THE COLORS OF FALL....Our 2020 Trip to Michigan

Traveling in 2020 is a rarity for many. But when you can take a road trip, be in the fresh air and travel somewhere with way less Covid cases than your area, it’s even sweeter.

We were not going to take our annual Fall trip north this year and in an odd twist of fate, not only did we do it, but we did it during the middle of the week with much-needed time off for Mr. Nine!

The last few years our Fall trip has almost been completely rained out. Remember the gale force winds from Last Year??

 

Well, the forecast did not look good again and while half of the trip was rained out, we got lucky with a glorious drive up and 6 hours on Thursday for hiking and outdoorsy shenanigans! And let me tell you, the INCREDIBLE Fall colors made it all worth it.




We were so enticed by the color of the leaves and a beautiful day on our drive up that I didn’t even get any pictures on the drive. When we got there we were so hungry and many places up there are closed for dinner on Wednesdays but a good ole standby in the adjoining town called the Cabbage Shed was open and I think it’s the best meal we had ever had there! Great view for dinner too! My cocktail was called the Headless Horseman which was a mix of cinnamon bourbon and ginger beer and cinnamon/sugar rim. We shared the white cheddar Wisconsin cheese curds and I had the fish and chips which was voted best in the county!


We looked at the weather forecast and saw that the rain wouldn’t start coming in until about 2 PM the next day so despite loving to sleep in on vacation, we were up at 6:30 AM and ready to roll! After some coffee and a little bit of peanut butter toast for protein for our hikes, we started the drive North to the town of Empire to hike the Empire Bluff Trail.

 On our way we stopped at the Platte River that runs out into Lake Michigan. We have kayaked it but after seeing the beauty of it in the Fall, we’re bringing our kayaks next year for sure.




The Empire Bluff Trail and hike was just perfect. Very few people and incredible views.




When we are in the town of Empire, we always drive to the park on Lake Michigan that we have frequented before. On our way there is a little tavern we’d have lunch at once called Joe’s Friendly Tavern. During these times of Covid, hours of operation have changed, and some restaurants are not open every day. When we walked up to the restaurant, we saw that the Fall special was Honeycrisp apples and Havarti cheese on grilled oat bread with a cup of soup. We were so IN, plus I knew I could get my beloved Bailey’s and coffee there. So here we were at 10:45 AM splitting a lunch and having adult beverages! It’s a pretty big place and there was only one other couple in there. We actually felt kind of special, LOL!




Then, when your man stops in the middle of a seasonal road so you can get out the trip pod instead of doing a selfie= Happy wife!!


MY HIKING OUTFIT WAS PERFECT 

(pants and shoes gift from Mr. Nine)

Outfit Deets:

HIKING PANTS HERE // SWEATSHIRT HERE // VEST HERE // HIKING SNEAKERS HERE // EARRINGS HERE


We were determined to find another hike and found ourselves at Otter Creek. Then onto Bass Lake for the best serenity.


 
Pouring down rain meant Cozy time.


Then dinner in town at the Stormcloud Brewery where of course I had to pose with the annual giant pumpkin. (see 2016 trip here). Since the Fall Festival was canceled, someone chiseled a face right in it.


Friday was sleeping in and listening to the rain. A late morning breakfast At Birch and Maple splitting a yummy omelet and indulging in a Mimosa of course. 


Then it was one last drive through town.


And back south on M22 highway where we found beloved old trunk and pumpkin displays, LOL! Quick trip but much needed to re-energize and refresh and relish in my beloved FALL!


LOVE THIS JACKET

Outfit Deets:

JACKET HERE // SHIRT HERE // BOOTS HERE // SOCKS HERE // TANK HERE



And Check out the 2018 Trip HERE

Hope you've been getting your Fall on. Now, excuse me while I go dust off my Christmas Trees, lol!


xoxo 




 


39 comments:

  1. So glad you and Mr. Nine got away and had a great time! I want to visit this sweet little town some day - the leaves are so beautiful and the fun little restaurants sound so quaint - straight out of a Hallmark movie!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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  2. Looks like a fun and festive trip despite the rain. Sometimes it's nice to have a change in surroundings if nothing else!

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  3. You visited my home state!! I love the colors Up North this time of year! Empire is such a beautiful area. We go to Platte River in the summers. The girls love going from the river to Lake Michigan.

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  4. What a gorgeous mini trip! The first place y'all stopped for a meal looked wonderrul--great food and an even better view! Where do y'all typically stay when you visit MI?
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  5. What beautiful colors everywhere! Sounds like a fun and relaxing trip.

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  6. You did find FALL! All of the colors are beautiful The hiking looked great and so did the food and cocktails! What a perfect getaway!

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  7. What a PERFECT trip, Andrea! I am so glad you and Mr. Nine got to do this again!! And I think going in the middle of the week would be better as far as being able to do more with less people around right now. The colors were gorgeous!!!

