Sisters Weekend “at the beach”

This weekend was the ‘follow-up’ weekend for the “4 Kansas Sisters” over at Harbor Country in Michigan. On Thursday evening my sister flew into Chicago from Atlanta at about the same time I got in from Chattanooga. On Friday morning we packed up the car, grabbed some iced coffee & picked up the other sisters then were off for a weekend “at the beach.”

The weekend weather was not your normal beach vacation weather but that didn’t stop us from having a great time – even though we didn’t dip our toes into Lake Michigan. We did some of our favorite activities in the area & also some new things that are now on our “must do” list for the area.

Friday was filled with wineries & shopping. Our first stop was our favorite, Round Barn Winery, and we sampled some new wines & picked up some favorites. As we were getting ready to leave, our gal “Courtney” who had helped us out on previous visits came in from working outside & said hello. We then checked out a “new to us” winery, Lemon Creek Winery – another fun find, a family business that has been farming that land for 150 years.

Saturday started off rainy & it became obvious that we wouldn’t be spending time on the beach on this trip – so our participation in World Wide Knit in Public day wouldn’t be happening around sand. However, we still managed to knit in public with our afternoon at the yarn shop. After a lovely lunch of crepes and quiche at Pierre Anne Crepierre we went to Sit N’ Knit with the goal of “achieving” the store name for the afternoon. The couches in the main room were occupied when we first got there so we claimed the wicker sofa & chairs on the enclosed front patio. My sister doesn’t knit so she curled up with A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber for the duration. Jen & Kristy were working on their felted bags. I went for simple knitting to destress from the work week – dishcloths & a new scarf in Knit One, Crochet Too Tartlette yarn. As always, we enjoyed yummy lattes made by the gals at the shop. Later in the afternoon we moved into the main room to knit. If this shop truly was my LOCAL yarn store I have a feeling I’d be there every week to knit.

There was a bit of stash acquisition this weekend – I managed to not bring home everything that I “oohed & ahhed over”. A few balls of Sugar’n Cream in assorted colors for dishcloths. A cotton blend in white & shades of turquoise, lime & brown – this summery yarn will become some sort of scarf for me & my sister (when I asked her to pick out yarn for herself she wanted me to make her one just like what I had picked out). I don’t remember the name of the yarn – it had just arrived at the shop. I also picked up some yarn for my next “knitting for others” project – The Think Pink Challenge (1000 pink scarves for women diagnosed with breast cancer). I selected a rosy pink wool & a chocolate wool accent to make several scarves (pattern TBD).

Other highlights of the weekend included…a return stay at a charming inn near the beach…antique shopping (include several fun acquisitions among the group)…a wonderful Turkish dinner at Cafe Gulistan…stopping in at the Abigail Heche jewelry shop – we love her stuff & would love to own more of it…a bit of outlet sale shopping in Michigan City…driving along Lake Shore Dr. in Long Beach & Michigan City at sunset & enjoying the amazing views of the lake & dunes…a new home decor store, Pomegranate Home, that had the cutest water bottles/business cards for you to take with you on you way out the door…stopping by the local scrapbook store for some fun papers & cutouts for card making…and just spending time “away from it all”…Â

Even though the pictures from the weekend are few the memories are many & we look forward to next year’s getaway. While it is always fun to “go far away” for a vacation this weekend trip was the perfect reminder that you don’t have to go far to escape from it all!