Wine Festival

Dear Friends,

Harbor Springs put on a fantastic wine (and beer) festival!  We loved tasting all the local beverages.  The local restaurants had wonderful treats out for us to sample as well.  The highlight was the local band.

Love,
H

Little Traverse Bay

Dear Friends,

The view of Little Traverse Bay is beautiful. If only it wasn't so COLD!

Love,
H

Vodka Slushes

Dear Michelle,

Our weekend wouldn't have been the same without your vodka slushes!  Delightful!

Love,
H

Bay Harbor

Dear Friends,

Girls' weekend was was in Michigan's beautiful northwest.  The cottages at Bay Harbor were amazing.  We did our best to take advantage of all the amenities.

Love,
H

Hockey Equipment

Dear Friends,

Back in Michigan, we spent some time locating some hockey equipment.  Brad is eager to get back on the ice.

Love,
H & B

Souvenir

Dear Friends,

We saw this treasure at a gas station in southwest Michigan.  Who doesn't need a horse swigging wine bottle holder? Who actually buys these things?

Love,
H & B

Visa Run

Dear Friends,

We apologize for the lack of posts last week.  We made an unexpected visa run to Chicago which prompted a whole week of surprise travel. Thanks to those of you who provided accommodation and entertainment along the way. The trip was worth it...no more worrying about when our passports with the visas will come back.  Look out China...we'll be there in a month!

Love,
H & B

Healthy Harvest

Dear Friends,

Nothing like some pretty, colorful signs to get your attention.  But, I really don't need anything at the farming store.

Love,
H

Peonies

Dear Friends,

We were delighted to find this in the garden this summer.

Love,
H & B

Sam Adams

Dear James Trojanowski,

I stumbled across this beauty in northern Michigan. Wish you were here to enjoy these 6 IPA's......

Hope the move is going well.

Newly

Michigan Strawberries

Dear Friends,

We found these delicious strawberries for sale on the roadside.  Nothing is better than fresh produce in season. Wish you could smell and taste these.  YUM!

Love,
H & B

Ace

Dear Andrew,

Thanks for a great weekend! Maybe next time I will let you kneel next to your buddy ACE (Toronto Blue Jays Mascot).

Take ease stallion,
Newly

He's Got the...

whole world in his hands.  We saw the evidence today.

Love,
H & B

Summer Reading

Dear Friends,

I happened to find this gem at a book exchange. If you are interested in eating locally, you might find this book interesting. I learned a lot!

Love,
H

Dragonfly

Dear Maggie and Sofia,

The dragonfly you found was amazingly huge.  But, we're sorry, it cannot be used as a hair clip! : )

Love,
H & B

More Smores!

Dear Alex,

Thanks for the delicious smores!  I don't think I will ever tire of these sugary treats!

Love,
H

Smores

Dear Ramena,

Thanks for the fun evening with our family.  Nothing says summer in Michigan like a bonfire with smores and, of course, wine.

Love,
H

Geese

Dear Friends,

These cute and cuddly goslings are ALL OVER our street. There must be at least 30 new babies. They are not runner friendly as they hiss and chase me down the street.  Not quite as scary as dogs!

Love,
H

Spring

Dear Friends,

Made it "home" in time to help dad plant the flowers.

Love,
H

Home!

Dear Friends,

"Home" never looked so good.  Even if it is only 46 F.  BURR!!

Love,
H

Driving Lessons

Dear Olivia,

Thanks for getting us safely around Lake Sinclair!

Love,
H & B

Dukes

Dear Friends,

We had to stop by Dukes on Memorial Day.  The kids HAD to have some bubble gum slushies while we enjoyed adult beverages.

Love,
H & B

Tubing

Dear Friends,

Nothing like a fun tube ride. Not sure everyone was enjoying it.

Love,
H & B

Corn Hole

Dear Friends,

Corn Hole is big in Florida.  One of our favorite local hangouts has three games out in a sandy pit near the beach. Corn hole, live music and beer...what more could you ask for?

Love,
H & B

Lemon Bay

Dear Friends,

The sunsets here are beautiful whether you are looking out over the Gulf or into Lemon Bay. Nothing like a dock and a few beers while enjoying the sunset.

Love,
H & B

Elm Street

Dear Friends,

This is the kind of view that gets me out in the morning. This was one of my favorite running routes.

Love,
H

Sign Guys

Dear Friends,

We have been amazed at the number of people who are employed as sign holders here. It seems that any business can benefit from a someone jumping around with a sign and waving. We have seen this at restaurants, gold shops and even the tax preparers office.  Would like to know just how much extra business they bring in...any ideas?

Love,
H & B

No!

Dear Friends,

We came across this little gem on our bike ride around one of the other neighborhoods.  Guess these folks were tired of cleaning up after other people's dogs.