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  8. Michigan is just gorgeous!! What a beautiful trip that you guys took! After this post I think I need to add this part of Michigan to my bucket list! xo, Biana BlovedBoston

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  9. Looks like a perfect fall trip!

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  10. We;re looking for little trips like this to take this week... soak up all the gorgeous fall scenery.
    & THAT GRILLED CHEESE??? YES PLEASE!!!

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  11. The fall foliage there is just gorgeous! I'm so glad you guys were able to go! I enjoyed seeing all of your pictures.

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  12. Such beautiful colors- looks like an amazing time!

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  13. Que hermoso lugar y las calabazas enormes...Bien por ustedes que tienen ese otoño tan hermosos y que a pesar de las circunstancias se pueda disfrutar de un paseo así...Bellas fotos y tu sueter mostaza me encantó. Saludos Andrea

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  14. I am really impressed by the fall foliage in Michigan! I am so used to the east coast foiliage haha. Some day Chris and I will make it up to all of these cute Michigan towns too!! I am happy to that you two had a fun little trip. Hugs to you friend! XO, Caroline

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  15. The perfect time of year for leaf peeping, and so glad you guys fully enjoyed it. Mimosas and coffee with Baileys are what vacations are made for <3

    Green Fashionista

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  16. Looks like you had a wonderful trip! You and your husband are so cute and loving all these fall colors!

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

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  17. I really enjoyed following along on your trip on Instagram! Thanks for linking up with Hello Monday! Tanya - The Other Side of the Road

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  18. It seems M22 will need to be added to our 2021 Fall trip to Northern Indiana. We just returned from a 4-week road trip that took us from Granger, IN through Ohio, the Virginia's, Tenn, Kentucky, the Carolina's, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi before getting home to Northwest Louisiana on Friday night. Seriously, the scenery was amazing everywhere we went but nothing competed with the colors in South Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Thanks for sharing your wonderful Fall trip. BTW, our Goshen wedding was perfect and can be seen on my post today.

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  19. I would love to do a fall foliage trip sometimes and this looks like it has lots of beautiful fall colors AND yummy restaurants. Love the photos of you and your husband, looks like you had a great getaway together!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  20. You had such gorgeous fall colors on your trip!!! And oh my, those cheese curds looks so good I can practically taste them! They are hard to find down here. There are only 2 places I know that have them. Sounds like you guys had a fun trip!

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  21. What a wonderful time! So glad you got to do this! Leaves are starting to change here and getting a little cooler this week 😀
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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  22. Gosh, that's the get away we all need from time to time. It's so refreshing and such a good mental health break!!
    XOOX
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  23. Oh my goodness the colors are so beautiful! It seems you were truly meant to go and enjoy yourselves! And all that amazing food is making me hungry! Yum!

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  24. Such a beautiful drive! I can imagine how much this filled you up!

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  25. Oh how relaxing! Isn't it just gorgeous outside in the first!

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  26. So many gorgeous photos! I have always wanted to see Michigan in the fall - loved getting a taste of it from your trip!

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  27. Michigan is beautiful in the fall. I'm so glad you were able to get away! The leaves and the bluff trail look amazing!

    Jill - Doused in Pink

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  28. The colors are just gorgeous! I wish we had fall here. I told Kevin I want to take a leaf peeping trip next year! Love that y'all got some quality time!

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  29. I'm like you- the fall colors mesmerize me! Love 'em so much!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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  30. I'm so happy you got to have your fall getaway and it was such a fun trip. It looked fantastic XOXO

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  31. LOVE all the cute punkies and pretty trees! Looks like so much fall fun, glad you cuties had the best time!

    Shauna

    www.lipglossandlace.net

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  32. What a fun fall trip you and Mr. Nine took. Thanks for taking us a long and sharing your time together. The fall foliage is just beautiful.

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  33. That Fall drink sounds amazing. I love the Fall colors there. I love when the leaves change and you see all the beautiful colors. Looks like it was a great weekend getaway!

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  34. So glad y'all got away and enjoyed your time together!! Ben and I love our little getaways!

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  35. Wow, such a beautiful fall trip! Looks like you had so much fun, and the fall scenery was amazing. Thanks for sharing with us at Thursday Favorite Things!

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  36. I love that you were able to get a bit of traveling in! Those fall colors and hiking spots sound like perfection. We're supposed to go camping next week. We got a lot of rain and wind this week and I'm afraid most of the trees won't have many leaves left.

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  37. It was nice to see all the fall colors in your beautiful photos. There is no fall where I live now and I miss it!

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  38. Fab autumnal colours! Thanks for linking up with #dreamteamlinky and please remember to comment on other posts including the hosts

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  39. Your blog posts ALWAYS leave me smiling from ear to ear. What a wonderful fall trip. The autumn colours look stunning and I can see why you love the trails through the trees and by the lake. Thank you for sharing your adventures with the #DreamTeamLinky

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