Up North

The beach where the Platte River and Lake Michigan meet. Sleeping Bear dunes are in the background.

(L.) Our "cottage" in the woods

Mission Point Lighhouse

A bunch o' grapes at one of the wineries.

The beach at the lighthouse.

The perks of retirement. In my 33 years of teaching it was rare that we went away for Labor Day. School had already started and there was too much to do to be ready for the 2nd and "real" first week of school.

Retirement has allowed me to enjoy my first real Labor Day weekend Up North in Traverse City. We packed up the camper and the dog and headed for one of my favorite places in all of Michigan; Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay for a weekend at the beach taking in the sun, shopping in Traverse City and roasting marshmallows over the campfire at the campground.

This year, Katie and I did the whole wine tour thing. Because of the lake and temperate weather the MissionPoint Pennisula is known for its great wines much like eastern Long Island. We did a wine tasting tour of 4 of the 5 wineries, tasting a variety of wines from dry white to dessert wines and sampling all the jams, salsas, and mustards made with Michigan's famous cherries.