Living on Cloud Nine: Michigan in the Fall

Showing posts with label Michigan in the Fall. Show all posts

FALL UP NORTH...A LEAF PEEPING TRIP & MORE

Fall and the color changing leaves in northern Michigan is something to behold! For some reason, everything just seems more vibrant in upper Michigan. This has been a good year for leaf peeping! Every year, Mr. Nine and I go up to our home away from home in northern Michigan to see the leaves but the majority of the time it is always super windy, super cold and very rainy. We got completely lucky this time and had beautiful sunshiny weather in the 60s. It was so perfect for everything “FALL” we wanted to do. Here’s a little Fall trip recap. Might be the most photos I've had in a post, lol.

The "Oranges" and Reds were amazing!!

THURSDAY

I love when we take our sweet time getting to destinations and stopping off at fun little places. I really wanted a coffee that wasn’t Starbucks, lol we found the neatest little coffee shop in Holland Michigan and of course had to go in a couple of downtown stores. This town is very charming And we’re going to go up more often.

We also have never been to a tiny little hole in the wall Tavern about 20 minutes south of our town in all these years. It’s called the Blue Slipper and who wouldn’t want to go to someplace with a title like that. Can I say that we were extremely impressed. The couple that bought it and took over this place rich in history (dating back to the 1880’s) are the sweetest and you can tell this place is the loved by locals and tourists alike. The drink I had was actually called the blue slipper.

Then it was just a simple dinner at the place we always go to our first night in town, strolling around seeing things like the giant pumpkin and then a gorgeous sunset for our first night.

FRIDAY

We had such a fun day. It started out at another hole in the wall breakfast spot that was delicious, in fact I devoured it so fast, I forgot to get a picture of my pumpkin pancakes, lol. Mr. Nine and I are working with the fabulous clothing company flag and anthem so we found a great fall spot to make a video and get some pictures. Bless his heart!

The leaf viewing was incredible everyday.

Of course we have to get in lots of hikes when we are up there so we did a fun one that took us right to the shores of Lake Michigan. Now this day it was very windy on the shore but it didn’t even matter with that warmth.

Next up, was the outdoor in the woods brewery we found last year in Suttons Bay called Hop Lot! Oh my goodness we had so much fun sitting around the fire. This place is truly phenomenal and I even roasted marshmallow as they sell cute little s’mores kits.

Once again on the way back we decided to fly by the seat of our pants and ended up at a winery called Rove! I had the most delicious warm fall cider and the grounds with the trees and the vineyards was truly amazing up on the hill.

Then we decided to go to a little town at a restaurant we have been to before called the Lucky Dog and boy am I glad I did because I got what was called a Reese-Tini that tasted just like a Reese's peanut butter cup.

We went back and I went for a quick walk thru town to do a little walk and talk and then we curled up and watched the movie Lou on Netflix with Allison Janney if you have not seen it, it is so good!

Saturday

This was the big adventure day. We planned on having breakfast at our favorite tavern in the town we were going to hike and called Jose friendly Tavern but it didn’t open till 11 so actually we were really glad we got our hike in first. The Empire Bluff Trail is one of our favorite up there because the views are spectacular.

Can I just say I had a cocktail at 11 AM and I’m not mad about it because it was one of the most delicious I’ve ever had! It was called a poison apple and it had a black sugar rim filled with apple cider, fireball and cranberry juice! Oh my was it ever delicious. and I got the Fall special which was butternut squash bisque and sharp white cheddar and honeycrisp apple grilled on oat bread.

Then it was kayaking down the Platte river and what a perfect day for him. There was hardly anybody else doing it the weather was spectacular and we marveled at God‘s beauty all the way down the two hour trek.

We stopped off at Frankz and had Michigan’s best french fries!!

Then got ready for dinner and what we thought was the football game.

Dinner was at a new restaurant in town called the old town grill and we split one of the best pulled pork sandwiches ever. Really cool aesthetic in there.

We had decided we were going to go to the football game in town because the team was so good, we had an acquaintance there whose son played, and it was the perfect football weather. However, maxpreps had stated that the game was on Saturday night which is not unusual for Michigan high school football but when we got there the only person who’s the guy in town who picks up cans, lol! I went back and looked at the website and it had been on Friday night even though we had double checked six times I think they had made a mistake and we were kind of bummed.

But another great sunset in the neighboring town made a smile and we went back and played some rummy and started watching the Dahmer series on Netflix. Gosh that’s disturbing but very interesting to watch.

SUNDAY

The next morning, or last day Mr. Nine chilled with some coffee while I went on a brisk fall morning walk again marveling at all the beautiful leaves in town.

We stopped off at to farm market stands for apples and squash and then on the way back decided to stop in Holland again and eat at the new Holland brewing company and it was absolutely delicious!

It was kind of funny, when we returned home, we stated that the leaves in our area just seem to be more muted in color. I guess that’s one of the things that makes our trips up north more special, I was so in awe of the leaves and their changing beauty, Fall just makes me giddy! Bu then look athlete color we got back home the next morning.

Happy to get home and see our girl Miss Stella who had had a wonderful time with grandma. Already thinking about next Fall and hoping we get lucky with the weather again.

LINKING-UP with What's Up Wednesday // Style on the Daily // Metamorphosis Monday // Thursday Fashion Files // Love your Creativity //Fancy Friday

xoxo

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!