One of these days I’ll catch you up on my son and daughter-in-law’s visit to Michigan more than a month ago. But I’m a procrastinator and my good pictures are on my camera and not my phone so that’s been too much work for me lately. Here’s a sneak peek, only because my aunt sent me this picture so it’s on my computer. She made this adorable quilt for the baby. I can’t wait to read all of those stories to my grand-baby after she gets here!
Instead of pictures from their visit, you’ll get pictures of a short getaway my hubby and I took at the beginning of the month. We headed up to Midland, Michigan to visit Dow Gardens and Whiting Forest. We had gone for the first time back in November for our anniversary. We had heard about the canopy walk and wanted to check it out. Of course, it wasn’t the best time of year back in November since the colorful leaves had already left the trees and the flowers were definitely not blooming. (It actually snowed the day we went, but that made it pretty special.) We still had a great time and got a season pass since they were having a special at the time to promote the canopy walk. Of course, we had to go back while things were in bloom and I’m so glad we did. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to go again before my trip to Washington in the fall so we can catch the fall colors on the trees and the fall blooming flowers and bushes. This is just a drop in the bucket of what there is to see there.
You could really take a blanket and a book and spread it anywhere on these grounds and have a peaceful and beautiful reading spot.
The children’s garden is amazing. So much to see, and there are plots of vegetables that local families tend to for their own little garden space. Those areas are decorated with scarecrows that are dressed as Pikachu, Batman, Wonder Woman, and more. So adorable. The scarecrow above is not one of the kid made scarecrows, this was in among the corn stalks and made out of straw. Really cool, but I wouldn’t want to run across him in the dark! One of the workers asked if we’d checked out the popcorn plant and was excited to watch my face as I realized the leaves smell just like buttered popcorn! I need to get me one of those!
There were butterflies all over, of course. It’s not the best shot, but this little guy was fluttering on the flowers long enough for me to get a halfway decent picture. It was really a beautiful day all around.
As we were hiking through the woods, there were a few spots they had chairs for resting. This was toward the end and I just really liked that they were orange so we had to sit and take a picture.
After spending the day in Midland we headed back south to Frankenmuth for the night. I didn’t really take any pictures there. We did some shopping in town that night and headed to Bronner’s on our way out of town in the morning. We got our granddaughter some ornaments at Bronner’s. I know I most likely will not have a chance to go back after she’s born to get an exact date on an ornament for her, but I’m happy with what we got. I’m not posting pics because my daughter-in-law will most likely see this. She’s going to have to wait until I visit to see them!
In other news, the coffee shop I work for is going out of business. Unfortunately, the shop never got the foot traffic needed to sustain the business. I feel terrible for the owners, they were friends before I worked there and I’ve only become closer to them all since I’ve worked there. They’re a great family and I know that they’ll land on their feet. I’m going to miss all of my co-workers and our regular patrons. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in my community through that job.
I don’t know who sent this to me…maybe my sister-in-law in Louisianna? She knows I love both coffee and yoga. But I’ll end with this cute funny…
What have you been up to lately? Any summer travels?
All In Good Time 