Albright Family: Kristin & I take a trip to Traverse City Michigan

The ever-lovely Kristin and I took a 5 day vacation in the middle of this month [viz.: 8/11-15] and headed north to visit her family and friends in her home town, Traverse City Michigan. Here we are [above] near the end of the visit in a posed photo with her family. That's Scott, her brother, to the extreme left, followed by her mom, then dad, Kristin her lovely self and, lastly, me.

DAY 1

Turning the clock back a few days, and reviewing our trip in sequence, we see here the truly ever-ever-lovely Kristin as we step through the new airport in Traverse City, just after our arrival.

I was, frankly, somewhat surprised by the airport ... it was very nice for such a small town ... nicer than I had expected. But then again, Traverse City is sorta on the upswing these days. It's always been a summer resort town for Michiganders (?) as it's right on a very pretty bay off of Lake Michigan. Plus, since Michael Moore started his Film Festival in town it has started to attract a more diverse crowd.

Plus, lately it's become a wine producing region ... even Madonna's dad has a winery on the Mission Peninsula [where we stayed ... more on that below].

Kinda getting a bit cosmo ...

Here's where we stayed ... a bed and breakfast on the Old Mission Peninsula called the Neatawanta Inn.

Here's a clip from Google Earth showing the location of the Inn in relation to Traverse City. It's about ten (10) miles north of the city on what's called the Old Mission Peninsula, which sits right in the middle of the Grand Traverse Bay just off of Lake Michigan.

It was very hilly and very pretty, and the weather was absolutely perfect ... mid to upper 70's every day and cool at night. There are dozens of vineyards on the peninsula.

The road from Traverse City to the Neatawanta ran, for the most part, along the center of the peninsula (I think its even called Center Drive) ... but it also swerved here and there and ran along the shore ... primarily the eastern shore.

On one trip into the city we took an alternate route that ran almost entirely along the western shore. There were all kinds of very large houses along the route ... it seems like people keep resort homes along the route. It was really very pretty.

Here we are again at the Neatawanta ... roaming the grounds. You can probably gauge our distance from Washington DC by this photo. It was a nice break, frankly. No. Really.

Speaking of breaks, here Kristin demonstrates some of the horrors attendant on the aftermath of torture.

Here's a photo of the water just off the Inn's dock. Believe it or not, this water is actually a few feet deep.

Here's a part of the Inn's garden.

That evening, we had dinner with Kristin's parents at a very nice place near the Inn. Kristin says that when she was growing up the restaurant was sort of just a cement-floor with park benches. Now it's got a white tablecloths, polished silverware, a wine list and something approaching a cosmopolitan cuisine. Plus an attached Art Gallery. A sign of the times, I suppose.

After dinner, we all went back to the Inn and took a stroll...

DAY 2

The next day we went into town and visited with Judie Groleau, a buddy of Kristin's from yesteryear.

Judie's house is very close to where Kristin went to school for two years before she transferred to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. We all took a quick stroll through the school. An Art School, as you can probably see ...

We then returned to Judie's house and met with a friend of her's Michelle. Kristin was inducted into their sisterhood. I watched.

Judie treated Kristin and me to dinner in one of the newer restaurants in town ... Stellas. It was great, situated in the basement of an old state sanitarium located on the outskirts of Traverse City. The buildings were slated for demolition, but a group of local businessmen, led by Judie's son Michael, managed to get them recognized as of local historical interest. They are being renovated as condominiums, etc. Kinda bizarre karma-wise, but visually interesting.

After that, we returned to the Neatawanta Inn with Judie, who wanted to check it out.

Her son, Michael, also came out to visit. Here he is with Kristin, who is chatting with Michael's wife on the phone.

DAY 3

Next, we take a trip over to Michael Watt's new home ... and present him with some farm fresh plums we pick up on the way.

The house is small but really really nice ... Michael has done a great job with the paint and furniture. He renovated a room in the basement as a guest room. Very cozy.

After Michael's we drove over to Kristin's parent's home. Here's a view from the driveway ... they've got a really nice garden as you can see.

Tom has build a trellised patio area off the kitchen. Here we are giving it the once-over.

Kristin talks with her mom in the kitchen as we await dinner.

Traverse City actually has a minor-league baseball team ... the "Beach Bums". How, you may wonder, can that be? Surely Traverse City is nowhere near a beach! Actually, though, the town is a well known resort town in Michigan and does, indeed, have a beach ... several of them ... on Grand Traverse Bay, which is a part of Lake Michigan.

Kristin gets a photo-op with one of the team Mascots.

Tom enjoys the game.

We're taught how to cheer the team on ...

DAY 4

The next day, Kristin and I return to the parent plantation for a BBQ. Here we are looking through the garden and picking fresh strawberries.

Some pretty flowers ...

Another very pretty flower ...

Kristin's brother Scott drove up from the Detroit area to join us for the BBQ. Here Kristin gives him a head rub after the drive.

He brought beer and cigars. Yum.

Tom cooks. Some of these are buffalo. I had buffalo once on my trip to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs ... I can't say I really liked it that much. I didn't dislike it though. I didn't have any here.