From St Joseph, MI to Sonny Acres Farm

What do you do when you have a free weekend? Fill it with stuff to do! With great weather and friends we could not resist taking advantage of a perfect fall weekend a week ago. It was literally in the 80s while we romped through fall leaves and played in the surf of Lake Michigan.

Our day started with driving three hours to St Joseph, Michigan. Ever heard of it? Or the Silver Beach Amusement Park? Neither had we. But my clever mother-in-law used her google search prowess to locate this charming town that was equidistant from us and them. So we drove and they drove and we all landed together in a surprising town full of stuff to do. The beach was less than a 5 minute walk from the doorstep of our hotel. The main street was even closer. Restaurants and shops galore greeted us with delicious aromas and eye catching windows. The town had bright pink garbage bins at every corner- a shout out to October and cancer awareness- along with pink ribbons and bows adorned atop of the heads of pumpkins, scarecrows, and hay bales.

A beautifully restored, fully functioning carousel was the only real remnant left from the original amusement park on the beach. But they had a huge facility that housed artifacts and a miniature display of the park that once was. Not only were there Cassidy friendly playground on the beach, but there was a huge public water park! Possibly the best one I've played in. Did I mention it was 80 degrees and there was no humidity?

When we arrived on Friday evening we had dinner at a lovely pub and grill before visiting two candy/chocolate shops. Smart town that this is, there were Adirondack chairs outside most store fronts and we sat and ate and chatted with people who walked by. Cassidy, my stage bound performer in the making, started singing. Loudly. Row your boat, Old McDonald, Twinkle Twinkle, every song and rhyme she knew she was belting out. The passerby stopped passing and started singing with her, clapping, cheering her on. So my husband, goofball that he is, takes his baseball cap off and slides it on the ground in front of her feet! I grabbed it back before change started falling in. :-)

Saturday morning is when the beach and water park play took place. We enjoyed the town's last farmer's market of the season and I was blown away by not only how many different local growers were there, but how cheap the produce was! And free samples everywhere! At some point, Patty and I went to White Pine Vineyards and did a wine tasting session. So fun! In particular since Matt and his Dad don't drink, we rarely drink, so it was fun to have someone else to enjoy a tasting with. While we were sampling Rieslings and cab sauvs, they were at the Toy Shop letting Cass play and touch all of the toy set ups on display. Establishments who target children are so smart to actually be child friendly and have stuff for them to do! After lunch it was time for us to leave and head to our separate homes. We had spent less than 24 hours together, and 7 of those hours we were sleeping!, but a good time was had by all and I really hope we get to do it again. Zooming home there was no traffic and Cass slept during the 2 hour ride.

Which is a good thing because the next day we had more fall frolic planned.

I have a colleague at work who I am happy and pleased to call a friend. She has a two year old- Julia. And the planets have aligned because Cass and Julia get along famously! You wouldn't believe the anxiety one can feel over if your kids will get along and if your spouses will like each other and so on. Lucky for us the Wilmarth Tyna family are a blast to hang out with and fun, friendly people! We jump at any opportunity to spend time with them. And Sunday was another beautiful day. Outside we went to Sonny Acres Farm.

I think it maybe was a real farm once upon a time. There is a huge barn and silo, main house, a wooded area where the tractor and wagon rides commence, and a lot of land. Enough land to support a carnival atmosphere complete with rides and yummy greasy fried foods like funnel cake :-) We were good, we only had roasted corn. And of course there were pumpkins all over. What's cuter than two little girls running and jumping and dancing and playing? Three! We ran into a girl and her mom who attend the same preschool as Julia and the three of them were adorable!

I know this sounds as if we had a super busy weekend. But it honestly did not feel rushed or hurried in any way. And it's a good thing we were out and about because the weather this week leaves nothing to be desired...:-)

Happy Autumn!