Before leaving the Grand I purchased a teapot ornament as a keepsake from my stay. I already have a full-size teacup in their china pattern from my 2015 visit. The ornament will be a pleasant reminder of the MI Tea Tour and our wonderful stay at the Grand Hotel as it hangs from my Christmas tree.
The shops on Market Street aren't quite as commercial as those on Main Street, so I chose to shop a few of those before boarding the ferry. I found a beautiful black and white bone china teacup in Lilacs and Lace and bought it as my souvenir from the Michigan Tea Tour.
Good-bye Mackinac Island and Grand Hotel for 2016!
Jerry was waiting for us at Shepler's dock when our ferry arrived in Mackinaw City. We got our luggage, and were off downstate to Frankenmuth. Even though there's nothing tea related there, I wanted the ladies who live out of the area to see the quaint, German city [referred to by some as 'Little Bavaria'] known for their famous chicken dinners.
The place was bustling with people when we arrived because there was an outdoor Arts and Crafts show in progress on one side of Main Street, and a music festival on the other side. I called ahead for dinner reservations at the Bavarian Inn, so we got right in without a wait.
We saw the most fall color in Frankenmuth. The color change was about two weeks behind schedule this year.
~ Our last group picture. ~
We had some fun entertainment while we waited for our dinner. We asked the accordion player if he could play Tea for Two or I'm a Little Teapot, and he tried, but tea songs just weren't in his repertoire. ;-) He was a good sport.
By the time we ate and the ladies shopped in lower level shops, the crowd had thinned out.
Linda J. and Nancy R. had flights to catch, so we met in the hotel lobby on Monday morning [Sept. 19th] to say our good-byes, and the group dispersed to go their separate ways. The five days flew by, but it was just the right amount of time for this type of tour - not too short and not too long.
Farewell and God bless everyone until we meet again!
To all my blog readers, I hope you enjoyed traveling along on the Michigan Tea Tour vicariously. Normal posts will resume tomorrow, and I promise they'll be a little shorter than the trip posts have been.
I certainly have enjoyed traveling with you vicariously through your posts, and those of others on the trip. Your hours of planning really paid off, it looks like a wonderful adventure from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading every bit of your Tea Tour posts! So interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt has been such a pleasure to travel along with you and so many of my blogging friends! So glad you were such a good chronicler!
ReplyDeleteRuth
Wonderful memories of a fabulous adventure!
ReplyDeleteLove your souvenirs! So appropriate, and I know you will relive many, many fond memories every time you look at them. The visit to Frankenmuth sounds fun too. You definitely have many cultural riches there in Michigan!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of fun and was certainly well planned and executed!
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