I'll take ya to the candy shop....

We decided to take a day trip up north to a particular fudge shop to purchase something yummy for my swap recipient.

We're having another Autumn swap in our TDIPT ebay group, and it's a secret swap, and my gal has no idea who is sending to her, but she's getting a handmade somethin......a little bit of this and sprinkle of that, and of course one of her favorite sweet treats from the candy shoppe, and no...it's not fudge!

Anyway...we headed up north to the lovely and quaint village/town of Lexington. It's on the shores of beautiful Lake Huron. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the water was gorgeous, so blue, w/ some white caps. If you can't have the ocean...let me tell ya, the Great Lakes are the next best thing.

We weren't planning on swimming as it was a bit chilly, but it wasn't stopping some folks. Zoey couldn't resist walking in the water to feel for herself just how cold it was.


The view here is wonderful, and there is a pier to walk out on. On one side you see nothing but beautiful water as far as the eye can see, and on the other is the harbor.

A family of swans has been here for as long as we've been visiting the area, and it was nice to see them this time around.

Venturing off the beaten path.....

When we finished walking the pier, we went and had lunch, then bought our goodies at the candy shop. We got back in the car and headed for home, and Zoey was so disappointed to leave.
A few miles down the road, we saw a sign that suggested there was a country store if we turned down the next road. We decided since it was so early still that we would venture out to territory unknown to us, and if nothing else enjoy a nice ride in the country.

What a beautiful ride, and low and behold, there it was, the Country store. It looked so charming and inviting, yet being a Tuesday, and way out in the middle of nowhere, we weren't sure if it would be open for business.

But.....no problem, as the owners live right there on the property, and Peter (the husband) greeted us when we pulled into the driveway, and was kind enough to go fetch his wife (Vera) , and she came and let is in the shop. Ooooh, it smelled so nice inside from all the candles and sprays. Vera had plenty of prim eye candy, and the shop was stocked full of wonderful Autumn goodies!

I loved how she had Mums already placed in her flower boxes, as Fall really was in the air.

Peter and Vera were the most hospitable folks we had ever come across! They let Zoey use their bathroom, and welcomed us into their home.

We even got to meet their sweet and beautiful dog named Freeda. Isn't she lovely? Vera said to us, "don't mind the dog"...boy, she had no idea who she was talkin to. Mind the dog? We were thrilled and delighted to see her, and even more so when Vera told us that Freeda had come all the way from New Orleans. Yep, she was a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and was only 4 months old when someone rescued her from the flood waters, and somehow she was transported all the way up here to a shelter in Michigan where they were able to adopt her and give her a furever home, and what a home it is. All I can say is...Freeda is one lucky pooch~

After meeting Freeda, Peter and Vera asked if we would like to see their tipi, and of course we said "yes". On our way to the Tipi, Peter gave us the grand tour of their huge back yard! They had grapes, and apple trees, and a nice garden, plum full of maters, corn, peppers, squash, and melons.

Check out the Scarecrow! I loved this guy!

Here is the real live Tipi! It was mammoth in size! It came all the way from Oregon.

Peter invited us to come inside the Tipi, where there was a firepit in the very center, w/ rustic handmade furniture placed all around it, along w/ handmade drums and intruments. Everything was true to real Native American life in a Tipi, there were cow hides, and I'll just bet there was a peace pipe somewhere in there too :)

We were VERY impressed, and found it so interesting, and we sure appreciated Peter explaining it all to us. He said sometimes they have some type of gathering there w/ a real Medicine Man!

We were getting ready to leave (after being there a good hour or more), when Peter called Zoey over to give her something. It's hard to see in the pic, but it was a flower he had made from a big stick, and some tin, a make-do of sorts!

These were just the nicest people ever! I can't say enough about them, and this really made Zoeys day! Here we thought we were just gonna visit a prim shop, and it ended up being soooo much more. It was an adventure in itself, and unplanned one, and one we never would have experienced had we not ventured off the beaten path!

Thank you for a most splendid afternoon Vera and Peter!