms.  Below is their inn, which looks just amazing!
I got lazy and didn't take any more photos of the wineries, so the rest of the pictures you see here I got off line.
(I guess I was having too much fun wine tasting!)


 Inside the main tasting room, looking at the amazing ceiling and their star logo.
 Here is another one of their tasting rooms.  I love the bar which is fronted with slats from wine barrels.
 Below is Chateau Chantal. Again, I got this photo from their website (note the autumnal colors?).  It is a really impressive winery and inn, perched on the top of a hill overlooking both the bay and Lake Michigan.
It was one of our favorite stops.  We felt as if we had been transported to France!

 I would highly recommend a trip to this beautiful part of our state!  There is so much to see, and so much natural beauty, we are already looking forward to our return trip!
I just had to share with you this photo that I snapped of Katie this morning!  Just look at those eyes!  This is her last day of being wooly, as she is getting her very first hair cut tomorrow!  I am going to miss all of that fluff, but she really does need to be trimmed!
Have a great week!

12 comments:

Trisha said...

That sounds like my kind of camping! Glad to hear you had a great time-welcome back!

~Trisha

The Bear's Blog said...

Perfect picture for the end of a perfect tour.

Hugs

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

How beautiful the wine country is. Such stunning flowers. I think it is prettier than Napa. Your pictures are great. The best one of all is Miss Katie, she sure is getting prettier and prettier by the day.
Glad you had a great vacation.
Mary

Susie said...

Donna, You sure had some beautiful views on your taste testing trip. My daughter showed me some vineyards in Michigan near Indiana. :) Glad you enjoyed yourself. xoxo,Susie

NanaDiana said...

Looks like you had a wonderful time "roughing it", Donna. I can't wait to see Katie all trimmed up-she's gonna look so cute. Glad to see you back- xo Diana

Kathy@ Gone North said...

Beautiful Post! Love that part of our state. We have a lake home not that far from there & do visit, but not often in the summer months (enjoying the lake : ) we usually visit the wineries in the fall, as the fall colors there, are amazing! BUT the summer is all green & lush...It is beautiful to see.
Thanks for sharing!

MONSIEUR LE CHAT ET MOI said...

My little puddle had also her first hair cut a month ago ! and she left the baby behind her to become a sophisticated young lady big surprise !! The eyes of your doggy are so so lovely ! I'm just in love !!!
xoxo from PARIS
Joëlle

Bente said...

Seems like you had a great week. Hmm, many good wines to taste.
Katie are so very cute in that picture.

Hugs from here

Musings from Kim K. said...

As many times as I've traveled up north, we've never ever visited a winery. I have a conference in Traverse mid October and the girls are going to stay home with our college niece. Time to visit a winery with the hubby! Thanks for the tour. Can't wait to see Katie's new haircut!

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Katie is going to look gorgeous, with or without hair...What a cutie. I had no idea Michigan had wineries, this is why I love blogging so much to learn!

cArol

Kadee Willow said...

Oh, my heavens... I just want to snuggle and kiss that darling Katie!! What a precious little thing! And seems to be a great traveler, too! It's peach season in Michigan and I can't wait to cut into a fresh juicy peach! I didn't know that bit of information about the cherries, though. As I'm not a wine drinker (yes, we are the couple that dismantles the wine cellars we seem to inherit in homes we buy... stop cringing! LOL!), I will gladly be the dog sitter while you and hubby taste a bit of the grape. Deal?? LOL

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Donna, Love the pics from your trip to the wine country of Michigan. Living there I can't believe we have not been there. So this will have to get on our list of places to visit.
Katie is so sweet and so cute. What a great little traveler she is too. The water pic is gorgeous.

Have a great night.
Hugs, Celestina Marie