Our Weekend #throughglass

Warning! Picture heavy post ahead.  

As I mentioned last week, I let Chad talk me into trying out Google Glass for a little while.  I wore it on our mini vacation to Traverse City.  Please to enjoy a recap #throughglass....

And we're off.....My view of the wide open road.

Pit stop!  My favorite restaurant in Mt Pleasant - Los Palominos.  Though ultimately, not as good as I remember.  That gave me the sad....

Pretty skies on the road north.

 

Not #throughglass...but I do look like robocop.

I left the jeans that I specifically washed for this trip in the dryer at home, so a quick shopping trip was necessary.  I had been wanting some white jeans and leopard print flats (because I'm working on getting rid of my "old lady style" as Chad so lovingly puts it). One thing glass was great for - fitting room selfies.

I could get Chad's opinion on an outfit without having to leave the dressing room.  Convenience people.

Since we got into town pretty late, we just stayed at a Motel 6 for the night.  Why does a motel need 1-way glass at their front desk?  Creepy.

Luckily, we were able to move into our new room at the Best Western Four Seasons early the next morning - no one had used it the night before, so it was all ready for us.  It was a loft-style room with a jacuzzi and TV upstairs.

This picture doesn't really do it justice - the tub was huge.

The view of the sitting area from the tub loft.

Shirt: Love on a Hanger/VonMaur Pants: Kut from the Kloth Shoes: Charlotte Russe

The outfit I bought the night before (not throughglass, because my apparently my head is crooked...all my glass photos are on a diagonal).  Do I look ready for a day at the vineyards?

Also, check out that staircase?  It was so steep, it may as well have been a ladder.  I was convinced I was going to fall every time I climbed it.

We met up with our tour group and started the journey.

Journeying...

First stop was L.Mawby - which has all sparkling wines.

They also had some interesting decor....

see what I mean?

Their wine list

Wise words from L. Mawby.  My favorite was "Get your son a motorcycle for his last birthday".

L. Mawby offered 2 complimentary tastings then you had to pay for the rest.  We stuck with just the two.  We purchased a bottle of their tasting-room only wine - Sandpiper.  It was decent.

On the same property was Big Little.  They had cute glasses.

 Big Little offered 1 complimentary tasting, then you could pay $5 to sample the rest.  I wish I hadn't....we didn't buy anything from here.

Our tour mates were fascinated to learn about glass.  They got really excited about the wink to take a photo feature.

Next stop was chateau fontaine.  They let us sample all 9 of their wines for free along with a cheeseball and a couple of bonus samples including their hard cider.  They were almost all delicious.  Our sample guide (what do you call these people?) Chris was very knowledgeable and friendly - though he did automatically ask us if we were recording him as soon as we walked in.

We enjoyed most of the wines here.  We ended up buying a bottle of their cherry dessert wine and a growler of their cider.  Mix the two together for an awesome drink!

They also had some interesting knick knacks for sale.

like bruce

and david the gnome.

and if you were worried that they didn't have a postcard with a dog holding a gun - stop.  because they do.

Up next was Blu Stone - a more modern looking winery.

They offered no complimentary tasting - you could try 3 wines for $3 or 5 for $5 (what a bargain...).  I thought the wines were only OK.  Chad bought a bottle of Gerwurtzraminer (don't ask me why...)

They did have a nice view of the vineyard though.

And the grape/vineyard stats up on the wall were pretty interesting.  Our wine guide here was also very informative - if nothing else, we liked talking to her.

buzzed #throughglass.

I enjoyed this quote on their wall as well - "Discovering a piece of Leland bluestone on the shore of Lake Michigan is finding a rare treasure of nature.  BluStone wine is inspired by these unanticipated moments of life".

Yahooty!  Appropriate for our next stop - Northern Latitude Distillery.

Here we sampled some delicious spirits, including their Horseradish Vodka which was AMAZING.  It also made one killer bloody mary.  We, of course, purchased a bottle.

Our final stop was Leelenau Wine Cellar.  I recognized this brand from my local grocery store, though I had never bought it.  They had a great deck for pictures - chad helped out some of the girls on our tour.

 

Then they returned the favor.

Their tasting room had a gorgeous view of the Grand Traverse Bay.

Leelenau Wine Cellars offered all complimentary tastings as well.  You could taste as many or as few as you wanted.  Had it not been for time constraints, I think we may have tried them all.  

Some patrons who were also curious about glass.  I felt like I could have been best friends with them if I knew them in real life.

They had the cutest little spoons in their cracker bowls.

I was sad to learn they were not for sale. :-(

It was the end of the day, and I may have been getting a little loopy - this is how I responded when Chad asked which wines we should purchase.  We ended up going with a half-case - 6 bottles.

Hello, handsome.

THis was Chad's favorite stop.  He loved our wine guide, Sue.  They bonded a little.  She worked there part-time on the weekends - not for extra money, but just because she absolutely loves wine.  It definitely showed and really made the experience that much better.

Driving home along the bay.

Our group - we had so much fun with everyone!  It's too bad we couldn't get our tour guide, Kim, in the picture.  She was awesome.  We'll definitely tour with her again.

After the tour, we walked around downtown Traverse City looking for some dinners.  It was prom night, apparently.

We decided on Mode's Bum Steer upon a recommendation from one of our tour groupies.  To our surprise, they were finishing up their dinner as we walked in!

Chad really liked the water.  The food was just ok.

On our walk back, we saw some love for McFly - which I thought was totally random.

We stopped into a couple of shops on our walk.  This kids store carried LollaCup, which we recognized from Shark Tank - it's always fun to find those products in store.  Miles still won't drink through a straw, so we held off on buying one.

Before going back to the hotel, we decided to drive along the peninsula for a little sight-seeing.  We caught a gorgeous sunset on the bay...

...and some fire fighter training.

When we got back, we explored the hotel a little bit.  It was kind of cool because it was almost set up to look like a motel, but indoors.

Finally, the weekend was over and we had to head home.  

We had a great time, but we were excited to get back to lil man who had also had a fun weekend with his grandparents.

We finished off mother's day with a trip to Mitchell's Fish Market - one of our favorites.  Miles sat in a booster seat like a big boy for the first time.  

All in all it was a great weekend.  My thoughts on glass are still forming I think, though.  I liked the convenience of being able to take quick photos, but I like to be able to set up and compose my shots, which I feel like I can't do.  I get that there is a time for composed shots and a time for candids though, and this definitely does candid really well.  Except for the part where they all came out crooked...I guess I need to work on that a little.

I haven't given up on it yet, but I'm still not sure where it will fit into my everyday life.  And I'm still super self-conscious having it on my face.  Most people were very open to it once we explained what it was - they were very excited to learn about it and get it for themselves some day, but it didn't stop the strange looks before all that explaining took place.  If I do decide to adopt glass into my everyday life, it will definitely have to be with the frames.  They're much less 'intrusive' looking.  Not to mention, more comfortable. 

Until next time...stay chelish, friends.

weekend vendors and vineyards
Traverse Bay Tours * Best Western Four Seasons * The Omelette Shoppe * Benjamin Twiggs * L. Mawby * Big Little * Chateau Fontaine * BluStone * Northern Latitudes Distillery * Leelenau Wine Cellars * Mode's Bum Steer * LollaCup * Mitchell's Fish Market