Love,
H & B

Mailbox

Dear Friends,

This is something you don't see every day...the Floridians sure do love their dolphins!

Love,
H & B

Rays

Dear Friends,

As we walked over to the tank at Tropicana Field, Brad said, "This will probably be the thing you like best about the ball game."  He was right.

Love,
H

Rays VS Jays

Dear Friends,

We couldn't pass up an opportunity to see the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana field.  However, others could...it was the least amount of people we had seen at a ball park.  Maybe the Rays fans knew they were going to lose.

Love,
H & B

Active Lifestyle

Dear Friends,

One of the things we love about this area is the numerous sidewalks and bike paths. It is great to be able to walk or cycle to so many things nearby.

Love,
H & B

Drummers

Dear Friends,

We came across this drumming group at the Venice Train Depot.  We were enjoying our ride on the trail and found an event promoting the trail.  We would expect to see bikes and helmets there but the drummers were a pleasant surprise.

Love,
B & H

Snake

Dear Friends,

On our ride the other day, I blew right by this guy.  Not sure how I missed him on the bike trail. Brad said I nearly ran him over...glad that didn't happen!

Love,
H

Helmets

Dear Friends,

For weeks we have been trying to go for a ride on the Legacy Trail. We finally made it! As luck would have it there was a cycling event happening at the Venice Train Depot.  We had to stop and have a look around.

Love,
H & B

Magnolia

Dear Friends,

There are many Magnolia trees around our neighborhood. I just love their enormous white blooms.

Love,
H

Think Tank

Dear Friends,

We have spent the last six Tuesday nights with our new friends at Englewoods. The "Think Tank" graciously welcomed us to their trivia team. This was very generous since they are the "superstar" team. We have won first or second place every time and yes, there are more than two teams playing.

Love,
H & B

Shooting Pucks

Dear Friends,

Even though we don't have a lot of ice in Florida, Brad has found a way to "shoot pucks".  He heads over to our local tennis courts with his equipment and practices his shots. I know he will be happy to get back on the ice.

Love,
H

Firsts

Dear Eric and Denise,

Thanks for taking the little one on her first trip to come visit us. We were thrilled to spend the weekend with you and the morning of Denise's first Mother's Day.

Love,
H & B

Bocce Ball

Dear Friends,

We were lucky enough to have the Nelsons visit us this weekend. So we finally had some Bocce ball competition.  Nothing better than a day spent with great friends!

Love,
H & B

Sandhill Cranes

Dear Friends,

This family of Sandhill Cranes comes for a walk near the Bocce court nearly every evening.  We love watching them gracefully walk around the pond.

Love
H & B

Motorcycle

Dear Friends,

Floridians love their motorcycles. The owner of this one rode in and sat himself at the bar. Many people came over to talk to him about his ride. Guess this is a real attention getter.

Love,
H & B

Mini Bimini Ring Game

Dear Friends,

At two different places this weekend, we saw these gadgets sitting on the bar. We were told it was a smaller version of the "Key West Ring Game". After a little research, we found it is the Bimini Ring Game.  After reading through the website, we're still not sure if you are supposed to keep score. Anyone played this before? Maybe we can make up our own rules.

Love,
H & B

Bandana Band

Dear Friends,

Nothing says Florida like an outdoor patio by the beach with a live band.  These guys knew their crowd and played everything from the 50s on up. Later on, everyone was up dancing.

Love,
H & B

Cruzin' Englewood

Dear Friends,

Seems there is always something going on every Saturday in this part of Florida. This week, we only had to go two miles to catch the old car show. There were a few we remember seeing regularly on the road as kids...hummm.

Love,
H & B

Interrupted

Dear Friends,

The other night while at home, Brad interrupted my sentence by saying, "There is a big bird staring at me".  This guy was hanging out around our porch having a look in.

Love,
H & B

Habitat for Humanity II

Dear Friends,

We have been volunteering at Habitat for the last couple of months.  Normally, we are painting. This week we got promoted to putting up blinds, installing door knobs and even installing a medicine cabinet.  Each time the crew leader gave us a project, Heather's response, "Are they really going to let us do this?".  They did!  And, in the end, while it was not all perfect, we did it!

Love,
H & B

Tervis Tumblers

Dear Friends,

A good friend came to visit and asked if we could go to the Tervis store.  I had driven by there a thousand times but had never been in.  The non-condensation tumblers are a staple here in Florida.  Not sure what what they are?  Have a look. And sorry to disappoint, I didn't get a Harley tumbler.
Love,
H

Pelican

Dear Friends,

This guy was having a feast with the school of fish that were swimming by.  So were the other pelicans and dolphins around.

Love,
H & B

Golf Cart Crossing

Dear Friends,

Not sure why this was necessary on the quiet road in the state park. We did not see one golf cart.

Love,
H & B