More Bling Than Snoop Dog

Sometimes I forget that most of you who visit this site have never been to my little corner of the world and that you probably have an interest in what things look like around here. New Year's blog resolution #224: Show folks the scenery every now and then.

It's January 1st, so let's start today. I'll start with one of our favorite restaurants. It is tucked into the side of a hill near a large lake, and when I say large, I mean large. Not Lake Michigan large, but large enough to spend a very long time driving around it. This is a tourist area, and while the restaurant is a hot spot in the summer, it's actually the busiest during the holidays because of their tremendous amount of Christmas decorations...and their grilled pork chop....and their fabulous desserts. We visited this place to mark Teen Angel's birthday this week, and they still had their decorations on display. The place literally drips Christmas from every nook and cranny. This was a tiny portion of the stuff on the wall behind our table. This guy was about three feet tall. There are trees and lights everywhere. My favorite spots though, are the ones on the grounds. They have more lights and decorations outside than they do inside, and a visit isn't complete without a walk after dinner to "walk off dessert" as daddy would day. This photo shows about one fourth the decorations in the main gazebo alone. A lot of folks take family pictures for next year's Christmas cards in that gazebo. I love this mill best when it's really cold and is covered in one big icicle. Yeah, not happening this year. It was 74 degrees one day last week.

There are several shops on the grounds, and the windows are full of holiday attire. This picture has potential for our Christmas card next year. Three of them...three of us.....I'm not sure how yet, but it just looks ripe for a good Hula-gen caption.

I'm tellin' ya, I've never seen more tree trimmings in any one place. However, my favorite thing to do..is to look up. And up. But my very favorite thing? Other than the coconut cake? A touch of flam.