The City of Plymouth, Michigan, about 38 miles west of where I live, hosts an Ice Festival every January. This was its thirty-first year, held January 18-20th.
I didn't attend the actual festival, but I read about it in the Detroit Free Press newspaper, which stated the sculptures would remain in Kellogg Park [city square] as long as weather permitted. There were over 100 sculptures. Below is the Statue of Liberty sculpture.
Since our temperatures have been frigid the past three days I asked my hubby if he'd like to drive over to Plymouth to see the sculptures, and he agreed. What I didn't consider was that last Saturday's temps rose to the mid-40's, which, of course, is ice melting weather. And what didn't melt on Saturday, blew over with Sunday's high winds. What remained by the time we arrived looked liked like a field of vandalized sculptures - and the vandal was Mother Nature!
All was not lost though, as the Sweet Afton Tea Room is also located downtown Plymouth. The tea room was my second post when I first started blogging in January 2012. Even though we were dressed for warmth - not dining - we headed over to the tea room. It was only 11:00 a.m., so we were their first guests of the day [which was perfect for photographs]. Others arrived shortly thereafter. While it's not distinct in the photo [unless you click on it to enlarge], the chandeliers are made with teacups.
Our server's name was MaryAnn, and she was delightful. I ordered the Cream Tea and my tea of choice was Wild Cherry Amaretto.
The two scones that came with the offering [along with Lemon Curd and whipped Devonshire Cream] were Honey Pecan and Apple Cinnamon. My favorite was the Honey Pecan.
Jerry ordered their Chicken Pot Pie with a Cheddar Muffin and Cinnamon Orange Spice tea. Their teas are by Ashbys of London.
The owners have opened another tea room in Adrian, Michigan, called Governor Croswell Tea Room [named after a former Michigan Governor]. Adrian is 69 miles from my house, but the tea room is on my list to visit in 2013 - and there's an antique mall not too far away!
On our drive back home I thought how fun it would be if a group of tea rooms in southeastern Michigan sponsored a giant teapot sculpture some year. Wouldn't that be fun to see?
I didn't attend the actual festival, but I read about it in the Detroit Free Press newspaper, which stated the sculptures would remain in Kellogg Park [city square] as long as weather permitted. There were over 100 sculptures. Below is the Statue of Liberty sculpture.
[Photo courtesy of Plymouth Ice Festival.com]
All was not lost though, as the Sweet Afton Tea Room is also located downtown Plymouth. The tea room was my second post when I first started blogging in January 2012. Even though we were dressed for warmth - not dining - we headed over to the tea room. It was only 11:00 a.m., so we were their first guests of the day [which was perfect for photographs]. Others arrived shortly thereafter. While it's not distinct in the photo [unless you click on it to enlarge], the chandeliers are made with teacups.
Our server's name was MaryAnn, and she was delightful. I ordered the Cream Tea and my tea of choice was Wild Cherry Amaretto.
The two scones that came with the offering [along with Lemon Curd and whipped Devonshire Cream] were Honey Pecan and Apple Cinnamon. My favorite was the Honey Pecan.
Jerry ordered their Chicken Pot Pie with a Cheddar Muffin and Cinnamon Orange Spice tea. Their teas are by Ashbys of London.
Even though we missed seeing the ice sculptures, we enjoyed the tea room together.
The owners have opened another tea room in Adrian, Michigan, called Governor Croswell Tea Room [named after a former Michigan Governor]. Adrian is 69 miles from my house, but the tea room is on my list to visit in 2013 - and there's an antique mall not too far away!
On our drive back home I thought how fun it would be if a group of tea rooms in southeastern Michigan sponsored a giant teapot sculpture some year. Wouldn't that be fun to see?
Looks like you had a nice day out. I see another tea room visit in your future. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhile it's a shame you didn't get to see the ice sculptures, how nice that you could have tea at this lovely tea room. Let me first say that Wild Cherry Amaretto tea sounds SOOOO good, was it as good as it sounds? Cherry and amaretto are two of my favorite flavors. I also am kind of looking for a new chandelier for my dining room space, so now I'm thinking that one with teacups would be just perfect! :-) Probably won't come to pass, but I can dream, right? If I ever get to Michigan, this spot will be on my list of places to visit.
ReplyDeleteA festival featuring ice sculptures sounds so, so much fun! Reminds me of that famous scene in the movie "Groundhog Day." Love that you and your husband went to the tea room together while you were out and about. And I also LOVE your idea about a teapot ice sculpture! YES to that!
ReplyDeleteHi Phyliss,
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to see the tearoom again! Did I tell you my daughter and I were there year before last? We visited her friend who lives near by and had two whole days of visiting the area tearooms! The owner of Sweet Afton Tearoom invited me into the kitchen to see how it looked! About two hours north of us at Michigan Tech they have a winter ice fest where the students make the sculpures. Very interesting! Have a good evening and keep warm!
Nancy
A visit to a nice tearoom is always a lovely way to save the day.
ReplyDeletePhyllis,
ReplyDeleteThank You for your nice words about your visit to our tea room. It is a very special place with 24 years of memories for many different people. Please plan a visit to our new tea room in Adrian and let us know when you are coming so we may be there to meet you. As a point of reference in your beautifully written blog, we serve cheddar muffins and our clotted cream is the "real thing". We whip imported Devonshire cream that we serve with our scones. Again thank you for sharing your visit with everyone and we hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Phyllis and Al
I've been to the Sweet Afton Tea Room twice on visits to family in Waterford, Michigan- once by reservation and once just happening upon it. Enjoyed it thoroughly both times and met the owners on the second visit. They are very welcoming and enthusiastic. I'm glad to hear they've finished the tearoom in Adrian and look forward to visiting on my next journey. Ice sculptures- wow!
ReplyDelete