But, as a matter of fact, it was! Right after we checked into the inn and got some information from the innkeeper, we went on a drive ... and this is what we saw along the way :)
I have no idea why the pictures didn't upload in the order I wanted them, but it's okay ... I'll go with it! This is Mr. FEO and I with the spectacular view from Willow Vineyards behind us, on part of our winery tour on Saturday.
We went to our first two wineries, and as we were on our way to the third, we were driving through Suttons Bay, and what do we see .... an old fire station that has been converted to a pub! Of course we had to stop, and have a quick beer. Why not? We were drinking away the afternoon anyway, and it was a nice change for Mr. FEO who isn't much of a wine drinker.
I think this is my favorite picture of the two of us from the entire weekend. We had just pulled up at our first winery (the one most highly recommended by the innkeeper), and met this nice older guy outside (turnes out he's the OWNER of the place!) who offered to take us over to the exact spot where the GPS's determied was the 45th parallel - the exact halfway point between the equator and the north pole. He told us the story and also how there are several couples every year who want to get married at that exact spot. We think it's totally romantic and altogether a great story.
Before checking into the inn, we had a little over an hour to spend beforehand, so we did a little bit of sightseeing. This picture is from the Maritime museum. The story here is that the Coast Guard workers would use a little train car to pull their boats to the end of the tracks you see here (they were never any longer than this) and then drag the boats across the dune sand to the lake in the distance. It was closer than it looks here, but you couldn't pay me to do that, that's for sure!Anyway, now for what was supposed to be the beginning of this post:
Mr. FEO and I needed a vacation. All the stress in our lives was really getting to us. Sooo, smart man that he is, he suggested that we take a trip up to Northwest Michigan. We did some wine tasting at a few wineries (45 North, Cherry Republic, Willow Vineyards and Black Star Farms) and one cidery (Tandem Ciders). We also drove along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive which had some spectacular views, we went to the Sleeping Bear Dunes Coast Guard Maritime Museum and made short stops in Leland (aka Fishtown), Suttons Bay and finally Traverse City on our way home.
All on his own my dearest husband found this bed and breakfast ... The Sylvan Inn in Glen Arbor ... and made a reservation for us to have the "Treetop Room" which is the top floor of the back building seen here toward the left of the picture.
We spent two nights at the Sylvan Inn, and hope to make this an annual Memorial Day trip for us, which would be absolutely wonderful.
What a VIEW!! Not just of the lake either ... Mr. FEO is quite a looker :) I love this picture of him!!
A self portrait of us ... we always have these on our trips because we don't generally feel comfortable asking strangers to take our picture (the exception being the winery owners who helped us out for the above pictures)! 
Lake Michigan ... in the distance you can see one of the Manitou Islands, which are said to represent the bear cubs that gave Sleeping Bear Dunes its name. I kept repeating over and over again during this vacation that it was so hard to believe that we were still in Michigan. Looking at this lake is exactly like looking at the ocean. 
We went down to the beach on Saturday night to watch the sunset ... it was absolutely gorgeous and I am so glad we were able to see this on our last night in paradise.
I leave this vacation feeling completely refreshed and ready to tackle the next few months. We have a very busy summer, and this was a fantastic way to kick it off!!!
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!
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