anniversary weekend & meeting up with a high school friend

We must've been babies when we got married because we just celebrated

our 29th wedding anniversary! Our weekend celebration took us to southwest

Michigan; just a 2-1/2 hour drive away. We had to go through downtown Chicago

to get to Michigan. Even though I'm not much of a city person, I have to say

that every time we pass through or go into Chicago, I am amazed by the stunning

architecture, especially the Sears Tower. Yes, I know it's now called the Willis

Tower, but living in the Chicago area most of my life, I just can't bring myself

to call it anything but the Sears Tower.

We didn't have time to do much on Friday evening. We walked around to some

shops in St. Joseph, then walked down to the beach. How beautiful is this fountain

 with Lake Michigan in the background? We then went out to dinner at this little pizza 

place that was still mobbed even when we were leaving at 9 p.m. I didn't think one 

would find such great pizza outside of Chicago, but we did! We had a spinach, garlic,

 and sun-dried tomato pizza which was on super thin, crispy crust and just enough

 cheese to make it oozy and perfect. I have to remember to write a Yelp review.

Saturday morning, we drove out to Tiscornia Park to walk on the beach and

see the lighthouse. The sand dunes are gorgeous, but we didn't walk or

climb them. I can tell you from past experience that you have to be pretty darn

fit to climb these sand hills! Some of them are huge; this is just part of a small one.

It was a picture perfect day to walk on the beach and then down the pier to the

lighthouses. The only other people there were a couple of photographers and 

fishermen.

 We also hit a farmer's market in St. Joseph and came home with a bunch of

goodies...apples, green beans, fingerling potatoes, a loaf of bread, a garlic

pizza crust, and a big hunk of organic, farm-raised, no-nitrate ham.

Oh, yes...and a basket of these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, too. How I wish

we had access to all this farm-fresh, organic produce year-round!

On our way home, we stopped at The Round Barn Winery in Baroda, MI

to do some wine tasting.

The inside of the barn roof was stunning...

We've done wine tastings in several places, including Napa Valley.

We were very pleased with the deliciousness of the Michigan wine.

We brought home a bottle of their Weekend Red.

 

 The winery was having a British car invasion event, so we had a good time

walking around and admiring all the cool, vintage cars.

 All too soon we had to head home, though truthfully, we were ready. Both of us

like to get out and do things but there truly is no place like home. This was the

sky as we were close to our house.

The fun and excitement of the weekend didn't end yesterday. This afternoon,

I was blessed to be able to meet up with a friend from high school (in KY) that

I haven't seen in 35 years! I swear, Beverly looks exactly like she did in high school.

And so did her husband whom I also knew from high school. It's funny how we

still see each other with young eyes. We didn't have enough time to really talk;

just a little over an hour. But I'm still riding on a delightful "high" from even that

little bit of time with my Bee. When me and my family moved from KY back to IL

and I had to leave my friends, Beverly wrote me the most beautiful going-away

poem. I think I still have it in one of my scrapbooks somewhere.

 

 And now it's back to reality...housework, laundry, unpacking fall decorations

and fall clothing, bringing in the houseplants that have been outside all

summer, and starting on some fall porch decorating.