The one day travel trip caught me again and I was rearing to go but this time to Michigan and it was worth every mile! Our first stop was in Baroda, Michigan at an original 1912 round barn tasting room and estate called Round Barn Winery. The estate as you drive up the long country road to enter was beautiful. Michigan is full of vineyards that are meticulously cared for. It was a beautiful site to see and we must have picked a perfect day to visit because it wasn't busy either. Granted we did peruse the entire barn and stuck within the confides of the tasting room and store, but it was lovely, quaint and cozy.
We chose a Muscato and I'll have to return and provide an update to how it tasted later. I have been to other wineries that had a larger selection but it was just enough to give you a taste of what Round Barn had to offer. We weren't greeted when we entered like many other wineries do but the customer service person was friendly and very cordial. Overall, it was worth the few miles that it took to arrive given the beauty of the grounds and barn. The outside areas were equipped for their food truck on the weekends and during the warmer months, they had events that would appeal to any wine lover. Speaking of food, they even have some delicious looking recipes on their website.
Our next stop took us to St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse where a wedding was getting underway next to the beach entry access site. It was a beautiful beach and a bit chilly to enjoy the water but the views were amazing. The $10 parking fee was a bit much especially for an off day of not being able to soak up the rays but overall, it was worth the pictures and memories. The outer lighthouse is a round, cast-iron plate 35-foot tall tower topped by a round watch room and a 10-sided lantern room located on Lake Michigan on the north breakwater at the mouth of the St. Joseph River. The pier will provide one with a long workout but worth the walk. The weather was perfect in exploring in that it wasn't too hot but a light jacket helped with the windy chill.
We continued our trek up Lake Michigan and found a surprisingly good BBQ restaurant and sadly, we came across a horrific wreck that we later learned claimed the life of a 26 year old man. It was a beautiful day outside and the progressing evening was only proving to be a great day to travel. We drove over to the South Haven South Pierhead Light but continued onward as I wasn't as impressed with the size of the lighthouse. We opted out of Holland Harbor House Lighthouse after reading the catwalk was inaccessible due to renovations so on we cruised to the Grand Haven Lighthouse in hopes of catching the sunset in Muskegon.
Even though we did not take the catwalk to see it up front, we had the most beautiful views of the sunset moving in. We parked near the US Coast Guard and ventured down the beach until we found the perfect spot as you can see in the photographs.
We finished our night at the Shoreline Inn in Muskegon. It was a beautiful hotel on the shore, obviously and had nice amenities if one wanted to pay more such as a whirlpool tub and a fireplace. We did reserve one of those rooms and it was quite nice. We opened the 7th floor balcony and sadly, there were tons of spider webs weaved around every railing causing the most spider phobic person, me, to immediately turn around and go inside while locking the doors immediately! As dark came upon us, the two enormous spiral spider webs outside the other windows by the bed would make any Halloween veteran envious of the display except it was real. That was a big downer for me as I expected more for an almost $200 a night room. The rest of the room was nice and clean in spite of the spider that was crawling on the bathroom floor.
We ended up going downstairs to the bar and couldn't get waited on at our table so my husband had to go to the bar and get our drinks. The bartender finally came around but only to the table next to us and never stopped to wait on us so we left. Since the hotel sold craft beers at the front desk, we opted for that and were greeted by a very friendly and jovial front desk man. He made up for the bartender and assured me he would note the spider webs, offered to have them taken care of immediately and apologized. He definitely made up for the minor issues. Around 3 a.m. I did find some mysterious bumps on my leg that are still healing. The shower was perfect as I'm very picky about shower heads but this one was spot on and the shower and bath areas were huge. Some hotels make you bump up against the toilet to get the door shut but not this one. It also had an exhaust fan which is beyond me why a hotel would not install them in the guest bathrooms.
The fireplace was perfect in the amount of heat it emitted and made for a romantic night. The whirlpool tub was clean and the hotel had bath salts to add to the night. Check out was quick and easy.
Overall, the overnight Michigan trip was absolutely beautiful and serene. I'd recommend Michigan to anyone and can't wait for our next travel adventure.
