Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Frankenmuth, MI

Here it is Tuesday already. I had a post all planned out for last Thursday. But then we lost power late Wednesday night. And got it back on Thursday night, a full twenty-three hours later. Needless to say that trumped any plans I might have had for posting here. So instead of my intended Thursday post you'll get pictures from this weekend.


On Friday we went to Frankenmuth, MI. Justin's family goes there on a regular basis. It's a darling little town. Located in the heart of Michigan about an hour north of Lansing, Frankenmuth is nicknamed 'Little Bavaria'. It's settlers were German and were dedicated to preserving the German way of life.

The visitor's center.

The town has a strict building code. Even the Drury Inn was built in the German style.


The inn downtown had a bell tower that chimed on the hour.



It also told the story of the Pied Piper every three hours.



It's quite adorable.


And very German apparently.


The candy shop

There were more little shops and goodies to see than I could possibly have documented. The Candy shop that I've forgotten the name of was my favorite by far. The salt water taffy was to die for. None of that nasty store bought stuff. This was homemade. Fresh and soft and everything taffy should be. 


And then there's this other place in Frankenmuth:




The world's largest Christmas Store.


It was chock full of things.


Ornaments and decorations everywhere you look.


I particularly loved this carrot playing the trumpet.


On their grounds, they had the most adorable prayer chapel, called the Silent Night Chapel.


One of the many things we bought at the store. Justin picked it out actually. I was impressed.


We had a really good supper at the Bavarian Inn. I had weiner schnitzel and there was so much food! Multiple courses and several items in each course. I definitely enjoyed trying new foods.

All in all, it was a very nice day trip. Three hours each direction is not bad drive. Particularly when you have someone as fun as Justin in the car with you!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Ahhh!!!

I can't believe it! Monday was the first day of summer but my summer break is almost half over already. Seven weeks in, I feel like it's just starting. The first summer session is wrapping up. We take our final tomorrow morning and have a blissful three days break before the next session starts. My summer session is finishing quietly. I'm doing as well as I hoped. Taking Spanish as a summer intensive was probably one of my better ideas. It's much easier to focus when I only have one other class and in a little over six weeks I'll be done with Spanish forever!

I'm not sure how I'll be spending my break/weekend. There have been talks about a day trip north and the nephew's dedication is on Sunday. I'll keep you posted on how things shake out. This past weekend was absorbed by a friends wedding. It was quite the event. The bride was beautiful. The groom was handsome. The party was fantastic. Twenty of our close friends dancing attendance, wearing their finest. What more could you want? And then there was the sunset on the drive home. Yellows and golds filled the evening sky. Little wispy clouds and airplane streaks filled the horizon. A stunning sight if ever I saw one.

Sadly my only pictures of the day aren't worthy of anything but facebook. My own camera was sadly down at my parents' house haven been forgotten there the weekend before. All the beauty around me and all I had to capture it was a sad, awkward, borrowed camera whose battery died on me before the reception even started. I did take a few photos of the sunset with my phone. But everyone knows how camera photos turn out...bad.

The moral of this story is clear. Don't ever forget your camera and if you do forget it, it is worth the sacrifice to drive back and get it instead of waiting on someone else to bring it to you. Because there may never be another sunset as beautiful as the one you're seeing right now. And if there is? You might not be around to see it.