Better Late than never.... Michigan road trip

In Early April Rick & I celebrated our 43rd anniversary

We decided to head to the UP of Michigan

We had never been to Michigan and especially wanted to visit the UP

We started our trip near Houghton MI at a sweet little VRBO cottage on Portage Lake.

It was still WINTER in  upper Michigan but I wasnt mad about it!

It served up well

Living area

Kitchen

coffee bar

The recliner was the deciding factor on this place

extra bedroom

Portage Lake

This was our home base for 3 days as we explored the area.

We traveled up the left side hitting all the little towns and some sites to see.

I had recently torn a few muscles and ligaments in my Left hip area so there wasn't a lot of extended walking or hiking on this trip! Still, everything was beautiful

Windy and cold

The lake was active

Got to see a few lighthouses,snow and waves

All the way to the top, Cooper Harbor

After a few days we ventured to Marquette...

We stayed at this super nice hotel right on the water, 

we walked out to the end of the pier several times.

Another lighthouse

 

It was fun to find NMU

The Super Dome!

It is always open to the general public for walking...so we did

Long jump pit

Presque Isle Park

The photo doesn't do this area justice, it was so pretty

I wanted to find a unique place to eat, after talking to some locals we ended up at "The Vierling"

This Historic restaurant has been a focal point in downtown Marquette for over 140 years.

We enjoyed the ambience...

and the food

We highly recommend it

Despite the fact that I was a little laid-up, we had a great time exploring the UP of Michigan, 

Next time we will go in the fall when the colors are know to be spectacular.

We were just kids when we fell in love.....

Rick and I celebrated our 42 Anniversary on Wednesday.

We kept it sort of Low-key as we have been doing alot of traveling over the last few months.

We did spend a day in the Twin Cities doing some fun things and exploring!

We first met when I was just 15 and Rick 17 (just friends)

I was a waitress and he a dishwasher at the Ramada Inn in Rochester.

For me it was LOVE at first sight.

He had to wait until I was 16 to ask me out, 

but he waited until I was 16 years 5 months old (Jeeesh what took him so long)

A few year later....

He was 19, me 17

*When I see this photo I cant help but start humming the song "Perfect", by Ed Sheeren

I found a love... for me, 

darling, just dive right in, follow my lead....

We were just kids when we fell in love

 Not knowing what it was......La La La La

 

*We were each others first boyfriend/girlfriend. 

I was told by some folks, "You really should date other guys", Why????

I am so thankful for this man which brings another song to my head by Newsong.

"When God made you he must have been thinking about me"

Its always been a mystery to me, 

how two hearts can come together, and love can last forever.

Now that I have found you I believe,

that a miracle has come when God sends the perfect one"......

 Rick is a man of faith, humility and unselfish love. 

He still opens the door for me,

He never goes thru a door before me. 

He shows his love by actions, he knows me well and knows what I need before I do :)

He puts up with me even when I'm unreasonable 

and he lets me be right even when I'm wrong.

Dont get me wrong, we are not perfect! We are still growing and learning about each other. 

We have our ups & downs, our disagrements, and frustrations, 

But we are willing to forgive and show grace to each other, it's worth the work to keep that promise we made to each other 42 years ago. With that being said it's pretty easy to love my guy, he is just the best.

He makes me laugh till I cry, and thru the years there has never been a doubt in my mind

 that he loves me just the way I am, and believe me... I'm A LOT!  ha ha

 He is my forever and always... we had that engraved into wedding rings.

 

And finally another song that comes to mind as we are now a little older and retired.

"Grow old with you"

"I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad, 

carry you around when you arthritis is bad

Oh, all i wanna do is grow old with you"...

Happy Anniversary my love, There's nothing better than growing old with you. 

Ok... now that you've read through all the "sap" here's a little bit on how we spent our anniversary.

We visited the Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul.

A fun guided tour worth going to!

We stopped at a bakery on Grand avenue, and shared a GF carrot cake muffin.

I love bakeries, Rick goes along for the food  :)

One of our favorite things is watching our Minnesota Timberwolves play Basketball.

So Rick and I got tickets for the game at Target Center in Minneapolis.

We walked around amoungst the big buildings and

Saw this cool mural

We ate dinner at "Cowboy Jacks" close to the stadium.

We watched our team win and make it back into 1st place in the conference.

Our team making their way out onto the floor. Click on the arrow to watch the video

Retirement Trip part 2

It hard to beat our week with Rick's aunt and uncle....

Our next adventure was to travel more south to Galveston where we 

spent 4 nights at an Airbnb on the beach. The temperatures were in the low 60's

 but for us Minnesotans, thats' warm enough!

Documentation that we were indeed there

We both got into the ocean, and agreed that the temperature of the water felt a lot like Long Lake.

COLD

Our set up

We didn't visit this pier but it would be fun with kids for sure.

We could see it from our place, just a hop-skip-and jump from us.

This is our Airbnb, it was a nice place and close to the beach

View right outside our door

Every morning, we sat out for coffee and toast.

One of the best things was the 2 recliners after a busy day.

Galveston was great! 

We did some shopping on Strand street, visited a military museum, ate at some great restraints,

 took some walks on the beach and just chilled.

 

Our last adventure was a stop in Waco Tx to visit "Magnolia Market" at the Silo's,

 Established in 2023 by Chip & Joanna Gaines from the TV show "Fixer Upper".

I didnt know if Rick would be interested in this place but he actually liked it.

YUM, the bakery was a highlight

They had a shop with all things "Chip" perfect for the guys!

All the flowers outside were real, the photos don't do them justice.

I LOVED this chair and wanted it but... it was $1200, a bit above me budget

The faux flowers and candles were everywhere

My purchases from Magnolia Market 

We really enjoyed our time at Magnolia Market

It was worth the stop!

After 2 weeks, we were home again to our beloved Minnesota.

We are thankful for these experiences, the ability to travel, good health and 

thea perfect travel buddy!

On the way home we booked our next trip

North Shore here we come.