After the Marathon...On to the Wineries!

The winery tour was fun! Some places were exceedingly crowded, others (like this one above) weren't. We got to try lots of new flavors and bought and brought home our favorites!
Hanging out after a long day of running, touring, eating at bad restaurants (lunch and dinner), shopping, go-kart racing, and visiting. Time to kick back a few!
This is the Cherry Republic Store. Traverse City, MI is known for their cherries. They have a cherry festival-the whole nine yards. After the 7:11 Crew headed home, we headed out to visit here where they have lots of samples of some of my favorite things: dark chocolate covered tart cherries, cherry salsa, cherry garlic pasta sauce, and a cherry BBQ! We had lunch at an awesome bar/diner where they served warm peanuts and cold beer and awesome food.

On to the dunes...beautiful view - notice how clear the water is! Then off to Moomers, which was voted America's Number One Ice Cream by Good Morning America just days before we arrived. I highly recommend the flavor below-it's the best ice cream I've ever had with chunks of cherries and brownies.....WOW!



The infamous cheese plate! Bonnie and I LOVE wine and cheese! This restaurant was fabulous-it's a little off the beaten path, but well-worth the drive. It's called Boone's Long Lake Inn and they serve steak & seafood.
To me, a trip to Traverse City isn't complete without a trip to The Pie Company! I had to decide between the Long Lake Berry and the Apple Dumpling Pie....I went with the berry and I wasn't sorry! Fantastic! Also, had lunch there and enjoyed it immensely! Chicken salad (with grapes!) another favorite!



We called Grandma and Grandpa to tell them we were almost home and so they met us at our house. The girls were tired (Grandma keeps them busy with all sorts of activities!) and they were extremely upset that Grandma and Grandpa were going home. Tons of tears and wailing and extra hugs and kisses, etc. After they pulled out of the driveway, the girls continued to cry and cry so much that I finally got out my camera to take a picture. Robert and I just looked at each other, baffled. What a homecoming welcome! We're glad they had so much fun and we were finally able to get them settled down! After a 6 hour drive, we were ready to unwind ourselves. And that was our Memorial Day Weekend!