That state up north

Last weekend we took a little jaunt up north for our anniversary and spent the weekend with some friends. Joe used to work with Jason and decided to move back home where he ended up meeting and marrying Jen, who I love. They're a lot like us and they "get" us since we lead similar lives, so we really enjoy their company. We were welcomed to Detroit by a gorgeous double rainbow. In fact, there was a rainbow each of the three nights we were there. I figured it was Michigan's way of laughing at me because I'm an Ohio State fan and was coming up there to spend money.

Joe and Jen also had a welcoming committee of their own.

I'm not a fan of big dogs, but Popeye and Armund were sweet puppies. On Saturday we went to breakfast and then they took us up to Frankenmuth, home of Bronner's the world's largest Christmas store. We spent three hours in there. They had everything Christmas that you could imagine, but my favorite part was the huge selection of ornaments. We left with four.

Then we went shopping and to eat. Frankenmuth is set up to look like a German village and had pretty flowers as well.

That night we stopped for ice cream and watched a movie before bed. On Sunday we got up and went to lunch, then to the marina to take a ride on Joe and Jen's new boat.

They keep it docked at Lake St. Clair so they can just go hop on at their leisure. These are the Twin Sisters Lighthouses.

We rode out to Harsens Island and docked at Riverside Grocery, a cozy little place where you could get some basic staples, ice cream, or a meal from the tiny pizzeria.

As if Jason wasn't already wanting a boat after our trip to Louisiana, Joe is on my bad list was kind enough to let Jason drive us back to shore. Here's Crockett and Tubbs...

After going home to walk the dogs and take a rest, we ended up at Olive Garden for dinner and then sat in the hot tub for awhile before calling it a night with some TV. On the way home we stopped at Motown.

They had a large group there so we got to jump in on their tour instead of roaming around on our own. We had two different guides and their presentations were very informative. Both were very knowledgeable and I was shocked that they could answer random questions from the crowd about things that went on way before their time. It was a fun way to end the weekend.