We Heart TC

Garth and I went on a little getaway to Traverse City this past weekend. It was a lovely, relaxing time for us to get away from the chores and routine of everyday life and just unwind and explore new surroundings. It was perfection!

On our drive there and back we went through the questions I had posted last week. It led to some really great conversations and an opportunity to reflect on 2012 and set goals for our marriage for 2013. If you haven't gone through these questions, I highly recommend it. They really are a great way to evaluate your marriage and talk honestly about where you are and how far you have come.

We got to Traverse City Saturday afternoon and we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Grand Beach Hotel. It was our first time staying here and we were quite pleased. The staff were very friendly, the breakfast was good, the rooms were nice and the price was very reasonable. The best part was our view of Lake Michigan:

We enjoyed a beer while enjoying our view. Seriously, I could watch the lake all day!

Then we walked around downtown TC and explored the local shops. After a couple hours wondering around the city and window shopping we went to dinner at the Blue Tractor. I had a yummy nut brown beer.

I had the macaroni and cheese and it was incredible. So creamy. So cheesy. Definitly one of the best mac and cheese dishes I have had. I highly reccomend this restaurant!

After dinner we went back to our room and enjoyed our hot tub. I want a hot tub at home now more than ever, ha! It's so relaxing.

Sunday we slept in, ate breakfast and then headed to the Old Mission Peninsula for some wine tasting. We started at Black Star Farms and enjoyed wine tasting and purchased a bottle of their Be Dazzled sparkling white wine. It was a favorite of our tastings that day.

Thanks to a recommendation from friends, we took a different route we have never taken before to Jolly Pumpkin. First we went to the tasting room and tried a few beers and then we went to the restaurant for lunch. We had the Crab Tater Tots as an appetizer and they were incredible.

This is the weekend of mac and cheese for me because I had the macaroni and cheese again:

while Garth enjoyed the BBQ ribs:

It was all very delicious. The macaroni and cheese wasn't as creamy and cheesy as I would have liked, but it was still very good. No complaints here.

After lunch we went to Chateau Chantel for one last tasting. This winery has our favorite champagne, Celebrate, so we had to grab a bottle for New Year's. We went back to our hotel for a nap after all the wine tastings. We had a quiet dinner with takeout from Thai Cafe and a movie night. We watched Looper which was pretty good, but kinda violent. I recommend the Thai Cafe though, it was delish! Urban Spoon was right on the money with this place.

Monday we slept in, ate breakfast, enjoyed late check out, and then hung out in the city. We had a late lunch at McDonalds. I was craving their fries and M&M McFlurry. We did some hiking and enjoyed one last walk on the lake. I forgot to take pictures, but I did manage one photo of these teenage boys running into the lake! I can't even image how cold it was. Brrrrr!

We spent as much time as we could in the city before heading home. We made the most of our time here, that's for sure. We tried new places which was fun because we usually go to our same old places when we are here. It was nice to change it up.

We thought about staying one more night, but ulitmately we missed home so we drove back, beat the traffic and enjoyed watching the ball drop from the comfort of our home. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend away!