Jan 2020 (2) MISSION PENINSULA, MICHIGAN - Celebrating Two Birthdays

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The next morning we browsed downtown store windows a bit. Here's the tiny Cantina by daylight.

Then met K&S at Flap Jack for a typical nondescript but good breakfast.

After that, off to our B&B on the Mission Peninsula in Traverse City, where we would meet long-time friends Lynn and Sandy. The weather was quite snowy, so we took it slow heading south.

Had to waste a little time before check-in, so passed through Elk Rapids along Lake Michigan for a quick tour and then continued on.

Stopped at Bayside Market where they have a great wine and deli selection. As we forgot the bottle of wine we had been saving for birthday toasting, here we picked out another special bottle of Italian Amarone, along with some French raclette cheese to take home.

Drove past Chateau Chantel to the tip end of the Mission Peninsula to see the Mission Point Lighthouse. It was closed, but we could see it and the snowy Lake Michigan shoreline from the road. Snow was swirling. Just beautiful!

Heading back, we saw our first snowman of the year. Not sure what the top branches were for!! Looked more insect-y than man-ish.

Stopped at the Old Mission Taverna for a wet one and to see if they were open for dinner that night. This time of year you can never be sure.

Then up the long drive to Chateau Chantel Winery and B&B (http://www.chateauchantal.com). January is birthday month for myself and dear friend Sandy. We often get together for a quick trip in the dead of winter to celebrate together. On this trip, she turned 80, so it was a must to get together.

The elaborate French architectural-styled winery is acclaimed for its wines and over the years has greatly expanded its production. Here's a sample of each variety.


Their wine was also chosen for President Obama's state dinner when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife visited the White House in 2016.

Also, this month you'll see the ice wine grapes still hanging on the vine with netting to keep the birds away.
https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/facts-about-michigan-ice-wine

Checked into the Van Gogh room. We've stay in several rooms here throughout the years, but this is our favorite. They are all named after famous French artists. This one is decorated in purples, bright greens, and silver.
 
Looking out the window down into the valley are grape vines galore.

On the other side of the road are farms and a horse pasture. One horse has the worst sway back ever, but what a place to enjoy those "retirement" years.

The rest of the afternoon we lolled around and got organized until the Bruces arrived about 3p. Then our foursome had a couple of glasses of wine in the tasting room and then returned to our room for Myers rum and cokes and gourmet snacks. By the time we should have gone to dinner, we weren't really hungry after all the munchies, wine, and cocktails, so we skipped it. Boy, what a good night's sleep that night.

The next morning sunrise was spectacular on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula.

Without the snowstorm, we could see cherry trees (another big crop of the area) further down the road on the Grand Traverse Bay side. Traverse City is known for its huge National Cherry Festival each year in July.

Breakfast was scheduled at 830a. Brown sugar bacon (best bacon I've ever had), scrambled eggs with truffle oil, fruit, and bread pudding with brandied peaches for a breakfast dessert.

We got cleaned up, teeth brushed, etc and met in the fireplace corner. Read, computed, and chatted to catch up with news til 1pm. Lynn had set up a charcuterie platter with our afternoon wine tasting, so we moseyed to the tasting room. Tasted several wines including a Malbec (from their Argentinian vineyard) as we munched on a nice selection of cheeses and meats.

Ran into another couple from the Kalamazoo area. He was a pilot with American and she was a flight attendant with Eagle (feeder to American). He is also a writer for flight magazines and sent us a few articles that he thought would be of interest. Fun couple!

Lynn had a bit of a cold and needed a nap before dinner, so we went our separate ways. Next thing we knew there was a knock at our door. L&S were heading out to get some soup as Lynn hadn't improved. We decided to snack in our room as we weren't really hungry. We watched TV and cuddled in our sweet suite and enjoyed the sunset outside. It was lovely!



Next morning we met L&S for breakfast--another great one from the chef's here. Lynn, however, was feeling even worse and they decided to go home rather than spend the next two nights with us in Traverse City. We were disappointed, but totally understood. You just want to be in your own bed when you are not well.