Category: Travels

Years ago, the wine makers of the Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City were searching for a way to pull people out of their turkey comas after Thanksgiving and lure them into the tasting rooms. To the delight of the comfort food lovers of northern Michigan, they found the answer in what has become an annual tradition – the Great Macaroni and Cheese Bake-off!

Here’s how it works…

Each of the eight wineries of the Old Mission Peninsula partners with a local restaurant to produce a macaroni and cheese and wine pairing. It can be fancy, it can be simple – the only rule is it must contain a noodle and a cheese. The competition is held every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and votes are cast for the people’s favorite, the cheesiest and the best pairing with the wines. They provide a tasting of several wines specifically chosen to complement the mac and cheese. When you’re done eating, additional tastings are available, if you want. And oh, we wanted.

We learned about this event when we visited the Old Mission Peninsula this past summer. It sells out every year, so we made a mental note to purchase tickets as soon as they were available in October. And then we waited patiently for the big day… 

Our starting point was Hawthorne Vineyards, the newest winery to open in the area. This was our first visit to their tasting room and the view of the snow-covered vineyard was a beautiful way to begin the day. Their three cheese, toasted fennel seed and carmelized onion mac and cheese offering was good, but a little too safe for me.

Our second stop was Bowers Harbor Vineyards. They have a history of naming their wines after their dogs – Otis, Cooper and Brix. I dare you to not find that adorable! Cute names aside, they do make some very tasty wine and I was really looking forward to stopping by to stock up.

Their mac and cheese was a delicious and hearty masterpiece with butternut squash and ricotta. It would be the perfect food to warm you up after sledding or shoveling snow on a cold winter’s day. It finished as runner up for my favorite in the competition.

Then it was on to Brys Estate Vineyards and their mac and cheese creation with pulled pork. I really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t original enough to be one my favorites.

It was fun to take a peek at the fermenting tanks and barrels in the production facility before we left.

Our next stop was Chateau Grand Traverse where their mac and cheese with beef and leeks was nothing less than divine! It was surprising and savory and complex. I probably could have eaten a bucket full of it, but I had to settle for just the three ounce scoop I was given. It was definitely my favorite of the day.

We started the second half of the competition at Peninsula Cellars. Their tasting room is an old school house, so they play up the school theme with wines named Homework and Detention. And instead of teaching students, the old school chalkboards are now used to educate customers about their wine.

Their mac and cheese offering combined kale and ribs. It was good, but not overly inventive.

The next stop was 2 Lads Winery at the top of the peninsula. They offered both a vegetarian and a carnivore mac and cheese option. I went with the meaty one, and ate about half of it before I remembered I wanted a photo of it. 

When we arrived at Chateau Chantal, our penultimate winery, it was late in the afternoon and the final minutes of the fourth quarter of the Michigan / Ohio State football game were happening hundreds of miles away in Ann Arbor. We sat down with our gorgonzola and feta mac and cheese and pulled out our iPhones just in time to watch Michigan score a touchdown with seconds to go. Exciting, right? They could have tied the game by kicking an extra point and then going to overtime, but instead, they decided to go for two, get none and lose in spectacular, heartbreaking style. Go Blue!

We ended the day at Black Star Farms, my personal favorite of the Old Mission Peninsula wineries. It was the end of the day, and they had run out of macaroni noodles, but they served what they had – a sort of Caprese salad with cheese, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. It was actually very good on it’s own and I imagaine it would have been amazing with mac and cheese.

I really enjoy their wine and I knew we were going to buy several bottles while we were there. When we walked up to the register with seven bottles, they said that if we bought a case, we would get a ten percent discount, so did we want to add a few more bottles? Well of course we did!

Oh, by the way, they also have a quarterly delivery service. Did we want to sign up for that too? You bet we did! 

We left the Old Mission Peninsula tired, tipsy and totally looking forward to this event next year!

A few things I learned about Bermuda…

Despite common misconception, Bermuda is not part of the Caribbean – it actually lies hundreds of miles to the north in the Atlantic.

As you might expect for a group of islands in the middle of the ocean, it is very breezy – you must be very careful if you choose to wear a skirt.

There are chickens wandering around everywhere – I mean EVERYWHERE! On the resort properties, at the parks, in the yards of the residents… everywhere.

This trip began much like our trip to Turks and Caicos – with the idea of traveling outside the United States for Justin’s birthday. I chose Bermuda and convinced Justin that we should go there for one reason. And what reason was that? Well, once I learned that the Grotto Bay Beach Resort has a cave that guests are allowed to swim in, I was pretty much sold.

But there was a catch…

The entrance to the cave was protected by a security guard who demanded attention and adoration before he permitted visitors to pass. As you can see, he meant business.

Once inside, it was a dark (and dangerous) walk down the narrow (and wet) stairs, but it was worth it! This was the reason we came to Bermuda! To swim in the clear (and cold) water of Cathedral Cave!

You have the choice of jumping right in or lowering yourself down into the water via the ladder. I chose the latter.

The incredible beauty of the cave provided a nice distraction from the cold temperature of the water. I’m sure there were no creepy creaures hiding below and it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but every time I looked down into the dark water beneath me, I swear I saw shapes moving in the shadows. Fortunately, the stalactites dripped, in some spots more than others, and provided a gentle, calming rain which helped me relax.

