Our Escape, Continued

We are enjoying indulgence after indulgence on our little getaway.   I am trying hard to put out of my mind all the work that is waiting for me back at home!

Ludington is small, a lakeside city, and easily walkable.    It was a logging town back in 'the day.'   Originally named Pere Marquette, after the Jesuit explorer who died there in 1675.  In 1871 it was renamed after James Ludington, who owned the lumber operation, and incorporated as a city in 1873.

There are a variety of Bed and Breakfasts.   They all look pretty gaudy and over decorated on line, but I check them for reservations every time we come here.   This is pretty much always a last minute, unplanned trip for us, so they are always full, as they were this time.    Last year we discovered the very low key Stearns Hotel.    It opened in 1903, and must have been elegant in its time.   

It is still clean and quirky, with a 24-hour reception desk, ridiculously low prices, and hand lettered numbers on the room doors.  It is my husband's favorite hotel, so he was happy when the B and B's fell through again.  From here, we are less than 2 miles from the lake and within walking distance from all the shops and restaurants.

We wandered around yesterday, window shopping.   On our way, we found a small farmers' market, not very crowded, with tomatoes and sunflowers.

We met a lady who was there for her last day, selling lavender cookies that she made herself.    And oh yes we did.  The cookies were an almond shortbread with lavender buds added.   I really liked them; my husband avoids sugar and he was less impressed.

We sat on a bench by the lake.

We window shopped, except when I accidentally bought things, like this sweatshirt that was on 50% clearance since it is the end of the season.

We stumbled onto a wine and cheese tasting where we were offered glasses of 7 different wines from different areas and countries.   And then we really stumbled back to the hotel, after buying two bottles of our favorite.

Today, while it was still mild, in  the mid-70's, it was windy and quite cool.    Lake Michigan took on a different mood and we enjoyed watching the waves, the one brave wind-sailor, and the pretty Brides who were having photos taken.

Since it wasn't as pleasant outdoors, we took the 14 mile drive the the Pig Patch Farm Quilt Shop in nearby Custer.  It's the only quilt shop in the area and as cute as can be.

I had a mental list of things I actually wanted to buy -- those mental lists are always a mistake for me -- so I came away without my intended purchases.   Instead, I picked up a yard of each of these -- the music fabric because it included a bass clef, which is rare, and the other fabric for no reason that has yet been revealed to me.

Tomorrow we head home so we're on our way back out to make the most of what's left of the day.  From the looks of the sky, we are likely to have rain on our way back, which won't be much fun for driving, but will suit our moods as we return to the chores we left behind, lol.