Vacation Recap Part Three: Traverse City

The final leg of our trip. Sad times. Why does vacation go so fast? If you missed the first two parts of our vacay you can find them here and here. 

We slept in and enjoyed coffee and breakfast on the beach one more time before packing up. I almost went for one last swim, but didn't want to be rushed. We packed the car, said good bye to the other couple and checked out.

We stopped in Traverse City at one our favorite spots, Blue Tractor. They have THE best mac and cheese. So good! It's a fun little rustic place with good food and good service. Also, free parking. Score!

After lunch we headed up Old Mission Peninsula for some wine tasting. I love the Leelanau Peninsula and all, but there is just something about Old Mission. It's smaller, the views are incredible and it was the first place we ever wine tasted so I'm sure there is some nostalgia there too. I love everything about wine tasting. The taste. The glamour of it. The views. The passion people have talking about wine. I love it all. 

We stopped at Black Star Farms first. It is always our first stop. I told you we were creatures of habit! Next up we went to Chateau Grand Traverse. The place was completely remodeled this year and looked gorgeous. Also, the guy doing our tasting was hilarious. This was a fun one. Next up was 2 Lads. 

We really go here for the views. They are spectacular! They had a sparkling white we enjoyed quite a bit though.

After those three we went to The Lighthouse Park at the tip of the peninsula and hiked for a bit. Next up we went to Chateau Chantal for a tasting. We love their Celebrate Champagne and grab a bottle every time. 

The view isn't too shabby either. We also stopped at this organic winery and the owner of the winery was an exact doppleganger for our friend Brad. He looked just like him and had the same exact mannerisms. We had to buy a bottle from him just because of that fact alone. Crazy!

Next up we went to Brys Estate. This was a favorite last year because we got to sit outside and relax. Get the cheese and meat plate. Support the South African wine maker that works here. And this year they revamped and have a gorgeous deck. Butttttttttt it started to rain so we got the cheese plate to go and did one last wine tasting. The owners of Brys were next to us so it was fun watching everyone on their BEST behavior and just fun to see the owners. They looked so normal but they must be so rich. 

How could we do so many wine tastings all in one day you ask? The secret is we would share one tasting at each winery. Cheaper too! 

It was getting late in the day and we were ready to check in to the hotel and relax. Ahhhhh that view. We stayed at The Bayshore like we did last year and as much as I adore that view and the hot tub, the rooms were just so outdated. I guess we were spoiled in Suttons Bay so it was hard to adjust afterwards (even though we were paying the same rate!). We still had a great time and we were walking distance to Traverse City so you can't beat that. 

We opened up a bottle of Pinot and unpacked our cheese plate from Brys on the balcony and enjoyed a nice romantic dinner in our room. We talked, enjoyed the good food and wine and had a nice time.

I mean, seriously, how could you get tired of that view?! Love it so much. It was a nice relaxing night. We watched some TV, enjoyed the hot tub and crashed.

We slept in, grabbed breakfast in the lobby and brought it back to our room. How beautiful are the sunrises?! It was wavy today too so it was so relaxing listening to the waves.

Friday was much more low key than Thursday. I think G even took a nap after breakfast while I enjoyed a bubble bath and read (and finished!) What Alice Forgot that day. I loved that even more than The Husband's Secret. I could NOT put it down. It was such a lazy perfect day.

We did take a break in the day and walked into town. We did our usual exploring of the city, walking around and poking into different shops (and not buying anything, of course) and then stopped at Bubba's for a late lunch. The atmosphere was really fun and even for a random Friday late afternoon it was PACKED and we had to wait for a table. But it was good food. They bring these pretzels with this homemade mustard to your table and it was divine. I ordered their turkey wrap with avocado, turkey, Havarti cheese and a lime-dill ranch and it was divine. But the star of the meal was definitely the tater tots. G, on the other hand, had the best meal of his life. He had their tacos and deemed them the best he ever ate. 

Afterwards we walked back to the hotel and G watched the Travel Channel while I proceeded to finish my book. It was that good. You must read it! I was sad when it was over. We ate our lunch leftovers for dinner and sat on the deck talking. We went for a nice walk on the beach before calling it a night.

Saturday we were the crazy dog parents. We were homesick and I didn't want to be home without Manny, but his boarding place closes at noon on Saturdays so we had to wake up at six! I told you we were crazy. It was worth it though. We grabbed breakfast and ate it on the deck enjoying the sunrise, packed up the car and headed out. 

It worked out great because nobody was on the road that early on Saturday so we made really good time. Such good time we could pick up lunch and grocery shop for the week before picking up the munchkin. I think he was quite happy to see us. We were happy to see him and to be HOME. It was a perfect week away unwinding and refreshing, but there is no better feeling than being home.