After our refreshing cave swim, we were ready to start exploring Bermuda. We walked to the nearby Blue Hole Park Nature Reserve and hiked the trails. There were several other caves to check out, and in our enthusiasm to see everything, it’s entirely possible that we both managed to smack our skulls against stalactites. Headbanging aside, Blue Hole Park was absolutely breathtaking.

As evening moved in, we walked over to Coney Island Park.

We had a terrific view of the sun setting over the other end of Bermuda.

The next morning, we visited the city of St. George and learned some of the history of Bermuda.

Did you know that the story of the shipwrecked passengers of the Sea Venture and their year of survival on Bermuda is believed to be the inspiration for Shakespeare’s The Tempest? We learned all about it on a walking tour of the town through the streets and parks.

These circular structures are called Moongates and they can be found all over Bermuda. While we posed for a self timer shot underneath one, we were joined by a chicken out enjoying a stroll. I’m telling you, they were everywhere!

High on a hill overlooking the town of St. George sits the Unfinished Church. Construction began in 1874, but due to financial problems (another church in town burned down and funds were diverted to pay for its rebuilding), it was never completed. Today, only the ruin remains.

It was so haunting and beautiful…

We had a big day planned for our final day in Bermuda. First, a trip to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo to view their tropical fish and marine animals.

After lunch, we planned to spend the rest of the afternoon basking in the golden sun on the pink sand beach of Horeshoe Bay, but Mother Nature had other plans. Dark clouds rolled in and a downpour started just minutes after we boarded the bus for the beach. We were seated a few rows apart on the crowded bus and could only communicate with facial expressions, just like humans were forced to do before texting changed everything. But since our iPhones weren’t set for international use, we had to settle for nonverbal communication.

When the bus pulled up to the Horseshoe Bay stop, we were in complete mental agreement. We were getting off and going to the beach, rain or not. We came all this way and we were going to see a pink sand beach before we left Bermuda.

It was definitely worth getting a little wet! Even with the dark clouds and the raindrops, it was the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen.

So our day at the beach was no day at the beach, but it was certainly a memorable ending to our adventure.

For my niece Gracie’s annual portrait session, she chose an Alice in Wonderland theme. I thought it was a great idea, but for months I put off actually planning the photo shoot. As a society, it seems like we’ve had an awful lot of Alice in Wonderland thrown at us in the past few years. I wanted to do it, but not over-do it, so I was very careful and thoughtful in my approach to the concept. Finally, it all came together – the wardrobe, the location, the props – and Gracie played a perfect Alice. I’m so proud of her and so pleased to present: Gracie in Wonderland.

We hadn’t been to the Michigan Renaissance Festival in a few years, so we decided to check it out for the final weekend of their seaon. With giant turkey legs, soup in a bread bowl and schneeballs, it’s always delicious and impossible to leave hungry.

It’s about a 40 minute drive from South Lyon and I was looking forward to an afternoon of good eating when we hit the road for Hollygrove. Two and a half hours later, we actually parked the car and started the long walk up the dirt road to the Festival entrance. Traffic was backed up for miles to get into the place and it kind of killed the excitement. By the time we got inside, I was really ready for some food!

So we got a bite to eat and wandered around for a bit. I always love to explore all the cute buildings and shops in the village. This house definitely caught my eye… I wish I had a unicorn in my attic too! 

The festival held a fairy house contest and the entries lined a path that led through the trees. They were so detailed and amazingly creative, I was very impressed with the entries!

Justin has turned me into a HUGE fan of Doctor Who, so my favorite of the fairy houses was the one with a TARDIS. Because even fairies need a cool vehicle for when they travel through space and time!

We walked around for what felt like forever searching for the mermaids. They were supposed to be over in Mermaid Lagoon, but a sign posted there said they were in the Queen’s Garden. But they weren’t.

I wanted to see a beautiful mermaid so bad!

So we ventured back over to Mermaid Lagoon and Justin patiently waited in line with me for 45 minutes, only to find that while the mermaid was beautiful, she was just a girl with a fin in a large aquarium tank. I was very disappointed.

So we made our way over to wine tasting area… that sounded like fun, and it was! But they said it was too late in the festival to sell bottles, so we could taste but not buy. Not cool, Ren Fest!

After the traffic and the mermaid disappointment and the lack of wine to buy, we were pretty bummed with how the day turned out. Then we stumbled upon the Cursing Well, and all was forgiven. See you next year Ren Fest!

My adorable nephew, Kaden, turned five this year. (I featured his Batman birthday party back in January.) While he is a wonderful child and skilled at many things, he does not have the interest or the patience to cooperate with me and my attempts at documenting his growth in portrait sessions. But I try anyway… 

He is everything a wild little boy should be – he runs and plays, gets dirty and gets hurt (two trips to the emergency room so far, but who’s counting) – and we wanted his photo session to reflect who he is right now as a five year old kid. So we took him to the little fishing pond in the hosta hillside at Hidden Lake Gardens and let him be himself.

We took a drive along the narrow roads that lead through the garden and stopped in a field so Kaden could get out and run around. I managed to snap this one quickly before he darted away!

He found a forest of young trees, so he had to try them out.

They passed his test! According to Kaden, these trees are very fun to climb!

And here he is at the end of the session… exhausted, adorable and ready for ice cream.